Wind, Wool, and Strawberry Milk

 We are well on our way into a blast of real cold weather - the bone-chilling kind that is dangerous. My thermometer was only 13 degrees this morning - as I write this, I'm already seeing 7 F, and it's going down. There is still a bit of wind, straight out of the north, but only 3 or 4 mph. Earlier today it was at least hitting the 15-20 mph mark which put the wind chill below zero. And that was with the sun shining brightly most of the day. We can expect more of the same for most of the week, I guess. 

I was outside only once today, just long enough to get the mail. Some days I wish Tim would just hold onto it until the weather is warmer. I could leave it in the mailbox, but if I do, the next day he would probably come up to see if I'm ok. That's the great part of having mail delivered here in rural Vermont. Tim has been on the route for a long time, and I really appreciate him. Mail carriers slog through all kinds of weather and road conditions to get our mail to us, and some like Tim, are kind enough to look out for us older folks.

Years ago, our long-time mail person was Raymond Peck. He normally drove a car on his route, but in the winter, I remember him coming with a horse and sleigh. He had mail in large bags next to him, and he had a heavy robe over his lap. I remember he was bundled up in a sheepskin lined coat, very common in those days, and a hat that had a visor and ear flaps that appeared to be lined with sheepskin. No matter what the weather, he was always smoking a cigar. I don't know how he kept it going  in the wind and snow - or maybe it was unlit - I have no way of knowing. The roads were often only passable with a horse and sleigh, and even then sometimes it was so badly drifted and the wind was blowing on the Plain so hard that being out in that kind of cold was foolhardy, and the mail didn't get delivered for a few days. I remember being told to go home from school early a few times where there were bad winter storms, but I don't recall school often being closed due to the weather. And most of the students showed up, bundled up, but still pretty cold, some walking a mile or more through the snow to get there. We dressed for the weather - woolen pants, jackets, mittens, caps and scarves. It was thick, felted wool, and we had layers of lighter woolen garments underneath. And always several pairs of knitted mittens - all worn at once so we looked like we had boxing gloves on. But our hands were usually warm. I remember being bundled up with a scarf that covered everything except a narrow space for my eyes to see through. My breath made icicles on the outside. Everyone wore woolen clothing or sheepskin in those days - with lots of layers that had to be peeled off once we were at school and spread out near the single, large hot-air duct that heated the school room. The smell of wet wool is something one doesn't easily forget - it lingers in one's nostrils and memory.

I recently found these old photos taken in May, 1935. Apparently we had a bad snowstorm on May 1st that year. It probably wasn't terribly cold, but there was a lot of wind and snow. The photo on the left is the snowplow in the yard at the farm that day and below, left, my uncle Bill was a student at Cabot High School and rode a horse to school. He was wearing a sheepskin coat as protection from the cold wind. And above right, me in my layers of wool, about 3 1/2 years old. I suspect that was really a pretty mild spring day when my picture was taken - all I know about these photos is that they were taken by the teacher at the Plains School at that time, Regis Woodcock. Her niece was kind enough to send them to me a few years ago, along with several others taken about the same time. Miss Woodcock boarded at the farm, and my parents were also living there then. I think we moved to the house just below the farm that summer. My father and mother restored it as time and money allowed, getting it fit to live in after it had been unoccupied for several years.

I just noticed that in the top photo, it looks like there is part of the barn on the far right that is falling down, but actually it was a high-drive that went to the 2nd floor haymow, so it was built at an angle. It was blown off its foundation in the hurricane of 1938, but I think they repaired it. The barn on the left was our horse barn, and there were chickens and pigs under the high-drive, and stairs leading up to the stable. Later, the horse barn was abandoned and horses were kept in an addition build onto the main barn. The big barn burned in 1969, but because the house was across the road, it was unharmed, and is still standing today. 

Before I close tonight, I wonder if anyone remembers a milk truck that used to park in West Danville and sell strawberry-flavored milk? Andy Rudin mentioned he looked forward to that treat summertime when he was a kid growing up at Joe's Pond. I had never heard of it, but I'm betting someone will remember - and if you do, send me your recollections - janebrowncabot@gmail.com, or comment on this page.

That's it for now. Wrap up in wool if you must be outside - it's good stuff, even if it does smell bad when wet - and worse if it gets singed while drying near a hot wood stove! Be safe, stay warm, and enjoy our winter!