March 28, 2024

The Best Snow Day

The View from My Hill

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It was a Saturday morning in early January a year or so ago, and we were waiting, many of us eagerly, for a snow storm the weather forecasters were promising would materialize.

Early in the week, it was said to be nothing more than an inch or two. But as the day approached, the snow total predictions steadily climbed. By Thursday night it seemed like a real possibility that we would be getting a plowable snow.

And that’s when I started to get really excited. Yes, I am one of those odd non-skiing New Englanders that actually loves snow. The winter of 2014 – 2015, when we picked up over 76 inches of snow, was the best winter for me weather wise since the Blizzard of 78!

I know a lot of people think I am totally out of my mind. And why that may be an accurate assessment some days, I don’t understand what’s not to love about having the chance to stay home all day in my pajamas, with a warming fire in the woodstove, and a couple of new books by my side.

Not only do I love the opportunity to stay home when it snows, but I also enjoy the peacefulness a good snowstorm can deliver. Snow days are quieter in my neighborhood. There are only a few cars on the road. When the snow is predicted to be deep enough and the gusts strong enough, even stores will sometimes close. In this quiet, peaceful setting if you listen carefully you can hear almost hear the snow falling, interrupted only by the rumble of the occasional plow going by.
So it was on this particular day that my thoughts drifted back to my childhood and the most memorable snow day ever.

Actually, this is only snow day I remember from when I was a kid back in the early 60’s, although I am quite sure there were plenty more. I do remember listening to Salty Brine on the radio hoping he would make the pronouncement that there would be no school, and I am sure he called my town more than once. But I don’t remember actually staying home from school – except for one year.

This snow day was Thursday, January 19, 1961 and my family had just begun a cross country road trip in our Country Squire station wagon. We headed out from my grandmother’s home in Pawtucket, the station wagon crammed to the brim. My father was a chef at a local country club and back in those days he had a number of weeks off in the winter. Since two of my older siblings lived in California (there was a large spread in ages in my family), he decided that we would take a drive out there to visit. Never mind that my brother and I would miss quite a bit of school. Apparently, it just wasn’t a consideration in those days.

I don’t know if my Dad thought he could outrun the snowstorm that was forecast, or if he simply didn’t pay attention to the forecast. But a snow bank in Wethersfield, Connecticut put an end to our trip, temporarily, on the day it began. Thankfully, sliding into the snow bank convinced my Dad that this storm was more than he expected and it would be safer to get a motel for the night and start out fresh the next day.

Dad was able to get us to a Howard Johnson’s motel where we spent the night safe and sound. The snow was still coming down when my Dad looked outside the next morning, so he declared this our snow day. We would have to spend another night here. It would be a day to watch television and just relax. Luckily for us, the restaurant across the street from the motel remained open and we were able to get some warm food and bring it back to our room.

What made this snow day so special was what we watched on television – the inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States. As a nine-year-old, this was my first exposure to the pomp and circumstance of an inauguration and I was in awe. As a fourth grader, I did have enough knowledge of our government to understand who this man was and what this pageantry was all about. And of course, I knew that he was a Catholic from Massachusetts. The nuns at my elementary school certainly made sure of that. But to be able to watch it on television, well I just thought it was the neatest thing ever.

That storm ended up dropping over 26 inches of snow. No doubt schools were closed all over New England. But I don’t remember that. I only remember watching this bit of history unfold live on television with my family in a motel room in Connecticut.

And it will always be the best snow day ever.

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