Abstract
Young people today often hear their eIders talk about the severe winters oftheir youth, noting colder, snowier times in the past. A survey of elderly residents of NW Wisconsin documents their perceptions of past winters. The results of this survey were then related to an nual and decade mean winter temperature and snowfal l data from the same region for the period, 1920 to 1996. It appears that memories of the most severe winter weather are connected with childhood. A majority of respondents chose the 1930s as being the coldest decade in memory. In reality, it was not. Only one subject chose the 1970s as being the coldest decade, which it was. Subjects tended to use one severe winter as their reference for the severity of an entire decade. For example, over 35 percent of subjects referred to the 1950s as being the snowiest when in fact the '50s produced the least snowfall overall. However, the winter of 1950-51 was exceptionally snowy across much ofthe upper Midwest. Most elderly people associated the most severe winters of their lives with the years in which they walked to school. In their comments the need to express the hardships of their youth is evident. Improved technology minimizes the perceived severity of recent winters. As technology advances, memories do not.
Recommended Citation
Tronrud, Michael J. and Petzold, D. E.
(1998)
""When I Was Young . .. "- Perceptions of Past Winters by Elderly Residents of Northwest Wisconsin,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 40:
Iss.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol40/iss2/6