The Impact of Snow is not what is Used to be!

The Impact of Snow is not what is Used to be! As snow removal equipment has improved the impact of snow on our lives has reduced significantly from previous eras.

The wintry blasts and frigid temperatures which have hit this region have dramatically changed the routine in our house.

On a normal morning, we arise and see the kids off to school on the bus, and then we enjoy a couple of cups of coffee before heading to town.

Lately, our mornings have been different from usual!

Now, the first person up in the morning turns on the radio to hear news about the weather, road conditions and road closures. The kids listen eagerly for bus cancellations and school closings. Next, I check the lane to make sure that I can get the car out without waiting for Mr. Cranny to come and plow. After a quick breakfast, I bundle up and go out to clean the snow off the car and get it started.

Because this is a history column, you are probably expecting to now read about the winter conditions that the pioneers in this area faced. Sorry, maybe in another column. Instead, I discovered how winter weather was treated in the very recent era of 1940!

In 1940, my parents were teenagers and my father takes delight in telling stories about the jalopies that he drove. However, in severe winters, his cars and those of others were not of much use. Instead, many area residents who lived in rural areas around Owen Sound were forced to rely on horse-drawn sleds for transportation.

Why were cars not of much use in the winter of 1940? After all, cars were an important part of society by that date. According to county records, the county council approved a directive to the road department to "Keep your roads open for motor traffic as long as is reasonably possible in the fall, and open them for motor traffic as early as possible in the spring..." The document went on to say that the roads must be "kept reasonably open and safe for horse-drawn traffic, and, after heavy storms, they must be broken sufficiently to allow horse-drawn traffic to operate".

Today. we both bless, and curse, the plows that clear the roads. We are thankful for their making the roads passable, but we curse the piles of snow that they deposit in laneways, blocking our exit to the freshly plowed roads. Things were distinctly different in 1940!

Instead of huge motor driven plows, the roads were cleared by horse-drawn graders equipped on "some sort of runners". It was not imperative that heavy drifts be cleared. Instead, the mountains of snow were leveled as best as possible using a disc or horse drawn roller. Any snow that was cleared had to be moved to the low side of the road.

Today, trucks travel the roads of the area spreading sand to make icy sections passable. Almost six decades ago, sand was deposited along the side of the road in the summer and fall for use in the winter. Usually these sand deposits were limited to areas of the road were there were hills and sharp curves. Although some of the sanding was done by highway employees, every effort was made to enlist the aid of area residents to go to the front of their property and spread sand when it was necessary.

If this was the state of winter roads in the area, how did the school buses make it through? They didn't. That was the era of country school houses, and most youngsters walked or came to school by sled. My father, who grew up in Sarawak, claimed he walked to the OSCVI in knee deep snow and sub-zero temperatures.

After reading about winter travel conditions and the dependency on horse drawn sleds in such a recent time as 1940, it makes one a little bit more appreciative of the services which we enjoy today!

A version of this story first appeared in my Local History column in the Owen Sound Sun Times on January 15, 1999.

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