By Kathryn Reed

Something about a sleigh ride creates lasting memories.

Stories about those memories are retold throughout “Sleigh Rides in Lake Tahoe: Memoirs of Sam Borges”. But the book is so much more than the history of this iconic South Shore business. It’s about Tahoe, and it is in large part about Sam Borges – the man who started the business.

Borges died two years ago this month, not long after the book was published in 2009. The book is his stories as told to daughter-in-law Dianna Maria De Borges.

While there are a greater number of typos than any book should have, overlooking them is worth the read of this 127-page paperback.

I never met Sam – but wish I had. In some ways he sounds like my Grandpa Albert. Maybe it’s because my grandpa helped create my earliest sleigh ride memory of when he had the reins in South Dakota.

Then there’s the story of how the Borges’ used to have dinner excursions. This reminded me of when I was in high school and my parents, with my best friend and her parents, took a sleigh to dinner while we were in Sun Valley, Idaho, to ski.

I think part of the reason I’ve never gone on a Borges sleigh ride is not wanting to erase the wonderful memories I have. Why I can’t create new ones, well, I just don’t have a good answer.

Reading this book, the stories of their customers and the stories of the Borges family, made me appreciate how special Lake Tahoe is, the unique businesses, the tenacity required to make it here.

And finishing the book the weekend of the first winter storm seemed so appropriate. Maybe it’s time to take a sleigh ride in Lake Tahoe.