Gabriel Cooney’s Photograph of Students in Snow

A man and woman laughing and playfully throwing snowballs at each other under a snow-covered tree in a snowy scene.

Gabriel Cooney, Photograph of Outdoor Scene During Snowfall, January 1, 1983, 35mm film negative digitized positive, Amherst College Archives & Special Collections.

Introduction

In the heart of the winter, snowfall in the northeast is often seen as burdensome—inconvenient, relentless, and freezing. However, on the Amherst College campus during the winter of 1983, a heavy storm became a source of joy, rather than frustration. One particular photograph by Gabriel Cooney—the Amherst College official photographer at the time—captures a young couple partaking in a snowball fight on campus, their playful energy contrasting the stormy backdrop. Taken during winter break—a calm time between semesters where students have no classes, this image encapsulates the convergence of weather, memory, and place. This image suggests that extreme weather events, while disruptive, can be the roots for cherished memories, particularly when connected to fond moments of love and youth. 

Analysis of the Image

A closer analysis of the image shows that it is divided into two distinct halves—each providing a striking contrast to the viewer that deepens its narrative. The top half evokes a sense of stillness and desolation centered around a barren tree. The tree is static, fragile, and vulnerable to the snow. The bottom half, however, presents a lively, vivid scene. The subjects, dressed in dark clothes contrast the monochrome white landscape. The couple operates with love and energy, nearly oblivious to the frigid weather around them. Taken separately, the top and bottom halves of the image could be interpreted as depicting vastly different weather conditions. Taken together, however, they create a compelling juxtaposition of human interaction with the weather. The top of the image shows death and vulnerability while the bottom shows life the ability to endure. Overall, this juxtaposition in the image depicts a metaphor for human joy amidst a cruel winter.

Location, Weather and Memory

Many historians have explored the idea that location plays a crucial role in the remembrance of weather events. For example, Hall & Endfield explain that place “plays a central role in influencing and shaping weather memories” and “weather contributes to the making and meaning of place.”1 The Amherst area experienced seven major snowfalls in the winter of 1983, January 16 being a notable one.2 Despite the relentless snowfall, the couple in this image is joyful—further suggesting Amherst College campus plays a major role in how this weather event was perceived and remembered. Whether it was the affection they felt for the school itself, the lack of academic stressors during break, or the budding romance between them, the couple’s environment shapes their perception of the storm in a positive light.

On the flipside, Hall and Endfield noted that weather can create significance for a place, not just reflect it. As for this couple, the memory of the snow may become a symbol of love for each other or the place when recalling this storm. Therefore the storm, rather than being a burdensome event, may have become a milestone for the couple—one that anchored their emotional connection to each other and the place. 

This crucial connection between love, memory, and weather is further supported by Hall’s argument that “the most detailed weather memories submitted are those connected to important milestones in participant’s lives” such as “the start of a new school or university” and when “recalling periods of extreme cold or snow, people use such significant life events as a hook to connect conditions with important milestones in their life.”3 Extreme weather events many times become the root of significant life events. As for this photograph, even if this storm was not directly linked to a specific milestone for the couple, this snow storm definitely served as a moment of shared intimacy and joy. This memory and part of their story became permanent by the snow. 

Connection to Amherst

The collective attitude towards snow at Amherst demonstrates that fond memories of snow at the school are common, further supporting the relation between place and memory. In The Amherst Student, a 1983 undergraduate describes the storm fondly and explains that despite cold temperatures and feet of snow, “you’ll never be able to stop people from sledding and traying after a big snowfall.”4 It is clear that Amherst College is a place that embraces the snow, rather than fears it. Hall & Enfield generalize anecdotes from participants saying “winters associated with snowfall seem to be remembered positively.”5 Interviewees reminisced on tobogganing, “breathtaking landscape,” and a “snowball fight”—all experiences related to those in Cooney’s collection of images from this day. 6The authors explain that one-third of the memories they collected from participants consist of pleasurable outdoor winter activities after extreme storms. These winter traditions at Amherst turn extreme storms into memories of collective joy, making weather inseparable from the identity of Amherst College.

Finally, it is important to note how an image captured by a campus photographer is a crucial medium in terms of place and history, primarily because these images have cemented their place in public memory. In her article titled “Weather and Elemental Places,” Endfield explains how the keeping of journals and records—in this case a photo collection by Cooney—has “the power to gain access to and take hold on public consciousness and achieve thereby a higher degree of stability and permanence.”7 Cooney’s photograph has this ability—capturing a memory, place, and tradition. Passing down images of students frolicking in the snow over Winter break demonstrates to future Amherst students that the college is a place of joy, despite the weather. Its beautiful landscapes, the ability to sled down Memorial Hill, or just have a snowball fight with a loved one is a unique feature of the place that is Amherst College. His collection and this image particularly, influence how future Amherst students connect to and remember their winters spent there. 

Conclusion

While on the surface, this photograph looks like just a snowball fight, this image captures something far more meaningful—the power of memory and the intersection of place, weather, and love. The place—Amherst College—the love story, and the intensity of the snowstorm each contribute to how this moment is remembered and preserved. As for Amherst College itself, this image depicts tradition and identity, one where extreme winters are embraced, not just endured. Overall, this image shows the ability humans have to experience joy despite the harshest of weather conditions. It is a reminder that moments of happiness can occur amidst the most harsh of temperatures, and that memory, that is rooted in place and experience, has the ability to transform the burdens of weather into something wonderful and long-lasting.

Footnotes

  1. Alexander Hall and Georgina Endfield, “Snow Scenes: Exploring the Role of Memory and Place in Commemorating Extreme Winters,” Weather, Climate, and Society 8, no. 1 (2016), 6. ↩︎
  2. The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, January 1983, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ↩︎
  3. Hall and Endfield, “Snow Scenes,” 14. ↩︎
  4. The Amherst Student, January 1983, Amherst College Archives & Special Collection ↩︎
  5.  Hall and Endfield, “Snow Scenes,” 14. ↩︎
  6.  Hall and Endfield, “Snow Scenes,” 14. ↩︎
  7. Georgina H. Endfield, “Weather and Elemental Places,” Historical Geography, no. 47 (2019): 1–31. ↩︎