Every time the weather forecast says that we are in for a huge snowstorm, I hear my youngest son’s words ringing in my ears!  “Yes, Mom! Yes, Dad ! I know. I know. You’ve told all of us 100 times. It will never be as bad as the Blizzard of ’78.

       For those of you who lived through it, and survived, you know exactly where I’m coming from.

It was Jan. 28,1978. Thank the Good Lord, I was a stay at home mom at that time. I had a 2 year old and was pregnant with the second child.   

At about 2a.m., it was raining really hard. We were living in the downstairs of our farmhouse. We were to move into the newly remodeled upstairs in April.

    I had gotten up to settle our 2yr. old son. Suddenly, it sounded as if someone took a sledge- hammer to our bedroom window.! In  my lifetime, I have never seen snow, nor wind as it was on that day.

       On the way to the barn to milk, my hubby fell down 6 times, the cows wouldn’t stay in the holding pen. Thus, he didn’t milk that morning. He had to scoop the pen out in order to milk that night.

    Only God knows why we didn’t lose electricity. I call that a miracle. That’s due to the fact that 1000’s of people lost power. The storm with 80 mph. winds, 15 inches of snow, and drifts up to the electric wires, hit on a Thurs.

    Had we lost power, our sweet neighbors Dale and Ruthie Roberts, would have taken us across the road to their big family room with a huge fireplace.

       All stores were out of food and supplies, until the following Monday. Most country roads were not dug out until over the weekend. Due to the fact that all farmers had line fences at the time, the roads drifted shut.

       There was a high school boy, who helped us as a hired man. Farmer Thomas knew it would be necessary to have all the help he could get. Therefore,  he wanted to head down the road a half of a mile to get Richard. He had to drive down on a tractor with no cab, and just a loader on the front.

       The only way he could see the road was to follow the telephone wires. So off he took, leaving a very pregnant wife alone in the house with a 2 yr. old.   Talk about being scared, I could have been the poster child for being wild-eyed with fear.

       It took him an hour to go half a mile, warm in the house a few minutes, call me, and get safely home. I was never so glad to see someone in my life. The drifts were so high, that  at the end of our road on Rt. 42. A semi had slid into a drift and was buried.

       We had neighbors who also  ran a dairy on Taylor Blair Rd. They lost electricity, and went into the barn to get warm from the body heat of the cows.  Deaths  from freezing were happening all over the county.

       On Sat. crews were on the move to dig out the country roads. However, Farmer Thomas had to have the road clear , in order to have our milk picked up. Thus, he and Richard dug out our rd., from our farm to Rt. 42. That ranged close to one forth of a mile. Wouldn’t you know it? About an hour later, the rd. crew came through.

      Sometime on Sat. eve, the plumber had come to fix pipes that  had burst in the milking parlor.

    Once they started clearing the roads, the snow was piled so high that it was up to the electric lines. One of the worst facts was the following: It stayed really cold and windy at times. So, I drove nowhere alone. As soon as they would dig out the road, it would drift closed soon after. It continued that way all of Jan./Feb.

       My parents ,who lived in Cincy, asked if they could come to visit. I laughed and responded. “You can’t. If you get here, you might never get home. The snow is piled up to the electric lines. Every time the wind blows, the roads drift shut.”

       I kid you not, on March the 8^th,Tom, Grandpa, and I went to Columbus to order cabinets for the upstairs. We remarked to each other. “Thank God, those piles of snow are melting.”

    Due to the blizzard we  got a generator that ran off of the tractor. We are now going to purchase one that fits in the garage, and comes on automatically.

    When I travel in the snow, I always make sure that I have a flash-light, boots, blanket, full tank of gas, and a phone charger.

       I can remember watching The Love Boat that Sat. Eve holding hands with my man. We praised  God that the storm had passed, we were warm, had plenty of food, and were safe and sound.

        On Sunday morn, I popped my head out the back door. The sun was rising. It was about 10 degrees. There was a slight wind, and snow snakes were slithering across the drifts.

       I prayed, ”Dear God, I believe I’m in Alaska!”

Thirty-nine years have passed. Our second son will be 39 in June. That’s one of the ways I remember.

       Trust me ,Friends! I do NOT WANT TO LIVE THROUGH THAT….EVER…EVER…EVER..AGAIN!

Stay warm and stay close to the ones you love.

Love,

Granny