Betty Holmes: Warm Memories of Cold Winters

When the temperature dropped to zero, I thought about what it was like in our house in Dennisport, on Cape Cod, way back in the 1930’s. The farm house we lived in was built about 1840, with a tiny Cape Cod cellar, no insulation, and no central heat and no running water. The walls were clapboards over rough boards and the inside walls were lath and plaster. The dead air space between the walls did not do much to keep out the cold. We packed leaves around the foundation tightly for the winter. The floors were still cold.

In winter we kept only two rooms warm. The kitchen had a small oil burner on one side of the electric range, and the living room had a big square oil burner stove, about the size of a small refrigerator.  Dad kept a big barrel of kerosene in the garage, which was a separate building. When more fuel was needed for the stoves, one of us would go to the garage, taking the stove’s removable fuel tank along to re-fill. We had our stoves in an open area of the room, away from any combustibles, such as curtains or furniture.  In the kitchen the oil burner at the end of the range, sat in a clear area of the room on legs of about nine inches. And in the living room, there was plenty of clear space around the stove, which sat on a large fireproof square. The square was our boundary. A little kid could get burned, so we all were taught to stay away from the stoves.

When I was three years old, in 1931, we were the first on our street to have inside plumbing and running water installed.  Dad knew he had to keep the water barely running so the pipes would not freeze on bitter cold nights. The bathroom had a gas hot water heater at the end of the old claw foot tub. It heated the water for our baths, and it made the bathroom warm.  So the bathroom was only heated at bath time. We did not spend much time there in cold weather, though in warmer weather, we three girls spent  more time at the bathroom mirror.

With four little kids to keep warm, and unheated bedrooms, our parents bought flannel sheets and woolen blankets for our double bunks.  On very cold nights we piled on knit afghans. We dressed for bed in Dr. Denton footed pajamas and on very cold nights, we wore wool sweaters and hats to bed. Plus, we each had our own hot water bottle. I always put my hot water bottle at my feet. When my feet were warmed up and the hot water bottle cooled off, I kicked it away for the night.

On snowy days, we played outside and our house always smelled of wet wool as our mittens dried on top of the living room stove.  On stormy days we played inside, in the two warm rooms. Dad put up a swing between the kitchen and living room. We drew chalk circles on the wool living room rug to play marbles. We played games on a marble topped table and did puzzles and listened to the radio. We often had an extra person who boarded with us, so seven of us would share the two warm rooms all winter long.

Mom and Dad both smoked cigarettes and the boarder smoked a pipe. The air in our house was a lot less than healthful all winter. But the house was not at all air tight, so maybe the air circulated through.

In my house today, I am grateful for insulation, thermopane windows, and central heat. On very cold days I simply turn up the thermostat.