Snow me the money!

“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” Mae West

A quick look out any upper Midwest window reveals Jack Frost’s fury. Already, I’ve shoveled six times and cleared snow off the satellite dish thrice. The snow has intensified – its deepening blanket has transformed the farm into a Currier and Ives tableau.

There is also a magnificent quiet that comes with the snow – nature’s silent paean.

I recall the excitement afforded my brother and me when there was a possibility of a day off of school due to snow. We didn’t put snow balls in the toilet or white crayons in the freezer (for a neat piece, see: How to ensure a snow day!) When the announced closings came via WJR radio, we did enjoy sleeping a bit longer, but we also waded into raw entrepreneurship.

All you needed was a neighborhood, a snow shovel, and long johns to launch your business. We’d wander the streets looking for unshoveled sidewalks and driveways, hit the doorbell, and give our sales spiel (“Shovel your walk?”). Sometimes there would be 3-4 of us and we’d make speedy work of most homes.

We always let the homeowner decide how much to pay; we did, however, make mental notes as to which homeowners were more generous than others! Over the course of 3-4 hours of shoveling, we’d each come home with $15-20 dollars – a veritable fortune to a 10 year old in the early 1970s.

After starting high school, I purchased one of the first snow blowers in town. This baby cut a 30 inch path, had dual impellers, six forward speeds, one reverse and a 270 degree swivel on the throw chute. After clearing our home driveway and our walks, I would head out with this machine and often not return for 6-8 hours – netting around $200 on a good day. It took about three good snows to pay the machine off, and the balance of that year was pure profit (gas was only about $0.60 a gallon and I usually took dad’s!).

Subsequent years, I learned about machine maintenance, break downs, repairs, and replacement parts. This afforded me a limited, but working knowledge of small engine repair and a better grasp on running a business.

The earnings paid my fare for two trips to Europe with the high school band and gave me sufficient walking around money in my teen years.

Do kids mow lawns or shovel walks anymore? I imagine that there is still strong demand for these services and for babysitting or help with other chores. I’d hope that pay scales have increased for teenaged labor – I think I remember babysitting for $0.75 - $1.50 per hour and one lawn that took about 90 minutes to mow netted $5.00. It kept us busy, we earned fun money, and I think helped develop a sense of responsibility and a work ethic. I hope this continues today.

Stay warm and don’t overdo the shoveling – hey, here’s an idea, hire the neighbor kid!

Happy 2014!