[AT] Was: Re: Blizzard of '78 Now, recollections of NC.

[Gene's Wowway e-mail]

These mentions of NC State take me back to my childhood.  Dad's first job 
after his PhD was with NC State---College, of course.  Started in either '47 
or '48---was Head of the Ag Dept when we left in 1955 for a 2-3 year leave 
of absence with the USAID in Peru.  Dad liked the overseas work, and also 
felt a bit guilty about coming back and shoving the Acting Dept Head, a 
personal friend, aside and resuming his position.  He was offered a job with 
the Rockefeller Foundation and went on to spend over 20 more years in South 
and Central America. becoming a pretty well known expert in tropical 
agriculture, esp Dairy.  After retirement, he taught a number of courses in 
Trop Ag at, I believe, the U of FL at Gainsville.

The two acres we used to own on Penny Road, right across from the Swift 
Creek Baptist Church, look to be much the same as when we were there, but 
the entire area has become heavily residential---Just to the east of us was 
the Atkins farm; he had a peach orchard, I as a kid helped haul water for 
his tobacco allotment---ahhh, the memories of the aroma of his smoke barn. 
Penny Road was gravel when we moved there, but paved within the first couple 
years.  I now remember the highway dept had a pneumatic traffic counter 
across the road right at our mailbox---we kids must have put hundreds if not 
thousands of vehicles on their count!!!  IIRC, the folks knew what we were 
up to---they never TOLD us to hike the count, but I don't think they really 
discouraged us, either.  I went to grades 2-6 in Apex---in those days, a 
senior living near the end of the bus route drove the bus (the school was 
grades 1 - 12).

We went through the sides of Hurricane Hazel here in late '54---no power for 
some two weeks, no phone for more like three.  At least we had a dug well, 
so we had water!!

Delving into memories is interesting---one recollection brings up yet 
another!!

GeneW
Elgin, Illinois USA



-----Original Message----- 
From: Al Jones
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 7:26 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Blizzard of '78

That sounds just like the dept. of chemistry at NC State! (!@(%* Saturday 
exams!) I think the only department there whose faculty as a whole has the 
same, maybe even less real world common sense is the department of 
statistics....

I don't remember snow here in '78 but the big snow on March 1, 1980 was the 
first big one I remember.

Al


-----Original Message-----
>From: David Bruce <davidbruce at yadtel.net>
>Sent: Jan 29, 2011 6:33 AM
>To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Subject: Re: [AT] Blizzard of '78
>
>Don't know if it was the same storm but -
>I was an undergrad at NC State that year, living in a dorm.
>As I recall we had about 12 inches of snow early one morning and I
>considered sleeping in rather than making my 7:50 AM Textile Chemistry
>class.
>In the end I tromped to the TC building where my prof was already there
>waiting.  He had walked from the Crabtree Valley area to campus (those
>that know Raleigh know that is a long hike).
>
>David
>NW NC
>
>On 1/26/2011 11:00 PM, Gene Dotson wrote:
>>      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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