Living in the South we are not too prone to big snow storms but when I was in the sixth grade, 1960, we had more snow and missed so many days of school that we had to attend on Saturdays well into the spring just to make up those missed days. This was horrible for a boy who had rather been fishing on his Saturday mornings. It all began the first week in March with the local school officials sending us home early because of an impending snow. The weather didn't seem like snow but one old fellow said,"the whites a mixing with the blue and it is gonna snow." I didn't think he was right because it was 38 degrees outside and I decided to make the best of the time and go squirrel hunting even if it was only for a short period of time.

I hadn't no more gotten started when it began to rain a little and there was lightening and thunder. I hurried on back to the house to shelter barely escaping getting drenched and the temperatures had begun to drop. Soon the rain changed over to snow and it snowed the rest of the afternoon and the next day. We had at least eighteen inches on the ground and the temperatures were not warming so we knew it would be around for a while. This was on Wednesday and for the next three Wednesdays, it snowed. There were high drifts along the mountain roads some exceeding twenty-four feet.

With all this snow my parents had a hard time keeping us warm and fed. With all this new snow, the wood pile was hard to get to. We all had cabin fever by the time it let up and when we did return back to school, we had missed the entire month of March. Our snows seem to have been much lighter over the last twenty or thirty years and I am thankful. The winter and snows of 1960 have not been equaled and I hope they never are. I do enjoy a small snow. There is nothing like the tranquility of a newly fallen snow. the whole world seems bright, fresh and clean. We used to make snow cream but these days with so much pollution I would not recommend making any snow cream.

I spent one year in Alaska and we had about eight feet of snow. The snow there is a drier powdery snow but packs down. I suppose this is due to the extreme temperatures and low humidity. I will always treasure my Alaska experience and have the utmost respect for the native Alaskans who seem to have adapted very well. I was near Galena where the Native Alaskans had built their village right alongside the Yukon. Each spring when the snow would melt and the river thawed, the village would be flooded because the large chunks of ice would create a dam in the natural bend of the river forcing the water to back up and flood the village. Some years are worse than others and the year I was there it wasn't too bad;however, the previous year it was terrible. I remember calling the ACW site where I was going to be stationed from Laredo AFB, Texas when I learned of my new assignment. The individual to whom I spoke was the one whose job I would be taking upon my arrival and he told me the area in and around the village was flooded and the Native Alaskans were using the post as a shelter until the waters receded and they could go back home.

Soon the snows will come because it is winter.My hope is that those who live where snow is heavy and temperatures cold will be warm and please check on the old folks who live alone and have a place in your heart for those who may be homeless and do not enjoy the blessing and comforts of a nice warm fire and the coziness of a family.