Nancy Classics by Ernie Bushmiller for January 27, 2023

IN 1950, the memory of the blizzards of 1948-49 would have still been fresh in everybody’s memories. The blizzards began a little after Thanksgiving and continued through January and February. The Great Plains were the hardest hit. The average rural family in that time period had no such modern conveniences as central heating. Most farm homes were heated by a cook stove and a pot-bellied stove. Most Plains farm families used dry cow pies for fuel. Bathrooms were outside. Most farm homes had no electricity and very few people had telephones. Only people who liked to tinker around with stuff like crystal radios had access to such things as regular news and weather reports. Many farms still depended on horses as their primary transportation system. People who said they had Indoor Plumbing usually meant that they had a hand pump in the kitchen instead of out in the front yard. We pumped our water from a pump in the front yard and saved our water in a large milk can in the kitchen. So much livestock were stranded in snow banks and freezing to death that President Truman ordered the newly organized Air Force to assist with Operation Hay Lift – the planes dropped hay and other feed to stranded herds of cattle, sheep, goats, etc. The world was afraid the blizzards would cause an international meat shortage. Chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other farm animals were also perishing in record numbers. Snow drifts were so high that they covered entire trains and the crews and passengers had to dig their way out of the stranded cars. (Most people traveled by bus or train in those days.) I know – I was there – saw it all. Nancy came by her aversion to snow through personal experience. By the time the snow had stopped piling up – we were actually happy for the opportunity to get back to school.

When I was in school, I ALWAYS loved seeing snow outside because it might mean a day away from the classroom.

I remember as a 4th grader in 1968 waking up on one December Saturday morning, looking out my bedroom window, seeing snow BOMBING down more than I’d ever seen happen and knowing we’d at least Monday off. Ended up being the entire week which dovetailed into Christmas break. Beautiful!

Every time I think of that morning, I remember Harper’s Bizarre’s version of “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” playing on the radio. Think I’ll dig that tune up on YouTube now…haven’t heard it since then.

Among my favourite lines from Chattanooga Choo Choo is “Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer, than to have your ham and eggs in Carolina.” An earlier song claimed, “Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning.” Logically, having your ham and eggs in Carolina in the morning must be the finest thing ever.

Gee, when I was a kid, I liked playing out in the snow. And having a snow day gave me more time to do it!

Hating snow until you find out what it can do for you, huh, Nancy?

January 27. Zero measurable snowfall so far this season in South Jersey. None in the ten day forecast. This is not a complaint.

When the snows on the other foot….LOL

Snow days were great when we lived in the south because they called off school when just a few flakes flew. In the north they actually had snow removal equipment so it took a real blizzard for us to see school closings.

Awww, the old days of snow days. Today, no more snow days, classes go online on Zoom. Poor kids. : )

Careful Nancy, you don’t want to get frostbite of the lips.

She really should be aware of that consequence, old Miss Fickle.

I remember one year when I was in middle school, we ended up getting so many snow days that the school district had to extend the school day itself for a certain period of time so they wouldn’t have to take any days out of summer vacation and mess with the summer school schedule.

When I was a kid I loved snow no school