A Snow from the Past?
by John Mooy
Albert Einstein once said that he liked being in the middle of the ocean because that was the only place he felt insignificant. He was so small compared to the ocean and the rest of the universe. An interesting thought from one considered to be the world’s greatest mind.
Now, on another level, I somewhat understand what he was talking about on this particular day that I’m writing this column. The wind outside is howling, the snow is blowing sideways and the temperature is well below zero. AND there is no one around, so I can look out the window and it’s white as far as I can see. No one else is around. A very large expanse with no other humans “out there.” A bit of a stretch but you get my point.
However, It’s the weather that dominates this day. It’s almost a throwback to those wintry days from my youth in Marcellus that I remember. However, I would beg to differ with the weatherman and what he mentioned this morning on the news, “This is a once in a generation storm.” To that I say this storm isn’t even close to our experiences in the fifties and sixties. I recall trudging through snow that was up to our waist. And winds blowing so hard it was difficult to stand up straight.
Somewhere I may have photographs to back up what I’m about to tell you but don’t you recall, if you’re old enough, those days when the snow that had fallen was up to and over three feet deep? Winds created drifting that was up over our heads and the words of the day when going outside were, “bundle up.” And that’s exactly what we did because no matter how cold or how much snow on the ground we went outside to play.
Just north of the VFW was the hill where we met with sleds, toboggans, skis, and I think the fiberglass “saucers” had just come out in the mid-fifties. If we had a snow day from school we were at the “hill” from morning ‘til night. We’d slide down the hill, get to the bottom, turn around and walk back to the top of the hill again for the next run. It was indeed a Winter Wonderland. If you had a sled with runners, chances are you had a bar of paraffin wax in your pocket that you would run across the runners so you could go even faster down the hill. Sometimes we would stand on the sled and hold onto the rope tied to the front of the sled and perform our best daredevil runs.
We all wore long underwear, heavy socks, our warmest jackets (some with hoods) mittens or gloves covered our hands and usually you had a scarf of some sort around your neck tucked into your jacket. Earmuffs or hats with ear flaps keep your head warm but what kept you the warmest was being in constant motion. The skis we had didn’t have the fancy fittings to hold your feet in place, just leather straps you slipped your feet in to. Usually, you went straight down the hill and sometimes over a makeshift jump. And the toboggan was a great group activity seating up to as I recall maybe six of your cross-legged friends. It was possible to turn the toboggan by leaning to the right or left in unison.
The more snow the better. And by the end of the day, we had ice on the cuffs of our pants and were often covered with snow. And typically, we had smiles on our faces. Activity with your friends all day long. It didn’t get any better.
At the end of the day with the sun going down we took our equipment and headed toward home. At my house before you could go in, you banged on the back door and usually Mom would open the door and with her broom brush the excess snow off us. Then we would enter the house, sit on the kitchen chair, and begin to take our now wet clothes off, wet because the ice had now melted. This was the ritual that took place every time we returned from the hill.
And then if we were lucky, we could sit around the kitchen table, and someone would make hot chocolate. There we’d sit reminiscing about those great “runs” down the hill: Larry Kahler, Ron Welburn, Ron Datema, his brother Doug, Eric Singley, Tyrone Bowers and Albert Einstein. None of us felt insignificant after a day on the hill together.
Have a great week Marcellus,
you’re the best.
In all seasons.
Cynthia Williams says
Great story. I remember those days.