Every year there are numerous accidents involving people falling through thin ice that result in folks drowning or succumbing to hypothermia from the cold water. Many people enjoy fishing, skating or just plain sliding around on the ice but how do you know it’s safe? Here are some guidelines to go by but remember when in doubt, stay off! Safety is no accident.

  * There is no such thing as 100% safe ice.

  * Never go alone! If something bad happens there will be someone there to help or to call for help.

  * New ice is usually stronger than old ice

  * Snow has an insulting effect on ice and it slows the freezing process. Avoid areas with a lot of snow on them.

  * Must have safety items to take along: Ice picks, 50 feet of rope and a throw able floatation device such as a boat seat cushion.

  How thick should the ice be to safely venture on to it? Here are some guidelines.

  * One inch of ice: Stay off.

  * Four inches of ice: Needed for safe ice fishing.

  * Five inches of ice: Needed for snowmobiling.

  * Eight inches of ice: Needed to support the weight of a car or light truck.

  * Ten inches of ice: Needed to support a medium weight truck.

  As I sit here this time of year in my old cabin with the weather putting a chill on the outdoors, I start thinking back to Christmas and New Years past. One year in particular stands out in my archives of memories. It was New Year’s Day dinner in 1954.

  I was just a young fella and we lived in a very small house my Mom and Dad built on a hill in northwest Connecticut. At that time there was a lot of wild game in the woods. I remember bob cats prowling around our garbage heap we used to have near the house. At night they would fight each other sometimes and scream real loud! It used to scare me something awful; I was only six at the time.

  This particular night Dad was out in the door yard sawing some wood after dark. We were fortunate enough to have electricity, no running water, so dad had a drop cord and light to work by. I remember there being a light dusting of snow on the ground. I was helping him saw a few small logs for our stove when a big fat raccoon came wandering up to us. Dad didn't have his gun with him so he picked up a tire iron and killed the coon pretty quick with a blow to its head. He brought the coon inside the house, which didn't exactly please Mom, but nevertheless he strung it up from the ceiling and put a lot of newspapers on the floor and skinned it out. After a good cleaning Mom put it in our refrigerator.

  The next morning we walked up the dirt road to my aunt’s house, she was my mom’s sister, with the coon in a roasting pan to have for New Year’s dinner. My uncle had prepared the meat of a big old snapping turtle he had in his freezer from the late summer. He said he found it crossing the dirt road near a large pond not far from our place.

  The coon, turtle, and a chicken from the hen house were the meats for the meal. Auntie made biscuits and homemade bread. We had carrots, potatoes, turnips, stuffing and raccoon gravy, which was a rich brown color. Desert was always apple pie, chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie.

  We all crowded around the table, but some of us kids sat at separate little tables. It didn't matter, we were all there together. No TV, no cell phones, no distractions! It was a memorable meal for a young boy growing up in the woods at that time.

  My brother and I were two years apart, he was the older one and like most boys and girls at that time, Davey Crocket was our hero. We both had genuine coon skin hats and Davey Crocket jack knives. You could carry your jack knife to school in those days. No one ever thought of using it to harm someone.

  Those were good times for me. I still have a genuine coon skin hat I wear this time of year, and I still eat raccoon. My freezer has squirrel, venison, and a couple of raccoons (oven ready) that my cousin gave me. Like most all of you, I love cooking and eating wild game.

  I will close for now. Have a great New Year’s dinner, a great day, and a great year! Oh, and keep hunting! There ain't nothing better than making good memories. All the best, Cabin Dan