Monday, January 31, 2011

Memories of snows past...

My younger brother was born January 23, 1967, just before the BIG snow. I was just 4 at the time, but my memories of the giant mounds of snow - everywhere - are quite vivid.

The photo isn't of our house -- I can't find one of those -- but it is from the '67 snow. You have to look closely, but there is a boy standing on the pile of snow on the right side of the photo. (Doesn't that look like fun!)


Dad built a hill of snow at the side of the garage that made a sledding hill extending from the top of the garage on down. I have seen the pictures of my sister and I standing in our snow suits next to the giant hill, perhaps wondering where mom was, and why we were having to eat so many hard boiled eggs... (dad was not much of a cook)

We would have been too young to understand that mom was stuck at the hospital, having been conscripted to work as a nurse's aid since the hospital was short-staffed due to the storm! There was no way for dad to get to Evanston Hospital to bring her and our baby brother home.

I have a clear memory of the 1979 snow because we didn't have to go to school for at least a couple of days, so a friend and I put our snow pants on and went trudging through the town. We visited other friends, stopping in their homes for hot cocoa and cookies, and trying to talk them into joining us on our trek.

Today, the news reports are that a similar storm ("blizzard") is on its way Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Possibly 18 inches in 24 hours, on top of the 6 inches expected tonight. Sounds like a good reason for a snow day - or two!!

Enjoy!!

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