The snow's not that bad, says a woman who knows

Think of it this way: this winter could be worse.In the past month, we've had our share of snow, cold, potholes and thaws, but at least we saw them all coming.

Imagine what it would be like if we didn't know what the weather would be like 24 hours in advance.

No television, no radio, no weather forecasts and certainly no storm centers.

Hard to imagine? Talk to Evangeline Sharp.

This week she's going to turn 96. She was born and raised in Dundee Township and lives in West Dundee.

She remembers the days before automobiles, which often defined the severity of a winter storm. When it snowed a lot, families who could afford them hitched their horses to sleighs instead of buggies.

And if you didn't have the money for a sleigh, "you walked. You walked everywhere in the snow," she said.

When it started snowing, people didn't know how much would fall until it stopped.

"We didn't have any telephones or televisions so we didn't know if school was closed. So, we would walk to school," Sharp said.

If the doors were locked, they'd walk home.

"I remember one time I was in grade school and there was a crust of ice on the snow. My friend and I were so little we just walked on top of the snow," she said.

"And if there wasn't a crust of ice, we walked in the roads."

Then, winter roads consisted of frozen mud scarred with ruts. They were bumpy with large holes, much like what you see now with all the potholes.

"There was a man who had a wooden plow. He would hook it up to his horse and plow the sidewalks leading to the trolley," she said. "People could at least walk to the trolley on the sidewalk then."

Her family bought its first car in the 1920s. By then, other residents had them. When the winter became snowy and cold, driving was dangerous because road salt wasn't being widely used at that point.

Those were the days when tires were thin, and slipping around or getting stuck was a part of the ride.

Public works directors didn't have to worry about the cost of salt or running out of it. And people driving the cars didn't worry if the Fox Valley hills there were driving up or down were salted.

When the snow was trodden on enough, a car's ride was probable, not impossible.

People had other things to worry about back then, she said.

"People were worried about their roofs collapsing with all the snow some of the storms brought," Sharp said. "They would climb on their roofs and shovel the snow off."

Ninety-six winters has she seen. Not one of them sticks out from another. And not one of them has made her decide to move to a warmer state.

"Why would I move to another state and want to worry about tornados and hurricanes?"