Astronauts suiting up for space flights was nothing compared to getting ready to go out and play in the snow back in the day.
As a child, I had an avid interest in the space program. Good ol' Life Magazine ran regular features on the topic; one of them had to do with the long process involved in astronauts getting "suited up" for space flight.
Even then, I thought of how what they went through was nothing compared to getting ready to go out and play in the snow back in the day.
These were the days before Spandex and Gore-Tex; heck, stocking caps were rarely seen. And it's hard to determine what was worse - the extended process of "suiting up" or the torture of seeing a new snowfall outside but being delayed so long from actually getting out into it.
Long underwear as a base was a traditional start, made of highly absorbent cotton, all the better to stay nice and wet after your sister dumped snow down your back 10 seconds after stepping outside.
A series of sweatshirts and/or flannel shirts would follow, each layer making arm movement more difficult.
For the lower half of the body, two pairs of pants would be appropriate, usually a corduroy layer on top of jeans (sweat pants weren't yet common either). Now all four limbs were fairly secure in being immobilized.
Finally, a couple of pairs of socks would be followed by the classic rubber boots with snapping locklets. I honestly don't know what was worse; trying to force-close them over multiple-socked feet or trying to pry them open at the end of the day after ice had become fused to their metal components.
Plastic bags on feet? As a reader noted, plastic bags weren't all that common not too long ago; nonetheless, some went with them, others didn't. My experience was that they served to create a 'shoe sauna' at best and, at worst, turned your foot into a block of ice should the sweat-filled plastic break inside your boot.
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
Hey Shaun, try that with five shirts and three pairs of pants! Finalizing the preparation would be some kind of hat and gloves. The "earlap" style of hat was common when I was a kid, and it did little to nothing to keep ears from freezing. Gloves, with or without fingers, would be something made of wool that became soaked immediately and fairly useless when they refroze.
And to top it all off, I wore glasses, meaning my face was open to the elements, and glasses fogging, snow encrustment and losing them in a snow drift were all eventualities.
And yet, none of it mattered once the door opened and a winter wonderland of sledding, skating, snowballs and snowmen awaited.
Even though the state hasn't had a snowfall yet in the winter of 2015-16, I think you'll enjoy this vintage look at winter in New Jersey. Be sure to have captions enabled to read all about these classic pictures.
Can't get enough? Here's a link to last year's gallery.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.