A One-horse, Open Sleigh

The picture of my daffodils blooming in early March set against the background of a poinsettia my friend, Patricia, gave me at the end of November points up the paradoxical winter we have seen here in Elko. In addition to that comparison I cannot forgo highlighting an item in last Saturday’s “Rewrite” column.  

There was no mention of jingle bells in the article about the gentleman who gave elementary children a ride home from school when the snow was so deep during early March 1890. Unless such experiences were usual, I would imagine a sleigh ride like that was an event remembered by those children forever and included in the familial memories handed down through at least one or two generations.

The lack of snow that Northeastern Nevada has seen this year almost makes it seem impossible that snow could have been so deep that children would have a problem braving the depths and drifts. But we all know from our past experiences with snow in Elko and the surrounding areas that there were times we wished we could hail a passing sleigh and hitch a ride to our destination.

I can remember my mother talking about riding her horse to school when the drifts reached the tops of the fence posts (obviously a country schoolhouse). I don’t remember ever asking my grandparents for verification on all that. I would guess the lane she had to travel would have already been dragged open by a horse-drawn grader, but I don’t know that to be true.

My school day snow tales consist of staying home from school because the school bus couldn’t get through the snowdrifts. As soon as the county grader would come through, the road would begin drifting shut again. Part of those years, my mother worked as the school secretary so she too was unable to get to work and she would decree such days “doughnut days.” She was a good bread maker and that extended to doughnuts too. The finished product was delicious especially when accompanied by home-made hot chocolate.

If the wind finally stopped, my dad would get out the sled and make a path for us down the lane to the county road and we would go sledding. As I recall, he seemed to enjoy the fun as much as my brother and I did.

Great memories—and I would love to hear my FB friends favorite “snow memories” if they are not too difficult to dredge up while enjoying warm Spring weather.