Winter Survival

Have you ever wondered how our pioneer ancestors survived the cold, harsh winters without central heating? We live in our comfortable homes in the modern era with heat and air, and if we get cold, all we have to do is crank up the temperature.

Most of our pioneer ancestors built log homes and used moss or clay between the logs as insulation. The main source of heat was a fireplace or stove and this often only kept the main living area warm. If they had them, families may hang fur or textiles against the walls as an added layer of protection against the cold and wind. Children would sleep 2-3 to a bed piled high with quilts and wool blankets to preserve heat. In bitter conditions, some people stayed in bed as much as possible in order simply to stay warm.

Layering clothing, made of wool or cotton, was crucial. During the winter months, fires were rarely allowed to die. This means lots of back-breaking hours cutting and storing firewood before winter. Our ancestors were certainly tough, no doubt about it, but we would be wise to pay attention and learn a few of their survival skills. You never know when that knowledge will come in handy.

For example, let’s talk about this week at work. One of the coldest weeks so far this winter and the heating system in our main office area went down. The landlord finally showed up, checked out the system and advised us that if it was not totally shut down, carbon monoxide fumes will be coming inside. Not a good situation at all.

To add insult to injury, the needed part to fix the system is on backorder. It might be 4-5 weeks before they can get it. I was wearing layer upon layer of clothing, had a heating pad on my chair under my butt, a scarf around my neck and a fleece blanket over my legs. And I was often still cold. Cold and arthritis are not good friends. My pain levels were escalating.

We got a couple of heavy duty space heaters and they helped a lot but next week is supposed to be even colder than this one. I sure hope they were wrong about how long it would take to get the needed part to fix it.