Winter Blog

MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD WINTERS

Christmas was always special. Aunt Ruth would come to visit us in her one-horse open sleigh to take us kids for a ride. The harness was laden with bells and when the horse trotted the bells jingled. I don’t remember if we sang the song, Jingle Bells, but the words to the music were real.
Aunt Ruth brought heavy blankets to place over our laps and legs to keep us warm as we glided along. We always had snow in the winter and many were snowed in. Horse drawn sleighs were used to take people to the store and for hauling wood. The day before Christmas we went into the woods to cut our Christmas tree. We all tagged along, and when the tree was selected, Dad cut it down. A rope was placed on the base of the tree and we all helped to drag the tree home sliding over the snow. Once we got home, mother had hot chocolate ready for us. That same night, Christmas Eve, we decorated the tree. Most of the decorations were hand made and it was exciting to place our creations on the tree. When the tree was decorated, we stood around the tree admiring it and singing Carols.

The hill behind our barn was a great place for sledding. When it rained on the snow it left a hard crust. Getting to the top of the hill was tiresome but the trip down the hill, sliding on top of the crust, was a fast ride. Sometimes the crust broke, the sled would stop and we went sliding down the hill on top of the crust squealing with delight. We usually went home when our fingers were numb and began to hurt. One thing we learned to avoid was touching the steel tip of the sled with our lips or tongues. The skin would stick to the steel surface and if one pulled away too quickly, the skin would be pulled off. Very painful indeed.

Trapping was another winter adventure. My brother and I set traps to catch muskrats since there was a $2.00 bounty on the skin. That was a lot of money in the days when a candy bar or a bottle of coke was five cents.
We would go out early in the morning with a flashlight to see if there was anything in the trap. Sometimes a skunk was caught and we could smell that before reaching the trap. We were told to pick up the skunk by the tail and that prevented them from spraying their pungent juices. Seems we never got the knack of that and went home smelling something awful. My mother would make us strip outside and put the clothes in a tub of water and wash them with lye soap. Often the trap was sprung and the only thing in the trap was a leg, the animal having chewed off his leg to escape.

School was almost two miles from our home and we walked. Newspapers were placed in our shoes to help keep our feet warm and from getting wet. Of course we carried our lunch. Most of the time it was a baloney sandwich but I do recall times when we carried mustard sandwiches. Once we got to school, we placed our shoes and wet clothes by the large furnace that stood at the front of the schoolroom.

The unpleasant memories of winter are those in later years, driving in snow around big city areas with all the slush, dirty spray from passing vehicles and icy roads. I prefer to think of winter in the country. Even the times we were snowed-in there was excitement associated with digging out and then warming up by a fire. Taking a walk while it is snowing is still exhilarating. After a snowfall everything looks so clean and undisturbed. Making the first tracks in the snow or following fresh tracks of wildlife is exciting.

Unfortunately, today’s winters are not so predictable. Weather patterns have changed dramatically. Erratic fluctuation in temperatures with sudden storms and then fast thaws creating havoc is more frequent.

When I want to enjoy winter I travel to the Alps where I can still count on snow remaining on the ground throughout the winter. Each season has its beauty and I enjoy the change. The worst season is winter without snow.

Nice memories, Abe.

Malcolm

I'm glad you like snow--so do I.

Very nice Abe. Being a city girl in a city with few hills, I missed the sleighs and sledding. I did walk to school but only one mile, and obviously in a city with no hills it wasn't up hill both ways. On good days I also walked home for lunch.

When I went to college in a small town, sleighs would come by and we would watch in awe.

Carol

Traps with chewed-off animal legs in them is a nice memory?

LC,

I'm glad I missed that experience as a city girl as well.

Carol

LC,

I grew up in the country and never saw that.

At least the animal was alive--just short a leg , but better than dead.

That's why I lilke my fake fur coats and vests.

