Ashland Speaks by Lula Anderson - 22 January 2026

By Lula Anderson

Another Holiday weekend gone.  The businesses on the Mountain Top look forward to MLK Weekend as the three day weekend boosts our economy.  B&Bs full, restaurants and taverns full to the brim.  We got our snowstorm just at the right time, people were able to ski on new powder which is always a plus.  The traffic was backed up from Hunter all the way to Tannersville which is annoying when you're trying to get home from work, but with a little patience we all can survive.  Patience is the key word here.  Once you get flustered, you open yourself up to making stupid moves and causing accidents.  

The weather has been conducive to hunkering down and catching up on reading or doing paperwork.  A cup of hot chocolate, a couple of cookies and a cozy blanket make for an excellent way to spend a blustery day.  I sit and look around at all the things that should be done, make a note of it, and decide to do it when it warms up.  

Not much else happening in our lives.  Reminder for members of WAJPL:  it's time to pay your dues for the 2026 season.  Our $5 fee gives you the opportunity to go on our wonderful trips, participate in our craft classes and other activities. plus attend our meetings with a new speaker every month and the best refreshments ever.  New members are always surprised to see the wondrous buffet that we wind up having.  Soups, casseroles, salads, cakes, cookies, pies.  Our next meeting is scheduled for February 9th, weather and health concerns permitting.  Please listen to WRIP for updates and cancellations, and read your emails.  Money for the trip to VA International Tattoo is due.  Please send to PO Box 96 Hensonville, NY 12439.  

Continued prayers for Greg Beckmann. Tricia LoPresti. and Janice Maben.  Sympathy to the families of Barry Ebsin and John O'Brien.

AS I RMEMBER IT

As I get older, I just can't seem to tolerate the cold weather, but as I sit here nice and cozy, I think back to my youth.,  Memories of past Januarys come flooding in and I think about the mornings when I woke up and found snow in my bedroom that had blown in from the windows in the old farm house.  Any water left in glasses overnight was one big ice cube.  My father would get up and make a fire in all of the stoves:  the coal furnace was stoked and the stove in the kitchen was brought back to life after being banked all night.  The only heat upstairs came from registers cut in the ceiling and connected to the floor above.  We had a bathroom heater where we would run in with our clothes to dress.  Although the boys had long johns and flannel shirts to wear to school, girls wore skirts.  In elementary school, we bundled up in snow pants and heavy coats with scarves and hats, but in high school we wore pants under our skirts which would be removed in the cloakroom.  Most of the time, we just ran out with just our knee-high socks and loafers.  No more pants We were impervious to the cold.  We waited in the house as long as we could before the mad dash to the bus and the cold leather seats.  Hats, scarves and matching gloves were worn to be stylish, but most often left home because they would get lost in the locker.  Boots were seldom worn because it was too much trouble to keep shoes in the locker, then try to remove your boots while standing in the crowded hallway, only to repeat the action at the end of the day.  Trying to put your boots on while standing in front of the locker.  

Boys who played basketball got to change in a locker-room, but the cheerleaders wore their uniform to the game.  Wind chill of -30, and the girls would be waiting for the bus in their short skirts, woolen sweaters, wool socks and white sneakers.  To keep warm, they would practice their cheers.  Brr, just thinking about it makes me shiver.  

Today I am thankful for my central heat where I can just raise the thermostat up a notch to get warm, but I'm also glad that I got to experience life before modern conveniences.  It makes for a good story when I reminisce with friends.