a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.
I was in the 8th grade in 1978. The year of the blizzard. The blizzard to which all other Indiana winter storms are compared and probably will be for the next generation to come.
I don't remember much about the storm. After all, I was a "junior high" student then, and I am sure I had more important things to remember than storms. Like bad haircuts! I don't remember being out of school, the minus 50 degrees wind chill, or the whole state being shut down.
Instead, I remember the images. I remember the snow drifts taller than me, and the snow piled high on the street. We lived on a busy street in town--a snow emergency route--so our street was one of the first to be cleared. I remember my parents not going to work, which was not something they did often.
This weekend, 48 years to the day, we had another storm. The snowfall was close to the 1978 storm in my area with about 14 inches. It wasn't as catastrophic as '78, but it was still significant. But that amount was the most we have had since then. For some, it would be considered historic.
As I see pictures of younger children in this year's storm, I have to wonder how social media will affect their memories and if they will be talking about it like we did in 1978. Will they be mesmerized by the amount of snow and how the town was shut down? Will they remember the empty shelves in the store? Will they remember having eLearning days instead of snow days? Will they even know what a true snow day was?
Sadly, I don't think it will be quite the same.
This was our second 12+ inch storm this year and the playground is magical! There are mountains of plowed up snow and the kids are all over them, having the time of their lives! (This is despite the fact that the feels like temp is in the single digits!) I am SO thankful that we have "true" snow days still in my district. I might not feel that way come June, but for now, it's working for me!
ReplyDeleteThis was our first significant snow storm in several years. As we sat at the dining room table with a cup of coffee we watched the snow fall heavily and we watched two stout hearted kids sledding . I couldn’t help but think that at their age I would probably have been outside as well. Now, I will sit and watch out the window. Arjeha
ReplyDeleteThis storm provided us with many inches of snow, but not like the Blizzard of '78! We have 14 inches on the ground right now at home, and it's icy underneath all the snow, but this year's storm is more about the sub-zero extreme temperatures. Back in 1978, I think we had up to 30+ inches of snow. No cars could get anywhere. My dad and the neighbor got snowsuits and high boots on and walked to the corner gas station for milk, eggs, and bread. It took them all day to get there and back. We were worried they would get buried. But when they returned, my sister and I went out to play in the snow. It wasn't THAT cold (20 minutes tops was what my mom allowed) and we sat on top of the swingset (!) and threw snowballs. My dog got to live in the garage for a while. Now THAT was a winter!
ReplyDeleteI remember my dad writing me about that storm. I was in Hong Kong, but he said they didn't see the ground for six weeks, highly unusual for OK.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, for my three grandsons, we (NC) just got a 2-3 inch layer of ice. My son-in-law and grandson broke it up this afternoon. We have ice bricks that you could use to build something. We may get some snow next weekend. Fingers crossed! My grands had remote learning yesterday and today. Monday was already a teacher prep day. My daughter's afraid they won't go back to school until February!
I couldn't agree more. In our day, the snow day was an answer to prayer and so anticipated by those of us who knew how to play outdoors. Kids these days don't know that - they know screens, not how to take a trash can lid and slide down a hill. We were in that last blessed generation before the Atari came out. Funny how photographs shape the memories of what all we remember and how well we remember it. (Especially those haircuts we'd rather forget).
ReplyDeleteI think we are the only part of the country that didn't get snow.... In fact, we haven't had a single flake here on the valley floor this winter. Enjoy and stay safe.
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