I lived upstate New York for 8th and 9th grades back in the 60’s. 30 min walk to school...at least 2 miles. I would freeze in winter, never got a ride to school. We would walk to school in a gaggle, we would always wait along the route, the gaggle would grow as the guy who lived the furthest arrived and we joined in. Don’t ever remember a snow day but remember walking through 6 inches of snow and still snowing. I remember class rooms had to have a coat and boot area because once you were at school you had to take off your arctic gear, could not fit into a locker.
Sounds like the one winter we spent near Boston. It was SOOOO cold and we walked anyway. I was really glad when we moved to Georgia!