I can’t decide. Were adults negligent when we were kids and they made us stand in sub-zero weather to wait for the bus…in skirts, no less? Or are they teaching kids to give up when things get hard when they call school off for two days because of cold weather? Seriously, I don’t recall ever hearing of someone dying of hypothermia waiting for the school bus in 1969. Did I like it? Heck no! Did it kill me? Not by a long shot.
We weren’t allowed to wear pants to school back then and, by golly, my mom abided by the rules. I couldn’t wear pants under my skirt even if I swore on a stack of Bibles that I would take them off as soon as I got to school. Rules were rules and that was that. I only had to walk three blocks but sometimes the wait was 20 minutes or more if the roads were bad. It was pretty brutal, but I survived.
We didn’t have money for snow boots. I wore my penny loafers and knee socks. My feet were ice cubes by the time I got to school. The skin on my kneecaps was hard and white. There wasn’t such a thing as puffy ski coats, either. I had a hand-me-down wool coat and a toboggan. Still, I never had frostbite. I was rarely sick.
There was a government official that got some backlash yesterday for suggesting we are teaching kids that we quit when things get hard. More than likely, when these kids grow up, their boss will expect them to show up when it’s cold instead of staying home in their jammies and playing video games all day. I’m inclined to think we’ve become a little too soft in this day and age.
Granted…I stay in and knit and drink tea on blustery, cold days. But, I payed my dues. We did go out to the farm yesterday. We needed to check the well pump in the cellar house to make sure it wasn’t in danger of freezing. All the water lines were clear, the heat was on, the gas stove in the bathroom was working perfectly, the cabinet doors were open, and so was the basement door. That allows extra heat from the basement up into the kitchen, helping to keep that side of the house warm. The cellar temperature was actually well above freezing. It is built back into the hillside and is covered by earth on three sides. Just to make doubly sure though, we turned on the trouble light that hangs near the pipes to give a little extra warmth. It was 2 degrees when we got home.
Ha! I’ve turned into my mother…my grandmother…my great-grandmother. I can just hear my grandma saying, “Why, when I was your age, we had to get up and milk the cows and gather the eggs and feed the hogs before we could head off to school. We had to cut the wood for the cook stove, too! We didn’t have any modern conveniences, and we did just fine. This younger generation doesn’t know how good they have it!” I don’t know…I suppose a windchill factor of -15 is as good a reason as any to call off school. It’s wicked cold out there. Be safe if you have to be out…and kids, use this time to learn something. Look up “global warming”, “climate change”, “how to prevent frostbite” and write a little essay. ❤️
Edit: I’m going to step up here and say many of you have made very valid points. This is a very dangerous polar vortex and in thinking back, we certainly did not experience wind chills of -50+ when I was a kid. The weather has changed. The economy has changed. I hadn’t thought of all the factors you, as current and former teachers, have expressed. Polar vortex windchills and trophies for all aren’t the same things. Thank you for enlightening me. That’s why I love this blog. You cheer me on…and you teach me when a I need it.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Everyone under two miles walks here. At -24 windchill…they would have frost bite in a hurry. We never got days off either but I remember teeth chattering for a long time after getting to school or back home and trying to walk on the sides of the road was impossible after the snow plow came. We walked on the road and scrambled over the piles of snow (in a dress) when a car came.
Yes, I think our winters have changed since we were kids. And you are right, -27 windchill isn’t safe for kiddos. Or anyone else to be out with proper protection.
I remember walking home in snow deeper than the top of my boots. In my Catholic school uniform if plaid skirt and knee high socks I was freezing! Mothers were the stay at home varieties then and very few had cars. I remember this particular storm and arriving home with two rubber boots packed in snow. My mom was at the front door waiting, looking for all of us. We got inside and dumped all the snow from our boots inside the bathtub and perched our boots up against the heat registers to dry for the next day. My mom had a big pot of Campbells chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate waiting for us. That was our prize for persevering. I will never forget that feeling that we made it, we were safe, and a warm treat awaited us for our efforts.
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I feel for the bus drivers back then too! They had less heat than we do (that is when it is working) they also had longer routes and I remember some telling me they carried an ax just to break the snow off the bus steps so the door would close. Yes as a society we are getting soft and yes these will be very unhappy when the boss expects them to show up for work on the days when schools are closed. I am a bus driver and very thankful that I did not have to go today. I drove last night and the bus never warmed up thankfully I only had a short ride! Thank you for this blog I for one really enjoy it!
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I too, am from a time when no pants were allowed in school for girls. I walked a quarter mile to wait for the bus, no matter the weather.
I don’t remember the temps back then. I do remember our ponds freezing and Dad having to break the ice for the cows to drink. Lol, and going “ice skating” in my shoes since I had no skates. Of coarse I sneaked with my cousins to do so. I got to close to the edge where the thick ice had been broken and fell in up to my knees. I am amazed I didn’t get more than a stern lecture over that.
I know our KY Govenor got blasted for talking of “softness” and later tried to clarify. I think as a society we have gotten “softer”. I know I have. I am surely all for protecting and providing for our children. However, I’m afraid we’ve done the world no favors by preventing them from having to do anything they just don’t want to do. It seems we’ve encouraged a generation or two to believe the whole world revolves around them and that society “owes” them. All one needs to do to realize the results of this is watch the news.
Just my thoughts. I enjoyed reading your viewpoint. My thoughts and prayers are with all affected by the frigid weather, especially the homeless.
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You know where I grew up. Rose the bus from Dutchman to Harrisville when in high school. School’s were never closed. Didn’t matter what the roads were like. That bus was there every morning. We never had a wreck, never went in the ditch. Nothing. We went from Macfarlan down rt 47 to the bridge at Rt 53. We had one kid who lived right in the middle of the Butter hill. We stopped in the middle of that hill and picked her up and dropped her off. Then we went back to Smithville and on to Harrisville. I don’t remember a single day school was cancelled due to cold or too much snow. We also wore dresses.
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I wonder if this elected official went to a private prep school , and I also wonder if his children go to public schools . Having wondered that , this was an unusual historic weather event , and as a retired teacher in an impoverished county , I am thankful that the health of the children came first .
Me too, dear one. I’ve been schooled in the best sense of the term. ❤️
I’m sure lots of people remember the skirt days and being really cold and yes we survived with no lasting harm. I have to admit that I would be glad my grandchildren wouldn’t have been on buses on icy roads. Bus wrecks have resulted in the death of children lately. I’m also glad that school budgets won’t get hit with even larger heating bills during this vortex.
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