Out in the Storm

Years of experience doing historical interpretation have left me with the habit of asking myself "What would they do?" They are the 18th century middle class, skilled craftsmen and their families, farmers, millers, and weavrers in particular.
This winter has been rough on us. People ten miles to the north of me spent at least five days without electricity. Work and school were canceled. The morning temperature was above freezing only a couple of days since this mess started.
But the sheep have to be fed twice a day, the dog has to be walked no matter how much ice is out there.
This would not be an unusual winter in the early 1700s. Since they didn’t have snow-blowers they had to shovel, and not with the light aluminum or plastic shovels we have.
If they wanted to stay warm and cook, they had to chop and lug the wood. The stream and the millrace would have been frozen solid. If they were lucky the ground temperature kept the well water from freezing.
I have a closet full of sweaters and some very modern long underwear, but their wardrobes were limited by the expense of finished cloth or the time it took to make homespun. If you were cold, you put on as many layers of clothing as you had. Sometimes it wasn't enough. But they were used to the cold. They didn't expect the climate controlled rooms we are used to.
But they didn't worry about the electricity going out.