Think this winter has been tough? It's not coldest, snowiest on record

We're supposed to feel pretty good about mid-February because it means we have only a few more weeks of "true" winter weather. But there is no denying that, after a series of relatively mild winters, this 2007-2008 version has been a rugged ride.

But historians are quick to remind us that, for sheer drama, it's been nothing compared to 1967 and 1979 or the cold snaps of the early 1980s.

"I have a whole different perspective on the weather when they say it is going to be partly cloudy, because that was the forecast for that January day in 1967," said Don Haines, who was on the St. Charles police force for only three years -- but one of those years was 1967 when the area was hit with 23 inches of snow Jan. 26.

Haines, who has been an alderman in St. Charles and involved in several community organizations and clubs, also had the tough luck of being a ComEd employee during the heavy snow of 1979, which actually started on New Year's Eve and finished with about 18 inches.

"I remember in 1967, we were still trying to get out in squads to rescue people and do what we could do, but eventually we had to stay in and only go out on severe emergencies," Haines said. "There were cars stuck on the Main Street bridge and there were cars and snow plows stuck on Kirk Road."

Haines said he remembers a car buried under a snowdrift on the Main Street bridge being damaged by a snowplow when the driver couldn't even tell there was a car under the drift.

In 1979, Haines said he was home from work for about four hours on New Year's Eve, and then got called back to work on ComEd power lines. "And then I was at work for 48 hours straight, and slept in the ComEd building in Elgin."

"The line trucks couldn't even move," Haines said. "We had to use end-loaders to move snow for the trucks to even be able to get to the lines."

When compared to those two winters, this year's version hasn't been too horrific, according to Haines.

About the cold snaps: Warren Swenson has been installing and fixing furnaces in the St. Charles area for more than 50 years, so he's seen his share of cold-weather emergencies.

"When you go out at 2 a.m. to fix a furnace in this kind of weather, you've made a friend," said the 87-year-old Swenson, who only recently started handing over his work to an assistant in his business.

"The heating business has actually been kind of slow since last fall," Swenson said. "The units last longer these days and require less service."

Swenson said the cold weather, more so than snow, is the winter ingredient that keeps him busy.

"I remember those cold winters in the early 1980s, and I told my wife I better go out and buy about 50 furnaces," Swenson said, referring to the years that featured cold snaps in which the temperature was below zero for several days in a row.

As for contending with the winter as an older gentleman, Swenson said his philosophy about rugged weather has never changed.

"The key is to be an optimist," he advises. "That's the way to go, because the winter will eventually end."

Snow and softball? All of the snow in recent weeks made me think of … softball.

Yes, some 25 years ago, I remember playing in snow softball tournaments throughout the area. Even though I mostly played in competitive softball leagues for nearly 25 years, the most fun I ever had in a game was probably during a St. Charles Park District Winterfest in about 1982, in a coed game held during a heavy snow at Pottawatomie Park.

I came to realize that hitting and running was kind of tough in the snow, but catching a 16-inch softball with a pair of winter gloves on was quite easy.

She'll be dancing: It was sad to read about the death of St. Charles North High School senior Lauren Laman, who collapsed during a drill team practice last week and could not be revived.

I've known many parents who were so proud to say their daughter was on the school drill team, mainly because it is nearly a year-round sport that demands much time and devotion.

In passing along my condolences to the Laman family, let me also say something that I am certain of: There won't be cell phones, text messaging or high-def TV in heaven, but there will be dancing. And Lauren will be doing it.