It seems there are many of us that talk about – and seem to long for – a “good old fashioned winter” but now that we are enjoying, or experiencing one, it evokes comments that winters weren’t this bad in past years. That got me thinking about some of the winters we’ve experienced and fortunately have a few pictures to verify them.
The picture from 1936 looks like my father Joe thought it would be nice to use blocks of snow like building blocks. I wonder how he got them stacked that high along side the driveway.
In the photo from Valentine’s Day 1941, the plows apparently filled the old steel mailbox with snow. Yes, that’s me and my little shovel doing my part to help clear the driveway. There is some lettering inscribed on the snow bank. It reads “Be My Valentine.” No doubt it was my father’s handiwork.
In the winter of 1942-43, there was obviously significant snowfall that required the whole family’s efforts to clear the driveway so the 1936 Plymouth in the garage, could get out if it was necessary. They placed me on top of the snow bank for this picture. The other three boys were foster children lucky enough to be living here at the time. The oldest was named John R. He left our home a few years later and eventually joined the Navy. As it happened he wound up serving in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam and later spent some years in the Reserves. Along the way he married, had five children, 15 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren by the time of his death in December 2013. John was one of the foster children who never forgot us and made it a point to visit occasionally over the years.
In more recent years there was the blizzard of 1966 and again in 1977 where we were unable to get home from where we were but those are stories of their own. That was the “old” part of this story. Of course each time we get snow it is “new.” But, is it really new or has it been here before? Given nature’s hydrological circle that draws water from the earth into the clouds and sends it down in the form of rain or snow, there must be some particles that end up back where they came from. I guess it doesn’t matter that much since once it’s here we have to deal with it. However, I wonder if I should look at a snow flake and ask “haven’t I seen you before?”
