WINTER IN THE VILLAGE

Whether you believe in global warming or not, there is little doubt that for us winters were full of a heck of a lot more snow and a whole lot of chill and cold.  Bone numbing cold. Snow drifts that to little folk seemed very, very high.  We continued to spend our time outdoors though the temperatures plummeted. Sleds took the place of bikes and ice skates were sharpened. Woolens came out of mothballs and smelled that way, too.


Snowsuit paralysis: did you see the movie The Christmas Story with Darren McGavin? We love it so much our kids gave us the video one year for a gift! There is a scene where the little brother is so layered and bundled for the winter cold that when he falls down he cannot get up or bend his arms or legs.  Here is a photo of my little brother and a friend...you can see the snowsuit my brother is wearing.

Doesn't look like he could bend much either.

Our Mom used to put our legs into the sleeves of cardigans then button up the tops around our waists before we stepped into leggings.  Our stocking feet would then be wrapped in Wonder Bread wrappers (my Mom always kept those around, even in her later years). I read in a 50's blog another writer describing her mother doing the very same thing! Thanks to my sister Kathy for the memory of those wrappers.

Thus, we were ready to face the cold staying out for hours til we came in with

 bright red cheeks and bright eyes.

Cordoroy whistles and jean rubs:  my husband shared that when you wore cordoroy pants in the cold they would get so stiff  they would whistle and crack, never mind the red thighs you got from those or jeans in the cold.  As a little girl walking to school with a skirt or a dress, stockings ending just below the knee, my knees would freeze so that they would go numb.  Back then little girls did not wear jeans or leggings to school. Here is a scene from kids in Ohio...it could have been us. Note that the girl has no leggings on....brrr, I can still feel that tingling! When your knees started to thaw, they actually hurt.

Snow forts: we often made forts with the huge mounds of snow against the garage from the plow and more often shoveling by hand. Crawling in and out and never thinking it could cave in.

The music of sizzling radiators: Once kids finally surrendered to the cold and wet they came

in to hot cocoa topped with marshmellow fluff.
The marshmellow gave your mouth a mustache..can you still feel it? 

Dripping clothes, often studded with bits of snow and ice, were placed on the radiators to dry.  The radiators would sizzle, steam and permeate the air with the smell of wet wool.  Somehow polyesters and such materials are not the same as those hand knitted woolens. Did the fact that they were hand knitted make the love in them warm you even more?

You slipped into dry socks and mmmm the feeling. 

Never did hear the word "bored" spoken by children in those days.

 Getting kids to sleep at night was not a problem either.

stock photo from the internet

What do you remember from your winter memory stores?