RUNNEMEDE REMEMBERED

Growing up in a small town in Southern New Jersey


Monday, December 21, 2009

I remember a big snow on a weekend

It was probably in '59 or 1960. The snow started on Saturday morning. It was the weekend of the Army/Navy game, and it was the weekend of Youtharama for December. I loved seeing it snow, but I didn't know that it was going to ruin my weekend.

It snowed at the rate of about two inches per hour, so that by 3 p.m. there was a foot of snow on the ground and I got a phone call from Uncle Bill that we weren't going to go to Youtharama. I think I must have mouthed off to him and asked in a smart-mouth way why he couldn't drive in a foot of snow. Since I had never driven I didn't realize what it was like to drive with even two inches of snow on the road. But Uncle Bill just said we weren't going and that was it.

I thought about taking a bus into Philly so I could go to Youtharama, but my mom and dad wouldn't let me. So, I sat home on Saturday night and sulked.

The next morning, it was still snowing, and poor daddy had to shovel the walkway from the house to the church and then the church walkways. But while dad was at church and his family was at church, nobody else came, at least not for Sunday school. By church time a few people had braved the weather and walked to church, so we did have a church service that Sunday.

Nowdays, church would just be cancelled, but back then people could and did walk to church. People still live as close or as far from the church as they did back then, but they all drive to church. No one walks to church any more. Let's face it, folks just don't walk any more. I include myself in that. But then, I really can't walk any more. And boy I wish I could.

So after Sunday a.m. service, dad announced (because it was still snowing) that there would be no church in the evening. The deacons had a quick meeting and helped dad decide that.

I think we didn't have school the next day. Runnemede schools were open, but the high school was closed because buses couldn't get through. In Runnemede kids walked, at the high school, only Runnemede and Glendora kids walked. The others rode in buses.

So that's my snow story about Runnemede, brought on by the big snow they had this past weekend.

I wish we had a little more snow where I live now. But I guess I should be thankful for the little bit we got.

ttfn

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