Parked on ice

Grew up with a coal furnace living on a steep hill where we parked across the street until 4x4 was comon as our side slid you in against the curb.
The unknowing people parking in the snow in front of our house always emptied the ash cans to get out, I'd come home from school to empty cans and ruts full of ashes along the curb.

 

Towns around us used to collect the ashes and stock pile them for winter. They spread them on roads instead of salt.

At my grandparents house you didn’t even attempt driving up the lane until you spread some ashes. Otherwise you would end up sliding into the drainage ditch. It’s funny to me how many think they need 4 wheel drive today, when I think about what we drove in without back then.

 

Grew up close to Beth Steel and the state and surrounding towns all used cinders that they got cheap from the steel. Into the late 60's the town had little green wooden boxes on every steep hill marked in yellow paint "CINDERS" and the town had a few gas engine powered spreaders for some salt on the 'ready' plow trucks while the rest of the fleet had cinders mostly for weight for plowing and before they came in to mount the plows they would run up the hills, body partially raised, and the helper in the body throwing big scoops of cinders across the roadway to keep traffic moving while they got the plows on.

As a 'kid' in the local gas station I threw a lot of chains for our customers, onthe lift but the melting snow raining down the whole time!

It dosen't snow here like it used to!

 

I always carry a gallon of bleach.