The Beauty of Winter . . .

February, 2014

Ah, the beauty of winter. This photo from January 2014 is the St. Joseph Lighthouse on the southeast shore of Lake Michigan. Ice and snow can produce some beautiful scenes. However, those of us who have to navigate through and clear it from our walks and driveways soon become weary of it. Almost the entire country has experienced a severe winter. We might like to let the younger generations know how bad we had it back in our day. “We had to walk 3 miles to and from school, through 2 feet of snow when it was 10 degrees below zero, and it was uphill both ways.”

But it is true that people around the world have experienced many weather related natural disasters in the past few years. Modern communication technology makes it possible for us to know more and know it sooner when these things happen. As a result, support in recovery benefits through volunteer work and monetary donations. It behooves us to participate when opportunities arise.

While our current focus has been on winter weather effects, soon it will be flooding, then tornadoes and later hurricanes. Drought, too little or too much rain, extreme heat or cold – there are many ways weather affects us. Do you have a memorable weather event in your life? Perhaps someone should start a “Weather Group” on wsjsociety.com. I have a couple stories I could share – a tornado near my farm home when I was 15 years old (which made the front page of the Chicago American newspaper) and a carpool adventure getting home from work one winter blizzard-like day.

One of the nice things about the Midwest is changing seasons. After a long, cold winter, the emergence of plant life (and baseball) provides a greater appreciation of life. St. Joseph Lighthouse and Lake Michigan will have a different look. And the cycle repeats year after year. Life is good!

Paul Froehling
President