It's been a great winter, say salt and sled sellers

Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort has served almost 20,000 more skiers this year than it had by this time last year.
& lt;a href=mailto:kubik@vindy.com & gt;By MARALINE KUBIK & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
When the mercury drops, dollars pile up like snow banks for businesses that cater to cold-weather sports enthusiasts or help consumers clear away the white stuff.
Sales of snow removal equipment at Do-Cut True Value, Canfield, are up 60 percent to 70 percent over last year, said Dante Terzigni, manager.
"We've been very busy. People are coming in for sidewalk salt, shovels, de-icer, but our big thing is snow throwers. The last two years we've had mild winters. This year, with the bad weather, sales are much more brisk."
Snow throwers with electric starters are especially popular with senior citizens and women, he said. A lot of young people are buying snow throwers too, although they sometimes opt for the pull-start models, he said.
So far, keeping equipment in stock hasn't been a problem, but if the cold, snowy weather continues, that may become a concern, Terzigni said.
Sales of electric heaters and kerosene heaters have also been strong, he added. Homeowners have been buying them to help heat cool rooms and garages, and construction companies have been buying them to warm-up enclosed work sites.
Heat tape
At Leonard Hardware Co. in Sebring, heat tape is a hot item.
The insulating tape helps keep pipes from freezing and has become a must-have for many homeowners since temperatures dropped into the single digits, said Shawn Morrow, sales manager. "I just sold the last of what we had on the spool to cut." All that's left in the store, he said, are a few of the prepackaged sizes.
"We tried to order more before we closed on Friday, but the supplier couldn't get it," Morrow added.
A surge in sales of portable kerosene heaters, snow shovels, gloves and windshield washer fluid have also helped to boost average daily sales at the store 25 percent over what they were a few weeks ago, he said. Even so, overall sales are about even with what they were last year at this time. Before the cold spell, Morrow explained, sales were especially sluggish.
Snowmobiles
Cold weather enthusiasts are boosting sales of sporting goods, and crowding sledding hills and ski slopes throughout the region.
"We have a lot of people coming in to look at snowmobiles," said Ethel Kelly, co-owner of Greenford Tractor Sales & amp; Service.
Greenford Tractor is an official dealer for Polaris and Arctic Cat. Cold weather clothing, snowmobile accessories and snowthrowers are also available at the Greenford showroom.
To stay warm, skiers, snowmobilers and those who work outside are buying lots of insulated socks, underwear, gloves and sweaters at the Ski & amp; Sport Den, New Castle, Pa. The specialty store attracts customers from as far as Grove City, Pa., and Columbiana.
"When the weather's like this, people find you," said Kathryn Gurttola, manager. "There is no other place like this around."
While sales of cold weather clothing are brisk, sales of skis are about the same as last year, Gurttola said. The cold, snowy weather just started, she said. "I think people were waiting to see what this winter was going to be like."
Ski resort
Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort, however, has served almost 20,000 more skiers this year than it had by this time last year.
"Last winter, we had 262,800 total skier visits -- 153,600 as of this date," said Kim Laubenthal, marketing coordinator. So far this year, she said, 173,200 skiers have visited.
She attributes the increase to the colder weather this season, which made it possible to keep snow on the slopes.
"It's not how much it snows that matters, it's how cold it is," she said. "We can make snow."
The ski resort opened Dec. 27 last season; this season it opened Dec. 3.
Of course, natural snow helps keep skiing on the minds of potential visitors, Laubenthal said, so that helps business too.
Mill Creek Park
At Mill Creek Park's Wick Recreation Area, the cold has drawn thousands of sledders and cross-country skiers, said Carol Potter, director of development and marketing.
"This winter we've helped Mother Nature out a little bit with a snow-making machine." She said the largest crowds are on Saturdays when as many as 1,000 children use the sledding hill. A "hobbit hill" for children under 48 inches tall, music and lights that allow the area to remain open until 9:30 p.m. every day are also new this year.
The lights also make it possible for cross-country skiers to enjoy their sport at the adjacent Par 3 golf course.
Still, Potter said, the largest number of cross-country skiers gather at the park's 36-hole golf course in Boardman.
& lt;a href=mailto:kubik@vindy.com & gt;kubik@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;