It’s a beautiful day with the sun shining (finally) as I sit down to write this column on Superbowl Sunday and Punxsutawney Phil has predicted that spring will come early this year. But, the weatherman is predicting another round of snow for this Tuesday and Wednesday — not much, just a couple of inches.
This means that there’s a good chance school will be called off…again.
I’m not one to begrudge kids a day off from their studies. In the winter of 1977 and 1978 when I was a junior and senior in high school we only attended class in January a couple of days each year.
The difference was we had a lot of snow.
It took more than a couple of inches to stop the school buses and close school when I was a teenager. County roads were closed in places with 3 to 6-foot snowdrifts. That was a good reason to close school.
County road crews would work long shifts clearing the roads after a snowstorm only to have more snowfall that night or high winds drift the snow over the roads before daybreak.
For those of you too young to remember you may think I am exaggerating. A quick Google search ranks 1977 and 1978 as the second and third snowiest years in St. Louis history, going all the way back to 1885.
My junior year in high school St. Louis received 49.2 inches of snow. The next year wasn’t far behind with an even 49 inches. The record was set in 1912 with 63.3 inches of snow.
For full disclosure, I didn’t ride a bus to school when I was in high school. Before I purchased a 1972 Nova and drove to class I would simply walk the six blocks to school.
I’m not looking for any sympathy. It was basically flat.
Those of you born before 1985, when front-wheel-drive cars became popular, may wonder how a rear-wheel-drive car managed to navigate on snow-covered roads. Two things, lots of weight in the trunk and studded snow tires.
Drivers who were required to travel, such as the postman, used chains. It is hard to get stuck in the snow when your car or truck is equipped properly.
We needed that help because it wasn’t until the mid-’80s that towns had the finances to blade and cinder, or salt the roads.
This was great for sled riding when I young. The traffic packed down the snow on the roads making it perfect for our sleds with metal runners.
On days off from school, we raced those sleds down steep hills in town. To keep warm we built fires in 50-gallon drums.
I’m glad it’s not my responsibility to decide when school is called off, or when to dismiss school early. That is a huge burden. It’s just that in my recollection school didn’t use to be called off for small amounts of snow.
Maybe you recall things differently.
Before I receive any angry calls from our brave bus drivers I have to say that I have never been a bus driver and have never played one on TV.
With no first-hand knowledge I have to rely on stories of years gone by from others. Below are four actual stories that were relayed to me this past week.
• When the going got tough our bus driver would call me to the front. Then he would stop. We exited the bus and I helped him put on the snow chains.
• One particular hill on our bus route was very difficult to drive up when it became snow-covered. At this point, our bus driver asked all the remaining kids to get off the bus. He would then get a good run at the hill. After he made it to the top everyone would walk up the hill and get back on the bus.
• The end of our bus route was when the going became particularly rough. Those of us remaining on the bus simply got off and walked the last mile through the snow to our homes.
• My father had a good tractor and a set of pulling chains. There was one particular spot on the road near his farm where the bus had a habit of sliding off. Anytime it snowed he knew he had to be prepared to tow the bus out of the ditch.
When driving on snow-covered and slick roads I have found that there are two types of drivers. Anyone driving faster than I am and passes me is an idiot. Anyone I come upon driving slower than me is a moron.
Till we meet again, keep your wheels between the ditches and remember spring, March 20, is just around the corner. Then again it was on March 24, 2013, that St. Louis had its second-largest snowfall in a single day, 12.4 inches.
