Friday, December 1, 2006

In the good old days....

When I was a child growing up in Iowa, my parents would tell me about winters when they were kids, and on through the 1930's, when they were newlyweds.  The drifts were so high, for instance, they could walk over fences and not know there were fences there .

Mother told about her parents hooking up horses to the sled to go to Church in wintertime, and her parents had  heated bricks to  put next to the kids' feet, so they'd stay warm.

OK, let me tell you about winters when I was a kid.

In Iowa, when I went to a one-room schoolhouse, I recall Mama walking to school with me because the car wouldn't start, and it was so cold she was afraid I'd freeze to death if I had to walk to school on my own.

When there'd been a heavy snow, all us students attending Skinner School in Taylor Country would take our sleds to school, and we spent our recess time sliding down wonderful hills.  Sometimes we made trains, one kid hooking his feet in the sled behind him, and all of us would head down the hill together.

I remember the winter I prayed for snow... the first time I ever recall praying for something specific and selfish.... and it really snowed the next day!  (Hey, it works, I thought to myself; I only wish it had worked so well when Daddy was suffering from lung cancer.)

After we had moved to Kansas City, I recall snowstorms so powerful that school was canceled for days at a time.

There was the year we went 100 miles north to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving, and we ended up traveling back to Kansas City at a snail's pace, barely able to see the road for the snow coming down.

Oh yeah, when I was a kid, we had some real winters.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lot of fun making snow trains. Bet those parents had some heated bricks under their feet also. Helen

Anonymous said...

And to think that I complain of a little chill in the air!
Pam

Anonymous said...

Not many snow stories growing up in south texas but mama told us a lot of them from her childhood in oklahoma. I can only recall it showing twice in my young years. One of them my gold fish died and we buried it in a match box in the snow. Paula

Anonymous said...

as I told my kids....and now my grands....I walked to school (they ride the bus)....and it was hard walking...specially when the weather was bad...snow, rain, sleet....two miles....up hill...both ways LOLOL....not good....but I managed and lived to tell the tale LOL...hugs from KY....Ora

Anonymous said...

My mother grew up in western Canada and toldof walking to school with the snow higher than the electric lines. I was impressed until I moved to MO and saw the old lines were much lower to the ground than ours! But still that's pretty high! I remember playing in the snow in Wisconsin and making snow caves and having very heavy wool snowsuits. Even in St Joe, where I moved in the 7th grade, the snow was more than we have now.

Anonymous said...

I've always loved the notion of a sleigh ride!!  I remember visitin Arkansas for Christmas one year and my cousin hollering at me for walking in a new part of the snow.  I liked seeing my own tracks.  He said I was making it all look ugly.  Only a handful of snowfalls here in my whole 46 years.  None more than a thin white layer.  But everything pretty well comes to a stop, just so we can enjoy it I suppose.  - Barbara

Anonymous said...

A one room schoolhouse?..HOW COOL!  I immediately thought about Little House on the Prairie.....I was watching Coal Miners Daughter today on cable...love that movie....I was thinking how spoiled my kids are...how many kids grow up poor these days and not know it?....Meaning...still feeeling blessed...my kids are spoiled...not rotten but need "stuff" to feel satisfied...

I think memories of those snow days must be wonderful to reflect on....-Raven