This and That

Make the most of winter

By Helen Kaverman, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Monday, February 5, 2007 (1 year, 3 months ago)
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Many residents in Northwest Ohio had been wondering if the winter of 2006-07 would ever arrive. We got our answer, didn’t we? For the kids and teachers, wasn’t it great to look up a that TV screen and see all the school delays? It was even better to see your school on the canceled list.

One of the best things about retirement is if there is ice and snow out there, we just have to wait until someone plows us out. In my case, family comes to the rescue. Just as long as the electrical power stays on. The big blizzard was 29 years ago. Public television, WBGU, ran a special on the “Blizzard of 1978” this past weekend. We don’t need that much snow ever again. This week, as we’re wrapped in winter, many of us find it safer just to stay in the house, where it is nice and cozy.

We can always resort to watching TV but maybe you can find something more interesting to do. It’s a good time to get busy on one of your hobbies. If you don’t have one, find one. One option is to read a good book. The Delphos Public Library has much to offer and even has a reading room with soft, comfy chairs and a good atmosphere.

You can also try bird watching. We saw a flock of robins in my yard trees this week. Either they are confused, or some of them find a place to winter over.

One of my friends has already started on the quilt she’s making for St. John’s Fall Festival. Another of my friends, who loves to crochet, is already working on next year’s Christmas gifts. Several people I know, men and women, donate a lot of their time doing many things at the Delphos Canal Commission Museum. If you have spare time, they would be glad to have more volunteers.

As for me, it’s a good time to get some scrapbooking done. I’ve got my pictures pretty well organized into categories. Dig out those old boxes of pictures and put them in albums or at least write the names on the back. You know how we are when we find an old photo with no name and say, “I wish grandma had written the names on the back of these!”

It’s a good time to do some research on your genealogy or write your family history. All the famous people seem to be writing their autobiography. I’ve at least written the biography of my late husband and the kids and grandchildren sure did enjoy it. It was also fun to recall the old days and the stories I knew of his younger days.

While the kids are home, if we get any more snow days, get out the board games if you can keep them off the computer long enough.

Of course, don’t forget exercise. It’s too cold now to go out walking, which is my favorite form of exercise. So I have to ride my Power Rider or use some of those exercise videos. I’ve never tried cross-country skiing but I remember how Sally Klausing used to love it. I envied her but never took it up.

My favorite winter of all times was in 1945 or 1946. I was 14 or 15 at the time and my brother, Nub, was 11 or 12. We had so much blowing snow that we didn’t have school at Fort Jennings for the whole month of January. And we didn’t have to make it up. Down in Columbus, they didn’t know what was going on up here in the north.

The township had only one snow plow and they couldn’t keep all those river roads clear for the school buses. My dad made a snow plow for the farm tractor so he could keep us plowed out.

While my Delphos friends had to go to school, we could enjoy a winter vacation. It was absolutely wonderful. Nub and I would walk across the fields, over the creek and through Klima’s woods to the Rode kids’ home. We lived along Jennings Creek and had hills to slide on, also. So did they. Every other day we would play on their hills with our sleds and when we had to go in the house to dry off, we would play “Rise Table Rise.” You had to have a wooden card table and we would really make that thing go up and down as we would ask it all those silly questions and it would give us an answer. I don’t think that game was favored by the Catholic Church but we sure did have fun.

The next day, Alice, Lenore and Arnie would come to our house and slide down our hills. Then we would come in and play Monopoly. Our mother would allow us to keep our game table set up for the whole month so it could keep going for days.

One winter day, the Geise kids joined us and we walked from the frozen Jennings Creek all the way to the railroad bridge. What an adventure! Our younger siblings must have been too young to trek off through the woods but we sure had fun.

What a wonderful winter!

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