My friend, Vanilla, posted pictures on his blog yesterday from the blizzard of 1978. I remember that storm well. We were living in Portland, Michigan and were snowed it for three days. I know I have pictures somewhere from that storm. I spent several hours looking for them, but was unable to locate them. Even Sylvia was not able to find them.
All I could find was a couple of pictures from 1967. We were living in a rental house on the north side of Lansing, Michigan — not far from the Michigan School for the Blind. Sylvia was teaching there at the time.
Our older son was four-years-old, and would start kindergarten later that year. We had just bought and old farm house — our first home. We had planned to move on a Saturday. I had loaded the trunk of our 1959 Chevrolet with books. There must have been 300 pounds of them.
On Firday afternoon, the snow began to fall. I was working for IBM at the time and was called in to assist on a service call around mid-afternoon. The problem was a particular difficult one and it was after 5 PM when I started for home. Once I got back to the city, the road dipped down to cross the Grand River. It then when up a hill for a couple of blocks.
The snow was falling fast and there were probably four inches or so of fresh snow everywhere. The road had not been plowed. My old Chev was doing just fine with all that ballast in the trunk. Then I saw that after the first cross street the road was plugged with cars that were not able to negotiate the hill.
I turned onto that first side road and made my way home on those neighborhood streets. I had to break open new tracks, but the car got through and I made it home to my wife and son.
The next morning, Saturday, we woke to realize that we snowed in. The snow drifts were chest high. It was a couple of days before we were able to make it out of the neighborhood.
We were going to move that weekend. We had to postpone for a week. Fortunately, I was able to navigate the rental truck the next weekend through another four inches of fresh snow. Perhaps that’s a story for another day.
I love the pics!
That's a lot of snow!!!
I was a sophomore in high school that year. We couldn't even get across the yard to Grandma and Grandpa Wyman's house. It was the most snow I've ever seen from one storm. I think we had 36" in Leslie. AND a week off school.
Oh, what FUN! We had a wicked snow like that back in '67. I was a little one back then and the snow seemed to be stacked to the sky.
Yes, there have been some great storms! My "best" on was the winter of '58 in upstate NY… no stranger to snow. Yet we had the entire month of February off of school. The helicoptered food into people who lived way out in the country. Mom and I snowshoed to town to get groceries. Somewhere I have a book that was published about that month. If I ever find it maybe that will be good blog material.
Serendipity! Had you found the '78pix, you probably would not have shared this excellent story.
Thanks for the nod in my direction.