Subject: During the years we lived on our Farm in Western Pennsylvania, Farm Ponds were then, and still are now, numerous in rural farming areas. In the late fall, lake-effect snow squals (from off the still warm waters of Lake Erie to our west) would begin blanketing the ground before the ponds would freeze over. Once the ponds did freeze over, the ice was often smooth as glass and free of snow. This made ideal skating for Families and their Children and Neighboring Friends.