Ron Rosten
Time takes its toll on the sport's enthusiasts.
Seeing Bill Mattison's name attached to the phrase "has officially retired from the sport of ice boating" may be difficult for longtime enthusiasts to reconcile. But there it is, announced by the video clip showing a quick look at the final days of the boat shop.
Sailing across the ice at blazing speeds, iceboats look elegant and smooth. But the sport can be punishing on the body, and time takes its toll on the sport's enthusiasts. Whitehorse notes that all that abuse has made it hard for Mattison to get into an ice boat these days.
More information about Mattison's legacy can be found in a pair of essays by Whitehorse and Don Sanford, as well as in a feature article in the January 8, 1988 edition of Isthmus about his construction of a revolutionary ice boat and his long career on the frozen lakes of Madison.
