[AT] Blizzard of '78

[Charlie V]

I think we missed the worst of the '78 blizzard here South of Lake
Ontario.  People talk of storms in recent years (last 25) and I recall
some pretty bad conditions at times.  My father talked of the storm of
1944 which I was too young to remember.  He talked of 20 foot drifts
during that one.  I recall clearly the blizzard of '66.  That was a
humdinger followed by days of getting roads open, etc.  On Jan. 28 of
1977 we were walloped with another fast and nasty event.  Not as much
snow as '66, but equally violent.  I was caught 40 miles from home
when that hit and was tied up there for three hours with the imminent
business.  The trip home was a 2 1/2 hour adventure of trying a road
south.  Blocked by snow and stuck vehicles.  Turn around, go back, try
another road and hope for the best.  I finally made it through the
white outs and blocked roads to my front door in the Bristol hills and
shut myself in.  My wife was so glad I made it that some tears of
relief were shed.  At that moment I loved two things, my wife first
and the 1970 Ford pickup that brought me home second.  When I looked
out the next morning, the Ford was gone (under the snow).

The other outstanding event that put our area out of service for a few
days was the ice storm of 1991.  That was a story in itself.  With
20-30 trees in the yard, it was like a war zone out there.  For hours
we could hear bang, crash, tinkle,tinkle,tinkle as the ice buildup
broke loose from fallen trees. Putting the destruction aside, the
moment was about as captivating as standing by Niagara falls during a
lightning storm and feeling the combined powers of Mother Nature.

In a nutshell, big events leave big memories.

Charlie V.

On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 3:07 AM,  <drupert at seanet.com> wrote:
> Gene,
>
> I don't remember the winter of 78 as being anything noteworthy here in
> Northwest Washington but two of my brothers, who were back in Ohio at the
> time, sure do and still talk of it to this day.  My oldest brother worked
> at Goodyear in Arkon and our younger brother, who lived in Seattle, was
> back in Michigan on business and decided he would drive down and spend a
> couple of days with our brother and his family before flying back west.
> Well, the couple of days turned into ten days and for seven of those they
> were stuck not even being able to get off the place (5 acres) with four
> wheel drive.  Many of their stories are similar to what you've related.  I
> enjoy hearing them ... but am always glad they were not first hand
> experiences of mine!
>
> Dudley
> Snohomish, Washington
>
>
>>     Just wonder how many of you remember the Great Blizzard of "78 during
>> this week in 1978? 40 inches of snow, 100 MPH winds and temperature of -17
>> degrees. Wind chill was
>> -80 degrees.  Barometer reading of 28.28 in. At the time the lowest ever
>> recorded in the USA. 51 people died. Snow drifts 18 to 20 feet. Took more
>> than a week to dig out. Snowmobiles and National Guard snow tractors were
>> only vehicles moving. End loaders and bulldozers were used to clear the
>> roads.
>>
>>     To make it tractor related, the township commandeered me with my Case
>> 700 and a back blade they had to help clear some of the streets in the
>> village of Broadway where I lived at the time. Pushed snow for 3 days.
>> Fortunately I had a heat houser on the tractor, but was still cold.
>>
>>     The program on Bowling Green PBS station last week and again tonight
>> brought back all the memories. It was a rough time for everybody, but sure
>> brought the community together. Local restaurand and bar fired up their
>> wood
>> stove and had a perpetual soup pot on the whole time for anyone who needed
>> a
>> meal. Everyone brought what they had to put in the pot.
>>
>> Gene
>>
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