Tag: winter

Boomers Knew Their Snow Business

Recent snowfalls in Mister Boomer’s current neighborhood triggered his Wayback Machine to the winters of his boomer youth. Several snowfalls over the course of a week have produced different types of snow as conditions and temperatures changed. Mister B recalled that, as boomers, we were snow connoisseurs. It’s well documented that our generation spent a lot of time outdoors, regardless of weather. This included the winter; dress in layers and head out into the elements for hours at a time. After a step off the front porch, boomers could tell what type of snow was falling. This was important because it could dictate the type of play that was about to transpire. Mister B recalls three basic types of snow, though combinations of the three were possible:

1. Wet snow: The heaviest of the snowfalls due to the water content; when temperatures and moisture in the air were just right, wet snow blanketed the neighborhood. The snowflakes could be large and snow depths often amounted to four or more inches. For a good number of boomers, especially the boys, this was the favored type because it packed well. Play in wet snow could then be centered around building snowmen and snow forts, that would be put to good use in snowball fights. Warm gloves were essential, and, if not made of water resistant material, double gloves became a necessity. Occasional trips back inside for a quick warm-up and change of socks and gloves might be in order. Sledding, though possible, was not ideal in this type of snow as the sled’s runners could bog down, especially if the snow fell quickly and resulted in deeper snow depths. It was, however, the best snow for making some money, as homeowners could have struggles with the weight of shoveling.

2. Icy snow: When snow and ice crystals mixed, with the proportions leaning toward the icy, the snow that stuck on the ground was slick and solid. This surface made for good sledding, as boomers’ sleds and saucers could glide down a hill with less friction. These icy properties made it a terrible choice for snowball fights, though some masochists among us (you know who you are) took great delight in blasting the sides of faces with hard-packed ice balls. These boomers could be seen coaxing a snowball over time, like a sculptor shaping clay, far beyond the scoop-pack-throw immediacy of the typical snowball fight. In their private game, extra points were earned if the targeted kid’s face produced a red spot, or chunks of icy crystals remained behind a pair of glasses. Boomers in Mister B’s neighborhood avoided asking for snow removal jobs in this type of snow, because it often involved lots of ice chopping to reveal the sidewalk below.

3. Powdery snow: When humidity levels are low and the air is dry but cold, a powdery snow falls. This type of snow was impossible to pack, like grabbing a handful of granulated sugar. Ergo, it was a terrible choice for making snowmen or snowballs. Nonetheless, intrepid snow bullies would attempt to get a handful down a boomer’s back, delivering their payload by pulling open the space between the scarf and the coat. The powdery surface made it decent for sledding, but the ideal play mode for powdery snow was for making snow angels. It was terrible for trying to earn money while shoveling, because it was light enough to be removed by homeowners with a broom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlWWsAi4eao.0

At any given time, a combination of the three might occur, but boomers knew their snow and what they could do with it. Do you recall shifting your play priorities based on the type of snow that fell, boomers?

Boomers Had Double Runner Ice Skates

If you were a boomer raised in northern climates, chances are good that at some point you learned how to ice skate. It was an era when ice skating was a popular outdoor winter activity. People skated wherever there was frozen water: rivers, lakes, ponds, and homemade backyard rinks. Mister B has recalled, in earlier posts, skating on ice that formed in natural depressions in the landscape of a nearby neighborhood park. Yet before boys could graduate to the black and brown hockey skates, and girls got their first pair of white figure skates, the kids had to learn how to skate.

Unlike roller skates, which provided some sense of balance with four wheels under each shoe, ice skates had a single blade. Young boomers would have to learn balance and build ankle strength to become proficient. The learning tool to assist that process turned out to be centuries old; skates that use multiple blades, much in the same manner that training wheels are attached to a child’s first bicycle.

Ice skating appears to have come about as a transportation necessity in Scandinavia more than 4,000 years ago. Earliest known skates that have been discovered were made of animal leg bones, with holes drilled in them so that leather straps could be secured over the foot. However, the resulting contraptions did not glide over ice the way we might expect and were more akin to cross-country skis, requiring poles to move distances. Over time, bone was replaced by metal, and, in the 14th century, the Dutch began sharpening the metal blades in order to cut into the ice, and thereby allow the skater to glide. The recognizable push and glide motion they adopted was termed the “Dutch Roll,” a term still in use today. While it may not be known when the first multiple-blade skates were created for tiny feet, these types of children’s learning skates have been around for centuries.

Mister Boomer recalls he and his siblings had the double-bladed skates when they were first introduced to ice skating. Mister B also remembers that his sister, the youngest in the family, had a pair of the four-blade metal skates. Much like roller skates, these contained small blades at the front and back of each skate, which were strapped over existing shoes or boots. This provided a certain level of stability on the slippery surface.

At some point near the end of the 1950s, Mister B remembers it seemed difficult to move very quickly while using the double-bladed skates. Each boot had a three-sided metal runner attached to the bottom. The flat edge of the metal runs were designed to assist in balance and stability, and not for speed. Also, slushy ice could build up inside the runner, which was necessary to remove before taking the skates off for the walk home, with skates laced together and slung over a shoulder. In Mister Boomer’s neighborhood, ice skates fell into the “must” category of Christmas gifts, along with socks, long johns and snow sleds; at some point, every boomer was going to be given a pair of skates. And so it was with Mister Boomer. One year, Santa replaced his double-bladed skates with the “grown-up” hockey-style skate. However, Mister Boomer had weak ankles and did not become an adequate ice skater until he began indoor roller skating in his pre-teens.

Gender-specific skates were an interesting side note to our ice skating history. The boomer years may have contributed to the more traditional slant of: boys = hockey skates, girls = figure skates. For the boys, future Hall of Fame hockey players like Bobby Orr, Stan Mikita and Gordie Howe became early idols to emulate. For the girls, an up-and-comer in the world of figure skating was fellow boomer, Peggy Fleming. She captivated young boomers, and their parents, with her grace and ease.

Peggy’s family supported her ice skating dream and moved the family, more than once, to assist in her training and development. Her mother designed and sewed all her skating outfits. Then, in 1961, a plane crash on its way to the World Championship in Brussels, killed 34 members of the U.S. skating team. Among those who died in the crash was Bill Kipp, Peggy’s skating coach. The U.S. team had to be rebuilt, and boomers and their parents watched as Peggy Fleming moved up the ranks and won her first U.S. championship in 1965, as broadcast on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Peggy was just 16 years old, and a relatable idol to boomers, especially boomer girls. A year later, she won the first of her three world titles. In 1968, she was on the U.S. Olympic team that competed in Grenoble, France. It was the first Olympics to be broadcast in color, and Peggy Fleming took home the gold medal, the only gold that the U.S. won that year.

It’s hard to say how much influence these stars on ice had on boomers’ interest in ice skating, but in Mister Boomer’s estimation, they likely hastened young boomers along in replacing their double-bladed skates as soon as possible.

How about you, boomers? Did you have four-bladed skates strapped to your boots, or did you own a pair of double-bladed skates?