If you are old enough to remember the biggest blizzard of our time back in 1978, you were most likely a child or young adult. The snow was the deepest it had ever been in our lifetime in Ohio and the wind gusts were so strong that cars and homes were snowed in and buried. Traffic came to a stop as did transportation to get supplies. People were in a serious dilemma not being able to get to the grocery store for the basic of needs. It got to the point the National Guard was called in and even the Red Cross to bring in supplies.
As a child, the only memory you probably had was all the fun times with your friends in the snow! Building snowmen, forts, and trails was your activity unless you spent long enough out in the bitter cold that your parent made you stay inside and read or watch television. Hopefully you were one of the fortunate ones who didn’t lose electricity as many did.
You see, kids were kept home for a week or more to prevent them from being trapped at school with no way to get to them. Safety was the priority. The youth of that time saw it as the best snow days they could have! You didn’t mind bundling up in your layers of clothes under your snow pants and coat. Maybe you even remember your parent putting empty Wonder Bread bags over your socks before you on put your snow boots to prevent the moisture from soaking in. It really worked!
So, while the adults remember the heavy shoveling and scraping of ice and snow, and the long, treacherous walk to the stores to get food and supplies, the children remember all the great fluffy fun they had being a kid, and playing with neighborhood friends that created a lifetime of joyful memories.
For now, while we have a pile of snow that has fallen upon us, let’s take advantage of the youth that exists inside us! Go out and have fun with your kids and grandkids. Play like no one is watching! Make snow angels, snowmen, and teach the youth today what it was like when you were 40 years younger during the great blizzard of ’78.
