JAMESTOWN, N.C. — If you drive past one particular neighborhood in Jamestown, you may be lucky enough to see snow, however, it's not what you think...
Blowing snow across one backyard is the MacGyver creation of Jamestown native, Matt Lopina – his personal snow machine.
“When the weather is ideal, which means it's 27 degrees or cooler. I have an air compressor and I have a pressure washer and they combine forces in a nozzle that kind of mixes the air with the water and as it kind of sprays out into the atmosphere or in my backyard. It freezes instantly," said Lopina.
Lopina is a transplant from the Midwest who now calls the Triad home, but he wanted to give the joys of snow and sledding to his kids.
"That's why it's a very residential version of what you can find at a Snow Resort at a fraction of the cost and if you have a hill and a sled, you don't even have to leave home to do it," said Lopina.
He’s on his fifth year of his snow machine and, while his kids definitely enjoy, Lopina can’t help but see that it goes beyond just that.
It's funny, I'll start getting text messages from friends and colleagues and you know, others that in the neighborhood like 'Hey, I think it's cold enough tonight. It's the weekend. Are we going are we gonna have snow?' And I think yeah, you should. You should plan on it," Lopina said.
It has brought together his family and his neighborhood, but most importantly, it’s brought out the child in him.
“It's important to just find the joy in little things that you can do even if it's running water through a nozzle in your backyard and it can turn into a magical Winter Wonderland. I smile even though I’m tired the next day., it’s well worth it to me," Lopina said.