Nice memory? That may not sound very nice, but it was a memory that was bonding between brothers. Learning comes in all forms and dramatic events are remembered.
I also have fond memories of being poor. Family bonding for survival is seldom experienced today. There is memory of the bad times, the struggles, but also the good that was part of it.

I hear what you are saying, Abe. My mom and her brothers had that kind of bond. Bring around them, especially as a group, always had a joyous feel to it. They were full of funny stories, and if you asked them about it, they would say that laughing is always better than crying, no matter what the circumstances.

Ann

The week before my father died he apologized over and over for not being a good provider. I had no idea what he was talking about. I told him he was the greatest father a girl ever had and meant every word.

I have been criticized here for not knowing what it was like to be poor, for being some sort of ignorant rich girl not knowing struggle.

We lived with my grandparents and they provided a roof over our heads and never let us go hungry, but my father lost his job frequently, and my dream of living in a little apartment with just my mom, dad, and brother in the city never came true. In fact my family literally helped my father build the first house he ever called his own, and I mean hammering nails, taping dry wall, and painting walls. And I mean all of us.

Man does not live by bread alone, although bread keeps one alive. But that love I knew disguised the poverty I lived in.

Last week my three shoestring cousins, (for those who have read Flow On Sweet Missouri they are Minnie's sisters descendants) sent me a box from the Fanny May Candy Co. I am enjoying and sharing. I called each one and we talked about the days when our extended family was together in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer, the holidays spent together, the depression when my grandfather provided them with food, even the brace my grandfather and the family doctor invented in our basement for my cousin's hip condition.

I'm not much into lots of food, and since we've been going through photos I laugh when I see myself in photos from ten years ago wearing the same clothes I wore this summer, and I am so very very very grateful for the places I've gone.

Being rich in dollars can be hollow. Being rich in love and care and sticking together in sickness and in health can be priceless.

Love, Carol

She was.

It was one of those discussions that started off with a difference of opinion -- and really should have been left at that. However, the more Carol defended herself, the harder the point was made to prove that she had lived a life of comfort (certainly since she married a pilot). I stayed out of it because it didn't involve me and I don't believe in taking sides -- something that never works. Also, I didn't think that it mattered whether Carol had experience hardship -- she had seen enough of it to know how desperate people can become. The important thing is that Carol is still here posting. Her critic is not.

Oh how heartless some folk are. Carol is a sweety and deserves respect.

Abe great thread, I love the snow it has such a magic all of it's own. It changes the drabest landscapes into glorious pictoral vistas of light.
Sadly these day's we hardly seem to get any snow (which makes it all the more special when it does snow.) due to global warming perhaps I'm not sure?!
I hope it snows soon though.

We had snow in Houston at Christmas once. A little of it actually stuck to the ground. The snow was accompanied by some very strong winds, so strong they blew down the fence between me and my next-door neighbors house.

We have lots of snow, lots and lots of snow.

Very pretty picture, Ann.

I was really poor. My dad just didn't want me to know I was.

The most beautiful is the closeness and love that can come from any sort of struggle. We all write about things like that.

A relative who I was VERY angry with, called all sad and upset thinking the world had done only him wrong. He got no sympathy from me, and called again today with a better attitude. I'm not always sweet.

I heard a great quote and will not repeat it exactly. "It isn't that you pick yourself up after hardships, it is how you stand when you do." I can stand. I can't go anywhere once I stand, but I can stand.

Anyway, onward. Thanks for being here.

Carol

12/13/2009

Anne...

I love your firepplace..Left you a message
about candles on the candle board..

Carol..

I think everyone's parents try to protect their
children from knowing the truth...I remember growing
up my step-father supported a family of 6 kids and 2
adults on $10,000- a year in 1960 . I do remember food
was cheaper than now. They always made sure we had
a great Christmas, you got what they gave you, you
always didn't get what you wanted but their love was
there. I think this is what makes you, me and everyone
else here great human beings who appreciate life and
family...

LOve Joe.

Joe,

You are right. When I began writing about family, I discovered so much I never knew when growing up. Secrets aren't always good things.

Carol