Snow and winter in the past

There were kids outside playing on a pile of snow outside my house just as Kathi and I and the other neighbourhood kids did years ago. There was an open field near our house where the snow was dumped in large piles after being cleared off streets and driveways. It was a great place to build snow castles.

Not too long ago I heard some kids singing - I am the king of the castle and you are the dirty rascal. This expression has been around for a long time because I remember it when I was young.

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One of the neighbours built a skating rink on their property. It was small but a good place to start out. Behind the dairy in town there was a more formal rink. The dairy is still there and it still has great ice cream.

There is another skating connection with the dairy. The family name was Lowe and Kevin Lowe - a NHL hockey player - was from Lachute.

When I was at Trafalgar in Montreal there was a skating rink in the back garden.

We went skiing at Carling Lake Ski Center which has been closed for some years now. Now there is a resort hotel across the road with a fancy restaurant. When I was growing up it was a private facility owned by Ayers Limited the company that my dad worked for. (See Father’s Day post for a picture of my dad relaxing there.)

I think there were toboggan runs as well at the ski center. I also remember tobogganing down the hill towards the North River in Lachute near our house.

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I gave up skiing when I started to ride horses in the winter of 1965 or 1966. I could ride all winter and at that time we rode outside in the snow.

I probably did not skate at all for the 6 years I was at university. Then I moved to Ottawa and I lived downtown close to the skating on the Rideau Canal. The canal was just down the street from where I lived for 15 years so I had no excuse. When I moved to my house going to the canal and parking etc. was somewhat of a challenge so eventually after several years of not using them I gave away my skates.

I still ride in the winter but in the indoor arena. I think Abra would like to be ridden in the snow. I am thinking about that.

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My dad skated and skied. My mom had done cross-country skiing when she was younger.

From the letters my dad sent my mom during the war.

Jan. 1943: You can go to Lachute and borrow my skis; but remember they have been educated to do some very fancy turns.

Dec. 1943: You ought to do a little skiing then you will be able to pull me out of the drifts instead of vice versa.