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I remember the blizzard of '78 like it was yesterday. Very little warning on the severity of this storm. Local radio weather guy did say something about a storm of great magnitude. I was working in a bank and got a call that the daycare where my son was would be closing at noon. I had a big old 1969 Chevy that was not good in the snow so Rick had given me a ride to work. My sister's office was closing so she picked me up, then we picked him up. The snow hadn't been falling all that long, but it was falling fast. It was an interesting ride back to her apartment in her little Datsun B210. I called Rick who said he would pick me up when he got out. I can't remember the time frame, but he arrived mid afternoon and it took us at least two-three hours to travel 13 miles. Cars were stuck, buses were stuck. We tried alternate routes as we'd encounter streets that were clogged with vehicles. He was driving a 1973 AMC Hornet three speed manual transmission that had really GOOD tires on it. We were able to navigate areas where others had to give up. We were trying to make it to my apartment but had to opt out of that choice and try the highway to get to his place. We were one of the few cars on the highway at that point. I don't mind admitting that trip home gave me a new respect for the term "blizzard conditions. I think I was totally unaware as to how dangerous that trip home was. He was living alone at the time, and his refrigerator was pretty bare. Thankfully his Mom lived next door and sent over some meals for us.
Businesses were closed, the bank I work for was closed for a few days, streets were impassible. One sister was stuck in Rhode Island for almost a week. I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure they had to abandon the car they were driving. They took shelter in a hotel where she helped wait tables in the restaurant. News crews were working out of there and offered their room if she and my now brother in law wanted to get some sleep when they were out. People really did step up to help one another.
Here's a few photos from our local paper today as well as some memories from local folks. Yes, I could easily live without winter. Do you have any blizzard memories? Blizzard of 78 memories
We got clobbered with that storm a well. I worked for Xerox at the time, and they called off work the first day. Day 2, I tried to get out, got a mile down the road, spun the car, and turned around and went back home. It was the first "bad storm" that I tried to navigate in, still don't like driving in snow.
We remember it as well. In a way it was a blessing. We had driven to PA because my dad was having surgery. The surgery went fine. We were planning to drive back to MI when the blizzard closed down the turnpikes, etc. and we stayed on. Suddenly things made a bad turn and my dad died. Thankfully we were still there, got to say our final goodbyes, and help my mother deal with it.
I was 10... and I recall that we had this thing in Columbus, Ohio called "Schools Without Schools", as the school district was closed for over 2 weeks, because of the snow and sub-zero temps. I had to walk from my subdivision, over to the next one, past my elementary school, to a classmate's house, to have school 3 days/week. About 1.5 miles each way. Got a certificate for the effort.
02-06-2018, 07:31 AM
Blizzard of '78 40 year anniversary
