History and Culture

Snow Days: Fun for Kids of All Ages

January 1, 2025

by Megan Scauri

It’s that time of year again (at least here in the northeast!) when kids hope to wake up to a blanket of snow – and the phone call saying that school is closed! Some kids follow a superstition that says if you turn your pjs inside out it will make it snow (the nubs on the inside of flannel or fleecy pjs look a bit like snow). Even adults feel that electricity in the air when the first flurries fall. And so in that spirit, we’ve scoured the archives for photos of kids of all ages having fun in the snow.

Lester Jacobi’s house in Cincinnati, Ohio, Winter 1932. Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers P-705.

DP children in Austria make a snowman. Approximately 1940s-1950s. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) collection I-363.

Displaced Persons–Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter, Oswego, NY. National Refugee Service. Approximately 1940s-1950s. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) collection I-363.

Ice skating — John Loeb enjoys a turn on the ice. John Langeloth Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Family Papers P-892

Mrs. S. Hirsh with John Loeb — Mrs. Hirsh and Frances Lehman Loeb. John Langeloth Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Family Papers P-892.

Skiing and hiking trip to Snoqualmie, WA, March 1946. United Service Organization, Jewish Welfare Board, Tacoma, Washington Chapter. National Jewish Welfare Board records I-337.

HOA kiddos in snow — Snow games. Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York I-42.

Snowball sneak attack. United Service Organization Club. Circa 1944-1946. National Jewish Welfare Board records I-337.

Fanny Wolf Leavy — Fanny Wolf Levy poses in front of a snowscape backdrop. The snow falling effect was added later. Monticello Families Papers and Commodore Levy Records P-1060.

United Service Organization. Snoqualmie Skiing & Hiking Trip, March 1946. Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. Left to right: Chaplain Jerry Robbins, Sol & Isabelle Levin, Captain Pizetski, Chaplain Marc Cogan, another G.I. National Jewish Welfare Board records I-337.

U.S.O. – J.W.B. Tacoma, Washington. Skiing and hiking trip to Snoqualmie Pass, March 1946. “The skiers pause on their way up the train for a quick snapshot!” National Jewish Welfare Board records I-337.

Finally, it’s not often we get to see history come alive – in color! Our fabulous Kurt K. Field Film Collection P-805 is a treasure trove of home videos, many as early as the 1940s, from time when few families had the capability to capture their everyday lives. In this video, Field records the blizzard of 1941 in New York City. In one of the worst March snowstorms ever to hit the Big Apple, on March 7 and 8, 1941, about 18 inches of snow fell on Central Park. We see the 1940s automobiles hidden behind piles of the white stuff, unprepared pedestrians gingerly making their way through the drifts, spontaneous snowball fights, and adults and kids alike sledding in Central Park. We may only be at the beginning of snow season this year, but if we’re lucky (depending on your feelings toward snow!) we may have a long season of wintery fun ahead of us!

Megan Scauri

Megan has extensive experience working with rare books and special collections in academic libraries, as well as in the rare book trade and auction houses. Her professional focus has been primarily in rare Americana, while her academic background includes research on Italian linguistics and dialectology. In August 2021, Megan joined AJHS, where she oversees our library’s rare and general collections, as well as assisting patrons with reference and photoduplication requests.