“This is the most snow I’ve ever seen in my life!”
That’s what my 9-year-old exclaimed Friday morning as we woke up to 5-and-a-half inches of pristine, wet, heavy, perfect-for-snowmen-and-sledding snowfall.
School had already been canceled the night before, and we took advantage of the call to sleep in a bit before bundling up and heading to the hill.
We’re spoiled for choice living by the school campus. In snows past, we’d hit the smaller hill behind the high school — the soccer team’s old sprints hill — but that landscape has been altered by the PAC parking lot construction. There is still a large hill behind the student parking lot, but the risk of sending my girls, or myself, careening into the adjacent pond is a touch too high to for my liking.
The safer bet for our size sledders is the hill behind Wildcat Stadium, which dumps into the flat expanse of the practice field.
About this time last year, we took the girls out to sled on that hill, excited to use our new unicorn-headed inflatable tube. While the tube served its purpose exceptionally well, our time was cut a bit short in 2023, as our then-2year-old wanted absolutely nothing to do with snow or sledding.
This year was a different story. After some hesitation and fear conquering, the now-3-year-old learned that sledding is “so fun!” She was even brave enough to ride the inflatable on her own, an experience she’s so proud of that even Tuesday morning as we left the house she said, “Dad, look at the unicorn [still sitting outside]. I ride on the hill by myself!” Our oldest had just as good of a time playing in the snow, showing off her specialization — the penguin slide. There was zero fear in her eyes as she instinctively lunged forward onto her belly, tucked her arms back, lifted her head up and shot like a toboggan past the end of the previous sled-carved lanes into fresh powder.
My wife, Jordan, hit the hill a few times herself on the unicorn, but she spent more time capturing pictures and video to remember the day.
As for me — my time had finally come. Last year, a bit to my wife’s chagrin, I bought one of the cheapo snowboards at Walmart. Made of plastic with adjustable rubber footholds, the purchase was a nostalgic one for me.
Growing up in Little Rock. Ark., we didn’t get much snow. Anything above 2 inches was cause for breaking out our gear, which my older millennials will know included a similar plastic snowboard and a 2-foot X-games kicker ramp meant for skateboarding but perfect for snowboarding. We’d spend hours on the small hill at my friend’s house up the street perfecting our jumps and spins.
On Friday, I got to relive my youth a bit in Cassville. I bombed the hill a few times without issue, which gave me the confidence — absolutely to Jordan’s chagrin — to build a mini snow ramp at the bottom of the hill.
Facing the threat of, “I’m not taking you to the hospital if you hurt yourself,” I caught some air, then hit some ground. As many times as I fell, I laughed more. There’s nothing like a good snow to make you feel like a kid again.
Barry County averages 11 inches of snow annually, with the most snowfall in one season coming in at 23 inches in 1998-1999. A March 1999 storm brought 23 inches to Cassville, resulting in some snow drifts as high as 3-4 feet.
While that much precipitation is a bit daunting, I wouldn’t say no to another few inches in a few weeks or a month.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their photos on our Facebook page. We had nearly 100 submissions of local youth sledding, building snowmen, four-wheeling and more. While only a few photos make it to print, we genuinely enjoy seeing everyone’s joy and creativity each time we do a callout. And, judging by that post’s more than 5,000 views and 1,700 reach, so do you!
As a parent, it’s an incredible joy to watch my kids make lifelong memories playing in snow, and as a 36-year-old child-at-heart when the time calls, it’s also a joy for us to make more of our own.
Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He was named William E. James/ Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he is a two-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
