Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Snow, Snow, Snow, What Do You Do With It



Have the times changed?  Maybe or maybe not depending on what you are referencing.  This morning while talking to my parents on Eastern Long Island in New York I heard the latest winter weather update…snow yet again tomorrow.  Afterwards I came across a letter that my great-grandmother, Carrie (Terry) Warner had written on January 15, 1893 to her brother Forrest Terry [17 years old] and thought of all the wintery weather happening across the United States. 

  • Carrie was living in Baiting Hollow, Suffolk County, New York with her husband John B. Warner and 2 young sons.  Ella [20 years old] is her sister. Carrie’s parents and siblings lived in Peconic.  Today the temperature in Baiting Hollow will have a high of 36 degrees, a low of 23 degrees and is overcast.  While snow is not predicted for today it is predicted again for Thursday and Friday.

 

Here are two excerpts from Carrie’s letter in 1893:

“Snow, snow, snow, what do you do with it.  I guess Father [Gilbert Terry] has got the old sleigh down this winter has he not.  Ella I suppose is sleigh riding.  There is entertainment in the sleigh now instead of the buggy.  Cannot indulge very much however unless it stops snowing.  In that case, a little ride might be taken before it comes on again.  Perhaps it is too cold.  I have been out of the house but twice since I came from “P”[econic],once to church and the next day after my return, over to mother’s [mother-in-law Eleanor Warner] for a few minutes.  I would make a poor thermometer, staying by the stove all the time.”

  • My paternal great-grandparents, Carrie and John B. Warner had two sons at this time.  Terry was almost 5 years old and Wesley was about 2 1/2 years old.

“Terry has fine times with his sled.  His father [John] gets on the horse’s back and takes hold of a string fast to the sled and away they go.  Took Wesley out riding so one morning.  The children go out every day and have not taken cold yet.  Wesley can not stand it but a short time, this cold weather.”


The following is a paragraph from the Orient section in The Long Island Traveler, January 20, 1893 on page 3:

“Snow storms have been so many we have lost count.  Cloudy weather it snows, and when the sun shines it snows some more.  Then the clouds obscure old Sol and the flakes flutter softly down upon us some more.  Really, some of us  (younger children) never, never saw the like before or since.”


Despite the dreariness of this never ending winter season many kids and adults are still managing to have fun just like they did 128 years ago.  Others are just done with the cold and snow.  I hope you are all managing through this crazy weather we are having and staying safe.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

For additional posts about Carrie’s Letters click on the second tab at the top of the page entitled Carrie’s Letters.




4 comments:

  1. Everything old is new again. Nothing new under the sun, as the saying goes. We learn a lot about how similar current times are to times past, as we study our family stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank-you Diane, yes, looking back sometimes shows how similar life is to years ago depending on what we are observing.

      Delete
  2. This is very interesting. You surely have spent some time looking into your family history.
    Harrier

    ReplyDelete