No it did not snow at, “The Ford Homestead”, get real, we are in Texas.
I was watching a TV movie about Christmas and at the end of the movie, the girl gets the guy and they were outside when it started snowing. Even though the snow was fake, it was falling straight down with no apparent wind to swirl the snow, making it very romantic and for some reason, comforting. That image brought back a childhood memory.
Our family lived at 714 College Street in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. College Street ran east and west and there was another street “South Benton Street”, which dead ended into College in front of our house.
I can remember my mom would get upset that the head lights from cars would shine in the living room window at night when the cars came up S. Benton Street. There is now a four lane highway running east to west about 200 feet in front of the house, which leads to the suspension bridge over the Mississippi river. I guess things must change in 60 years.
The house was a white two story house with a front and back porch. There was a gravel alley way on the right of the house. Thanks to Google Maps street view, you can see the house in the photo below. The alley is still there, but the stairs on the side of the house were not there when we lived there. You may have noticed the light above the house, could it be, because I use to live there.
I have a couple memories from the time when we lived there. I remember my brother Jack and I use to listen to the radio shows like, “Yukon King”, which was a story about a Mountie and his dog King, which was before we had TV.
Before I am interrupted with a question, yes the radio was housed in a large wooden cabinet possibly four feet tall and two feet wide. That big old radio was not unlike the radio on Christmas Story.
We got our first TV while living there and I estimate it to have been around 1954.
There was another first during the time when we lived there, and that was my first bicycle at age seven. I remember Mom saying that my brother Jack got a new trike for his seventh birthday. I guess I have always been more advanced than others for my age. J
I heard that remark, you think I look much older than I am, which makes me look advanced in years, but not advanced in intelligence. Funny! Please try to save your remarks, until the question and answer period, and then raise your hand if you have a question.
As I sit here at my desk pounding away at this key board, trying to get to the point of this article, I have thought of another first that occurred while living there, and that was my first girlfriend. Her name was Gail, she was in my third grade class at school. Gail lived one block away. To be honest I think every boy in our class was in love with her.
With all that background out of the way, let’s get to the story, “A perfect Snow”. I would think that many of you have never experienced what I consider the perfect snow.
The day was cloudy and cold, more or less a typical winter Missouri day. Myself, and some other kids from the neighborhood were riding our bikes up and down College Street in front of our house. We were playing follow the leader, riding in circles and figure eights, making them smaller and smaller until someone had to put their foot on the ground. Then we would pick a new leader and start again.
It was one of those unusual days where there was literally no wind, a perfectly calm day. I remember we were suddenly aware that the snow had begun to fall. There was no pre-warning to us kids of the impending snow. The flakes were large and wet. I remember looking up, and all around there was this wonderful sight of large, lazy snowflakes falling.
The snow quickly and quietly began to cover the ground and street. For a while, we considered the snow as an additional challenge in our game of follow the leader.
I remember the almost deafening silence, cause by the large snowflakes falling straight down. It is almost like being in a dream, to see the large snowflakes falling without any wind. We could not hear any sounds of traffic or other noise, even though there was a highly traveled street (Sprigg Street) just two blocks away. (Yes, Sprigg Street is spelled correctly.)
If memory serves, and it almost always does, the snow was so heavy that it covered the grass and street in no time. The snow was hanging on the trees and bushes causing them to bend. We had to stop riding the bikes. Each kid that had a sled, went to get them. We had plenty of places to ride our sleds.
I guess that is enough memories for now, I think I need to warm up after thinking about all the snow.
If we don’t talk before the New Year, have a Happy and Safe New Year!
May all your snows be like a dream!
Don Ford
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