Sharing a bit of my memories on a winter day....

[Viviene]

Since I use my blog as a marketing place I won't place my blog link here. However, today I chose to write something personal there about the days of old when I was a child. It's about winter and wishing for some snow.

"Today's blog is on a personal note. I live in northeastern Pennsylvania and I have a question. WHERE IS OUR SNOW? We've had a few dustings (less than an inch) over the last 3 weeks and my girls have had 2 snow delays. Languishing in the school schedule are 11, count them 11 unused snow days.

I long for the days when we would get a good old fashioned snow storm in my home town of Cold Spring, New York. We lived on Market Street in a 3 story apartment building. We would get ready for school in the morning and my mom would make sure I had my mittens and ski mask (the kind with eye and mouth holes only). Off I would trudge up the Main Street Hill up to Haldane school. It was freezing cold or so it seemed to me at the time and I would be layered with a jumper and blouse (these were the days when girls did not wear pants), tights, leggings over the tights and a warm wool coat. Add to that my mittens and ski mask and I was ready to do battle with Mother Nature.

Occasionally there would be a bully (David Vitanza comes to mind) who would dump me into a snow bank and then my knight in shining armor, Russell Kane, pulled me out and helped me get brushed off. Later that night as I related the story my dad taught me how to make a very hard fist and told me to punch David if he tried it again (those were the days when you could get away with teaching your kids to take care of themselves). The next day David was at it again and this time he got a hard fist in the belly. Strangely enough after that he never bothered me again.

Almost as soon as we would get all those layers of winter clothes off at school, our teacher would be sending us home to trudge back down Main Street. I'm supposing the reason for this was that if we did not come into school the school did not get their federal money for the day.

The walk home always took at least 45 minutes longer. On the way home we had time for making snow forts, snowball fights and some people with pocket money to spare would stop at Dazzell's five and dime store for a candy bar. Still others would opt for Palen's Rexall Drug store where they would mosey up to the soda fountain and get some Breyer's ice cream.

Once those important duties were taken care of we would continue on our way down Main Street and go into the "subway" (an underground walkway that went under the Penn Central railroad tracks) at the end of Main Street. After that we would walk up the two flights of stairs to our home on the third floor and strip off the now soaked snow clothing. We'd sit down and have hot chocolate and then play for the rest of the day. I remember my mom hanging laundry on the line out of the third story window with wet clean diapers thrown over her shoulder as she hung them out one by one (might that be what started the bursitis in her shoulder).

We moved away from Cold Spring when I was 10 years old but I'll always remember Cold Spring, New York, a wonderful place to be a kid in the mid 1960s."

 

[Orgetorix]

Yeah, they just don't make snow storms like they used to. Damned modern snow industry has corrupted things so that all we get these days is a few plastic flurries that don't last. My grandmother had a snowstorm once that lasted for years! She kept mending it and handing it down to each of the kids and grandkids, and we all loved it. Now that was a quality blizzard. Not like the junk we have today. Give me a vintage snowstorm any day! With high armholes. Harrumph.








...Wonderful story, Viviene. I'm not making fun of you.

 

[Viviene]

I know you're not! My girls are only 2 miles from school and we have "delays" when the roads are a bit wet. I really think they miss a lot not walking to school but our area is rather rural without sidewalks (I can't even say that it's so rural that they roll up the sidewalks at 6 p.m. because we don't have any!).

Just feeling a bit nostalgic today and wondered if others remember those days as well.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Many people would say they don't make snowstorms like they used to, what with all this newfangled global warming and such.
It was fun growing up in the Seventies after coming from Georgia: we made snow forts and an igloo AT NIGHT and would get SO COLD only hot chocolate would do. I refuse to say hot cocoa. I still make snow angels.

 

[Viviene]

I would love to make some snow angels but we only have had dustings of snow this year. I never thought I would want the kids to have a snow day but it's too much of a good thing with no snow here.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I'm actually glad that we haven't had any bad snow storms yet this year. I say, keep it in the mountains. I live in the city, and piles of snow in the city can lead to a nightmare. I'm lucky, I own a parking space in a garage. But, there were times when I had to park on the street. During snow storms, the city does allow a minimum of street parking. But, the poloughs come through and dump all the snow from the street onto the cars parked in the street. Getting the cars out from all of that snow is a nightmare.
So, I don't miss snow storms. And I'm not too happy about the freezing cold weather we have been having over the past week. Brrrrr. I can't wait for the warm weather.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Viviene, Cold Spring, NY is still a very charming little village! I live about a half-hour south of there, and visit at least once or twice a year. (And I pass through it plenty when on the way to all the great hiking nearby: Mt. Taurus, Little Stony Point, Breakneck Ridge, Fishkill Ridge, etc.)

Of course, it's somewhat more *self-consciously* charming these days, catering to daytrippers who come up from Manhattan on the train to get in a little small-town ambience. There are lots of overpriced antique shops, eating establishments... and real estate dealers trying to convince you to buy a house in the area! But the views up and down river remain awesome, and most of the old architecture has remained intact. It's a gem!

 

[Viviene]

Since I live in Pike county, PA I've been able to visit Cold Spring (I still have family members living there) on a regular basis.

The town is still scenic. There are lots of antique shops, restaurants and the like there now. Back in the late 60s-early 70s one of the biggest employers in that town left amid accusations of polluting the watershed there with toxins. This proved true and for a while Cold Spring took a bit of a downward turn. Then enter new people who opened their shops. The main street was rebuilt with businesses and although we now share my home town with the day trippers from Manhattan, it is revitalized. Those same day trippers from Manhattan are the same people whose space I invade for carriage rides and gawking at the huge Christmas tree in December.

On any given Saturday my family and I travel to Cold Spring to walk those familiar streets. My daughters (age 9 and 8) love going to one store in particular. They are always allowed to buy a "surprise bag" for $5 and they are always loaded with quite an array of fun for them.

It's too pricey for me to live there now but it's still close enough to visit and brings back some very good memories.