Big snow

This winter is shaping up to be a record breaker.  I wonder how it will compare to the notorious "Winter of the Big Snow" that I heard so much about as I was growing up in Danvers.

 I often heard the adults speak of  it: The Winter of the Big Snow  -- as if there had been only one.  It was always mentioned when anyone asked about the barn foundation at the bottom of the ski hill.  The barn roof had collapsed during the Winter of the Big Snow.     I think that was 1948.

Here's a undated photo that is probably from that winter of the Big Snow:

Jean and I are sitting at the top of a huge snowbank by our grandparents' house.

It looks as though we've been sliding down the face of the bank  -- quite a long slide for little girls like us.    Whee!  The clothing we're wearing matches other photos from winter 1947/48.  Our ages were then about 2 1/2 and 4 1/2.

A Google search on the phrase "winter of the big snow" brings up tales of various big snow winters:

• 1922 Wisconsin newspaper article about winter 1880-81 
• Winter of 1896-97,  Griggs County, New York
• April 1948 NY Times article verifies Big Snow of Dec 1947

Mtn of memories

My column for February was published in today's Danvers Herald and also posted online: Remembering Danvers: A mountain of ski memories.

I am enjoying a beautiful sunny day here in western MA, with snow piles melting and shrinking.  Memories of earlier winter experiences linger, especially the fun of skiing with my sister.

Snowing!

Jean and Sandy at Sipapu Ski Resort, Dec 30, 2010

Today it's snowing again -- lots of fresh powder, reminding me of skiing with Jean in NM. We skied during a snowstorm there.  Today we're both snowed in, she in NM while I'm home in western MA.    I've submitted my February column, "A Mountain of Ski Memories,"  to the Danvers Herald.

Here is a much earlier photo of Jean standing on Mommy's skis on our front yard in Danvers:

I can't tell if these are the same old skis described in my recent post.
Mommy had probably acquired new skis by this time; almost fifteen years had passed since her college days.