Are we going to get hammered by nasty weather this winter in Connecticut? The weather authorities, all the big boys: The Farmer's Almanac, AccuWeather, NOAA, etc. have all issued dire predictions for winter 22-23. Waterbury already knew that.
There are a few weird ways that us Brass City folk can tell it's going to be a bad winter. One thing that clued me in – everyone is flocking to Schmidt's & Serafine's already to stock up.
There was a line of F350's and trailers full of equipment sticking out onto Chase Avenue over the weekend, the place was humming. We can feel the call of that building, can't we? My grandfather knew exactly what week to schedule the snow blower tune-up before the wait got too long. My dad sensed bad winter and Schmidt's & Serafine's in the air, when it was time to get salt for our driveway. The busier that place is, the worse the winter.
The other thing I noticed when I was driving through the city is that the sand that Waterbury threw down during the winter of 21-22 is almost gone. We get it, we live in a big valley, and there are a lot of hills, but my lord, can we afford more salt? Enough with the dirt. Waterbury must spread the equivalent of 5 Naugatuck's in dirt every snow storm. I've noticed that when the last traces of the previous year's sand are finally gone, there's an ice storm the next day.
Sadly, the last way that Waterbury knew there would be a bad winter doesn't exist anymore – the Milite's was sold out. I braved many icy trips up Bradley and Fairfield Ave to get to Town Plot IGA for milk and one of those comforting, crusty loaves.