Frazz by Jef Mallett for February 21, 2024

Protests. That would lead to a lot of ‘snow days’.

Instead of Winter Break, we had Christmas Vacation.

Around here we have what is called spring break. But it occurs during March and ends before the Vernal equinox. So technically the break is during the winter.

We did that one year. IIRC, it was 1970. I think it snowed every other day for over a month. We were, of course, out for the Christmas-New Years break, but we didn’t actually go back until almost the end of January. We ran out of designated snow days, and had to make up days during what should have been the February break.

I grew up in Minnesota, where the seasons are Early Winter, Winter, Late Winter, and Road Construction. I don’t recall ever having a snow day.

Then I relocated to Utah, where I got my teacher credentials. During student teaching, I woke up one morning, and there had been a light snow, maybe a foot. I shoveled myself out and drove to school, only to find it closed due to snow.

There are breaks for Christmas and Easter.

We had neither winter breaks nor snow days.   When it snowed, Mom would say “dress fast, the bus is going to be early.”

But the summer break began on May the second, and lasted until after labor day.

The 1970s: rare to have school cancelled for snow in suburban Chicago.

Here in Michigan, blizzard of 78, snowed in for a week.

I can’t believe how many days off the grandkids get from school.

Michigan, 70s… they added the winter break in February, too long without a break between Christmas break and Easter break. We loved it!

As someone who went to school in the ’70’s, this hit close to home. I grew up in Michigan and can recall having just one snow day when I was in high-school…it snowed 19" that day. The ignorant superintendent for the school district didn’t call off school on the radio airwaves in the morning like all the other school districts. The way the students learned that school was closed was when those who had gone out to stand on the corners to wait for their school bus were told by the school bus drivers that school had been closed for the day.

In high school we lived in Colorado. The school I went to for 10th grade NEVER closed. All of the other districts would be closed, but not Harrison. One time a bad storm happened on a day of finals. Those were always spread over 2 days. Instead of 7 periods, we got 3-4 extra long classes. Well the blizzard happened on the day of the first set. So many parents’ vehicles were damaged, and so many lawsuits were threatened that the school finally acquiesced and closed. That second day was actually perfectly sunny!

We had Christmas vacation. Same thing, they just decided to acknowledge that not everyone in the school was Christian.

My 2 closest friends were Jewish and Greek. One didn’t do Christmas at all, the other did it on January 7, when Christmas vacation was over.

Northern Maine, late ’60’s, we had a lot of snow that winter and I recall having to go to elementary school on a Saturday since we ran out of allocated snow days.

Because in the 50s and 60s you just went to school anyway. If only to get you out of the house.

Winter’s here and Winter is near.

His grandpa went to school in the 70s. So did I. Now I feel old.

As someone who went to school in the 60s & 70s and is also a grandpa but had never thought of it that way, this strip struck a nerve. Feeling old today!

Back in the 70s when we still had real winters.

Here in Mass., we had winter vacation and five snow days. Of course, school was slated to go until June 21st, or so. The ending was shifted earlier a day for every snow day not used and delayed a day for any needed over the five planned.

live in the middle of Illinois where the wind blows so hard that a 6 inch snow can leave 4 foot deep drifts

This strip made feel old. I went to school in the 1970s

I am trying to remember when the last time the local schools closed because of just snow.Dangerous windchills and ice storms seem to be the major culprits whether or not snow accompanies them.

A few years ago, even a few days were called off because heavy rains were causing the local rivers to get dangerously close to scouring bridge embankments.

Why are the talking about the 1970’s? Are they referring to the other kind of “snow”?

Snow tellin’.

Wow, is that snows days comment to be wrong. When I went to school in the 1970s, it took quite a bit a snow to close the school. School buses picked us up even if they had chains on the bus tires. Now the same county school system closes schools on snow flurries.

Since I don’t have kids of my own, I never had to deal with the question of who looks after them on snow days, when their parents would ordinarily expect to be at work. How does that work, people who know?

Where I grew up in snowy upstate New York (real upstate NY, not the southern tier) we started having winter break during the energy crises of the 70’s. It was an excuse to turn the school thermostat way down for a week.

Grew up in a town where we had one snowplow. I’m pretty sure it doubled as something else. Back in the 70’s, it probably got used as a snowplow once every three years.

The Mid Atlantic has a little of everything and not much of anything. Sometimes we have all four seasons each month — except August which is almost always swamp weather. (hot with 99% humidity.)

A fluke of geography usually puts us right on the snow/rain line. Our county is not large (just over 500 square miles) but it’s entirely possible for the west end of the county to have a foot of snow while the east end is completely snowless.

Thanksgiving was fall, Winter break was during Christmas. Then spring break. Nothing more.

I graduated from high school in 1963, in South Dakota. Our school never closed due to weather. Kids who couldn’t make it to school received an excused absence but had to make up the work they missed.

I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitress and avoid the chicken Al a king.