With winter arriving this month, my thoughts turned to a different kind of cleaning: snow removal. How were city streets cleared long ago, and what was life like before plows and snowblowers? I discovered some intriguing images that answer some of my questions and raise many new ones.
Here are a few of these images, along with some questions to help your students dig into the images and think more deeply. For each snow removal method, you can also ask students to think about where the energy or power came from, what were the advantages and disadvantages of the method used, and how it compares to today.
Start by displaying the above drawing and asking students to speculate: “How do you think this tool works?”
Next, show students a photo of soldiers shoveling a road and ask, “What do you think is happening here? Are you familiar with these tools?”
Have students examine the 1908 photo on the left and ask, “What do you think is happening here? What tools or machines are being used? What questions does this photo raise?” (My own question: Where did all the snow go?)
Have students examine the photo below of the snow plow from 1910 and ask, “What is this tool, and how does it compare to those you see today?”
For further investigation, have students look at more snow plow images in order to explore plow design (the 1860s, [between 1910 and 1925], the Sno-Go, and 1939). One way to encourage them to look more closely is to print the images and ask students to put them in chronological order based on their observations.
Other issues for discussion include: teamwork and coordination required; level of effort for different periods of time; byproducts of snow removal mechanisms; who is responsible for removing snow after a blizzard – individuals or the government; and property rights and legal issues. How did the development of snow removal technology impact our lives?
As always, you can deepen exploration of these images by using the Teachers Guides and Analysis Tool.
See if your older students can find out what happened to some of that snow after the blizzard, by searching loc.gov for more images. Let us know what you think here in the comments.