Yesterday was a snow day in the Twin Cities. I went out on foot to do my errands in the neighborhood, the icy storm blowing in my face. It was cold but it woke me up and reminded me of snow days in New York growing up with no driveways that needed plowing or steps that needed shoveling. What are your memories of snow days growing up?
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I love the photo, Susie! It puts me right into that scene. Re my own memories of snow days growing up: I've got two that popped right into mind. One, zooming down the hills near my home, often with a friend, on our flying saucers. We used to build jumps out of snow and they worked so well that we had to put cushions under our butts. Memory number two: I had some toy mice that looked like real, except they stood upright on tiny skis. I would tie strings to them and make them ski down the roof outside my bedroom window.
I'm trying to imagine those toy mice. Sounds like winter was joyful for you. My favorite memories are all about "normal" life coming to a standstill. In 1947 or 1948, my extended family was in the Poconos when a huge blizzard hit. The owners of the small hotel we were staying at had to arrange for a horse drawn carriage to transport us to the train when it was time to leave. No cars on the road. Magical.
Well...It's one of those "I think I remember it" stories. I think I remember a tremendous level of excitement, a plaid coat and red boots. Also not being able to get uptown from Penn Station (Grand Central?) and being stuck on the street in the snow with all our bags.
A vivid memory is one I have whenever I have to shovel through the snow that piles up in my driveway. It's the one snowstorm that closed the doors of Fourteen Holy Martyrs. The snow was so unbelievably high and the temperature so bitter cold that my brother and I could build an igloo right in the middle of Central Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. It's one of my fondest memory of being a kid in Brooklyn and of my brother.
Staying home from school and reading all morning. Then, if the snow let up a bit, out I’d go to build a fort or sled. Same as this winter—read all morning, then go out to play! Love snow days!
What do you remember reading and at what age? I didn't come to books until much later. My mother who only read murder mysteries was always worried that I didn't read. I think it was because the curriculum in school was so hackneyed.
I remember where I was when I realized I could read on my own. I got through a chapter book at the kitchen table without asking Mom for help with a word. Second grade. After that I took to my room. Lying on my bed reading novels—among my fondest childhood memories, that and browsing in the local library.
Thank you for this thread, Betsy. I loved the local library, the St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library on Amsterdam Avenue in the eighties. I loved the walls and walls of bookshelves, the old oak tables, and the winding staircase that went up to the children's room.
Snow days in Montreal meant an inondation of snow (more than a foot) and the schools were shut, creating a scramble for parents who had to work. They were not fun and definitely made me wish for a snow angel.
Are you saying those days were not fun because the adults were stressed out...and maybe took it out on the children? In my deepest wishing, it's all like the snow falling inside a paperweight.
Growing up in Western New York, snow days were inevitable and definitely something to look forward to. When it dumped a couple of feet during the night, and was still coming down in the morning, it meant, no school, and lots of shoveling. The big question being, should I go out every few hours and shovel, which in some ways was easier, or wait till the end. I was the kid and it was my job to shovel the walls of snow the plows left at the end of the driveway, make a path from the front door to the car and clear the sidewalk in front of our house so no one would slip and fall. After an hour or so it was time for coco and cinnamon toast.
You can imagine my surprise when the entire city of Seattle shuts down due to a mere 2 inches of snow, which happens about every five years.The year I moved to Seattle was one of those years..The television told us to stay home, schools were closed, people didn't go to work and the sound of chains rattling down the street, once in a while, was pretty much all I could hear. I felt superior and hearty, knowing that winter driving was somehow imbedded in my DNA. I got in my van to go have a look. That's when I discovered some things I had been previously unaware of.
In no time, my step van was sliding uncontrollably down a steep residential street towards a main thoroughfare, my adrenaline was pumping and there was nothing I could do to change my trajectory. In those moments, I realilzed three things:
1. Seattle had no snow plows
2.Seattle, like Rome, has many hills, Buffalo has none
3. I was happy that Seattleites stayed home because as I careened across that thoroughfare, the coast was miraculously clear.
That was 40 years ago and I'm now in sync with the program. If the unreliable weather people are predicting snow, I stock up on supplies, make sure I have duraflame logs for the fireplace, throw a pot of soup together and hunker down like everyone else. It's better that way.
Minneapolis must be more like Buffalo than Seattle but Buffalo seems to remain the record holder. There's definitely a "superior and hearty" sensibility in Minnesota. But sometimes people get carried away. 200 people (!!) had to be rescued trying to fish on what was not quite ice a few days ago. Another weather observation I've made is people walking around with their faces up to catch all the available sun the ways they used to do in Sweden. There is a Scandinavian through-line.
I love the photo, Susie! It puts me right into that scene. Re my own memories of snow days growing up: I've got two that popped right into mind. One, zooming down the hills near my home, often with a friend, on our flying saucers. We used to build jumps out of snow and they worked so well that we had to put cushions under our butts. Memory number two: I had some toy mice that looked like real, except they stood upright on tiny skis. I would tie strings to them and make them ski down the roof outside my bedroom window.
