[AT] Blizzard of '78

[Mike 1countryguy]

Yes, remember it very well.  I was teaching and when no school (closed), I ran a gallion 500, with international diesel, with pony gas to start it.  The "old gal" was worn out, but still pushed and worked.  I could never get lost!  There was always the trail of hyd oil on the ground following me.
 
Warm-no way, heater didn't work and i used a latern in the cab to help.  The wind chills you mentioned were right one.  I hit a bank with the grader blade and snapped linkage like a pencil.  The grader had chains on all four drive wheels, a 1950 vintage v plow on the front.  I had the cleanest farm drive in the area, but could not get down the road because of 10 foot snow drifts until a front loader (open station) came out to help!
 
Snow blindness was constant! I looked for any weeds on road side for markers and learned to feel when the grader was off the berm and sliding towards a ditch.  We had nothing in the twp at the time bigger so............the twp truck loaded with cinders and chains.  We had to work tandem or nothing.
 
That was the year the ground did NOT freeze, so guess what was under all that snow in the ditch (water).
 
Hope this gets thru, usually I have no success in posting so I just observe.  
 
Oh, all this was in North central Ohio in southern Ashland county.
 
> From: gdotsly at watchtv.net
> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 23:00:41 -0500
> Subject: [AT] Blizzard of '78
> 
> 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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