Snow and ice have been all the talk for a couple of weeks.
I believe our first snowfall came Christmas Eve and we’ve had snow ever since.
I think we have it bad until I talk to relatives up north who say it’s 37 below with 30 inches on the ground and wind at 30 miles an hour.
I also spoke to my sister near Atlanta and she was complaining that it was going to rain and the temperature was only 45 degrees. I told her she had nothing to complain about.
But there will be brighter and more cheerful days ahead — some time ahead.
My telephone rings quite often as people have questions about something or other and think I am an encyclopedia.
I think more calls come during bad weather which leads me to believe people are suffering from cabin fever or they have taken time to go through old dresser drawers and shipping trunks and cedar chests.
They run across photographs, letters and other things that make them wonder about the past. It is fun to get these calls and even though I am not often able to help them, I enjoy hearing their stories and what they are looking for. Usually, I can refer them to a local history book or to someone I know who is most apt to have the answer.
A call came this week from a lady concerned about a cemetery in Newton County.
She was afraid it was going to be destroyed and she was trying to figure out a way to save it. I don’t think the gravesite is actually in danger, but it was good of her to worry about it and she also got a nice little history lesson about the grave and the man buried there. She also learned a bit about cemetery law in Missouri. That, alone, made her feel better.
With bad roads, I have opted to stay home more this past week and I took it upon myself to do some housecleaning. Each week, I set aside two copies of The Post newspaper. I just take them, push them into a box in my office and never look back. Eventually, the start spilling over the top of the box and it’s time to do some adjusting.
So, I dragged up a table and chair and went at that box this week. There was a two-year supply in the box so I began to sort. I put all the 2008 papers in chronological order and bundled them all up in plastic, put them in a box which I sealed, and then Russell took them to the attic. I then sorted out all the 2009 issues, located a couple of editions that were missing and got them organized. I put them in a plastic bag and put them all back in the box, labeled 2009.