I'm trying to imagine those toy mice. Sounds like winter was joyful for you. My favorite memories are all about "normal" life coming to a standstill. In 1947 or 1948, my extended family was in the Poconos when a huge blizzard hit. The owners of the small hotel we were staying at had to arrange for a horse drawn carriage to transport us to the train when it was time to leave. No cars on the road. Magical.
Wow! Do you actually remember being in that carriage?
Well...It's one of those "I think I remember it" stories. I think I remember a tremendous level of excitement, a plaid coat and red boots. Also not being able to get uptown from Penn Station (Grand Central?) and being stuck on the street in the snow with all our bags.
Great that you remember what you were wearing! And the level of excitement.
Well, that igloo lives on, if only deeply embedded in my memory.
A vivid memory is one I have whenever I have to shovel through the snow that piles up in my driveway. It's the one snowstorm that closed the doors of Fourteen Holy Martyrs. The snow was so unbelievably high and the temperature so bitter cold that my brother and I could build an igloo right in the middle of Central Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. It's one of my fondest memory of being a kid in Brooklyn and of my brother.
I wonder how long the igloo lasted??? I love enclosures, forts, that sort of thing.
Staying home from school and reading all morning. Then, if the snow let up a bit, out I’d go to build a fort or sled. Same as this winter—read all morning, then go out to play! Love snow days!
What do you remember reading and at what age? I didn't come to books until much later. My mother who only read murder mysteries was always worried that I didn't read. I think it was because the curriculum in school was so hackneyed.
I remember where I was when I realized I could read on my own. I got through a chapter book at the kitchen table without asking Mom for help with a word. Second grade. After that I took to my room. Lying on my bed reading novels—among my fondest childhood memories, that and browsing in the local library.
Thank you for this thread, Betsy. I loved the local library, the St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library on Amsterdam Avenue in the eighties. I loved the walls and walls of bookshelves, the old oak tables, and the winding staircase that went up to the children's room.
Snow days in Montreal meant an inondation of snow (more than a foot) and the schools were shut, creating a scramble for parents who had to work. They were not fun and definitely made me wish for a snow angel.
Are you saying those days were not fun because the adults were stressed out...and maybe took it out on the children? In my deepest wishing, it's all like the snow falling inside a paperweight.
Growing up in Western New York, snow days were inevitable and definitely something to look forward to. When it dumped a couple of feet during the night, and was still coming down in the morning, it meant, no school, and lots of shoveling. The big question being, should I go out every few hours and shovel, which in some ways was easier, or wait till the end. I was the kid and it was my job to shovel the walls of snow the plows left at the end of the driveway, make a path from the front door to the car and clear the sidewalk in front of our house so no one would slip and fall. After an hour or so it was time for coco and cinnamon toast.
You can imagine my surprise when the entire city of Seattle shuts down due to a mere 2 inches of snow, which happens about every five years.The year I moved to Seattle was one of those years..The television told us to stay home, schools were closed, people didn't go to work and the sound of chains rattling down the street, once in a while, was pretty much all I could hear. I felt superior and hearty, knowing that winter driving was somehow imbedded in my DNA. I got in my van to go have a look. That's when I discovered some things I had been previously unaware of.
In no time, my step van was sliding uncontrollably down a steep residential street towards a main thoroughfare, my adrenaline was pumping and there was nothing I could do to change my trajectory. In those moments, I realilzed three things:
1. Seattle had no snow plows
2.Seattle, like Rome, has many hills, Buffalo has none
3. I was happy that Seattleites stayed home because as I careened across that thoroughfare, the coast was miraculously clear.
That was 40 years ago and I'm now in sync with the program. If the unreliable weather people are predicting snow, I stock up on supplies, make sure I have duraflame logs for the fireplace, throw a pot of soup together and hunker down like everyone else. It's better that way.
Minneapolis must be more like Buffalo than Seattle but Buffalo seems to remain the record holder. There's definitely a "superior and hearty" sensibility in Minnesota. But sometimes people get carried away. 200 people (!!) had to be rescued trying to fish on what was not quite ice a few days ago. Another weather observation I've made is people walking around with their faces up to catch all the available sun the ways they used to do in Sweden. There is a Scandinavian through-line.
Being bundled up in a snowsuit and going out to make snow angels.
Drinking hot chocolate by a warm fireplace.
Getting to stay home from school and read.
I love the term snow angels. They keep coming up in people's recollections. White and cold and sparkling.
Making snow angels in the snow!
Children got wet and cold and it was all fine, wasn't it? Did you drink cocoa to warm up?
Yes! I remember the hot chocolate made with milk and Hershey’s syrup heated over the electric burner and then adding marshmallow!!
Cars buried under snow. Catching snowflakes on my tongue. Snow Ball fights. Sledding in the park. Fun!!!
What park were you sledding in? What did you have to wear to stay warm and dry?