Blizzard of ’78
Last week marked the 45 anniversary of the 1978 Blizzard that overwhelmed Ohio and most of the midwest. We lived in Michigan and only received a fraction of the snow without the high winds and subzero temps that midwestern Ohio experienced over a three day period in late January of that year.
My siblings all vividly recalled that historic blizzard. Here are their stories:
From my brother: Mom & Dad were stranded by themselves on the home farm without power, water, heat or phone. They hunkered down in the kitchen with a mattress on the floor using candles and lanterns for heat and light. They blocked off the other rooms with blankets over the various access points to keep the heat in the kitchen. Note the rosary on the kitchen table in the photo below, so they also did a lot of praying!
Dad had to drain the baseboard heating system in the house to keep it from freezing and would go to the barn periodically to break the ice in the water tank for the beef cattle he was raising. I recall him telling me he would put snow into the water tank to melt and replenish any water consumed.
Finally, my brother was able to head over to Mom and Dad’s on his snowmobile and noticed the makeshift bedroom living area in the kitchen, an inconvenience they seemed to handle very well in an upbeat manner.
If you lived through the Great Depression immediately followed by WWII, a couple days of no power and water seemed nothing for them. For sure, "the Greatest Generation”.
Dad eventually plowed out the long lane with the tractor, no doubt a real challenge in the cold and wind.
Fortunately, Dad had sold his milk cows a few years earlier, otherwise he would have had to milk them by hand under light from the kerosene lantern, like Mrs. O’Leary back in 1871 Chicago, but God-forbid without the same consequences. Legend has it that incident is linked to a famous square dance tune.
My middle sister’s husband also visited his parents, but his truck slid into a huge snowdrift and was stuck, so he walked the rest of the way. My sister had no idea what happened to him as the power and phone lines were down, so she and her two young children ages 1 & 4, were by themselves in their home to weather the brunt of the storm. Her husband finally walked back late that evening reporting that his parents were ok and he fortunately found my sister and their kids ok as well.
My youngest sister reported that everyone kicked in to help neighbors during the blizzard. They stayed at a neighbor’s place who had a fireplace to keep warm. At the time, she was working at Fair Haven nursing home in Sidney, but could not get to work for 3 days. The trips to and from work that winter were very challenging due to the high snow drifts that kept recurring with just a little wind. Her shift started very early at 5:45am so she had to travel those back roads between Ft. Loramie and Sidney well before the snowplows were out. Needless to say she did not stay at Fair Haven long after that winter, finding nursing employment elsewhere. But she reported it was nice being with Grandma and Grandpa who resided at Fair Haven. She'd spend her lunch with them to provide comfort in their final years, just as she did so faithfully for both our parents when they went to the nursing home.
My eldest sister also indicated they had no power and phone service for three days. Mom was the first person she called after getting the service restored. Both were so relieved and thankful to learn everyone was all right.
My brother also indicated how treacherous the roads were all that winter due to the drifting snow. He drove a truck at that time making deliveries and recalled a road in Indiana that did not open for two weeks after the storm and then only one lane. The drifts were higher than his truck!
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