I suppose there were cases of men walking in 5 ft. of snow. I walked to school in 24 below zero....about 10inches of snow, and walked home in dust blizzards, of Kansas in 1955. Everyone else had parents come get their kids so they didn’t get lost at 2pm,...pitch dark. We didn’t cut cords of wood, but did pick up many tires along the highway, these burned well, but neighbors complained of soot on their linens left to dry on lines.
Been home schooled so didn’t have to walk in snow but then it doesn’t much here in Seattle ... really feel for those kids in ND, MN, WI where the temps are sub zero ...
My dad had a photo of the three story farm house he grew up in with snow well up into the second story - and it wasn't just drifts. They used a door to the second story porch to get in and out.
He was the youngest of 16 and they all walked both ways to a school over 5 miles away. His parents made everyone of them finish school too.