I shoveled coal into the furnace as well. My mother was pregnant two years in a row and we lived in a second floor apartment making it difficult for her to get down to the basement and to lift a shovel of coal. I was 10 and 11 at the time. Not sure if I was on furnace duty when I was 10 but definitely when I was 11.

We moved shortly after that winter to a house with oil heat. Yes the house did smell after an oil delivery. My father still owns that house. It’s been our family home for 61 years.

Ashes on the icy sidewalk - lol - I forgot about that.