Those “arctic express” fronts are bone-chilling & pipe-bursting, but little/no snow cover to speak of. I don’t remember any Dec-Mar ‘snow cover’ since 50s/60s, back in IL.
The trouble with memory is that it is not very accurate. We usually only remember extreme or special events.
This might help - January snowfall for Joliet, IL since 1943. It looks like 2012 was quite a high snowfall year, and nothing outstanding in the 50's or 60's.
http://weather-warehouse.com/WeatherHistory/PastWeatherData_JolietBrandonRdDm_Joliet_IL_January.html
I don't know where you are exactly, but you can look it up at the link.