The Great Blizzard of 1948-49. It came to mind recently
"Why are you so interested in that all of a sudden?" my husband asked. It's always been tiptoeing around in my mind - maybe because our brother's birthday is December 24, 1948. I was 6 years old and unable to realize how gigantic and life changing it was. I walked 7 blocks to school and back that winter and when I got home my face and hands would sometimes be frost bit. Luckily, Grandpa would sometimes pick me up at school. There was a chinook on December 24 and the really bad blizzard, the killer, started on the 1st of January. Our home was very tiny and Mother had to wrap baby Mike before I opened the door to come in because of the howling, bitter cold winds.
It affected our state of Wyoming, and Montana, the Dakotas, and Nebraska. Schools were closed, railroads could not run, vast numbers of cattle and wild animals perished. Hay was airlifted to cattle and even to some of the wild game where they could. In reading about it, the blizzards began in November and there was one after another. Getting around in some of the drifted in spots was impossible. An article online said that some of the people in remote areas were airlifted food and sometimes had to burn their furniture to keep from freezing.
I think about this and ponder. Today we have cell phones, the computer, interstate highways. Creatures still die in blizzards. People are soft now.
Thank you for allowing me to share that time of my life with you. Diane
9 comments:
What a sad time, Diane, That would be very hard to forget, and the weather this winter certainly is a reminder isn't it?
Reading that, I had better not be complaining about a few cold days. Puts it all in perspective.Thanks.
What a storm.....thank you for sharing. We had such a cold weekend but its suppose to warm up tomorrow again...so excited about a 20 degree day again!
Take care, Heidi
How interesting to hear you talk of this- everybody in England seems to be remembering the winter of 63- a very hard one by British standards. Jane xx
Nature is a formidable power that we must respect and cannot always control. We sometimes forget. Thanks Diane for the reminder.
I look outdoors and wonder where the snow is this winter. The first year we owned the property, there was a 4' snow. Now we are lucky to get 4".
Your post is food for thought, Diane.
There are still people who have to brave conditions every day that we can't even imagine. Like the nomadic tribes who live in the Sahara. And then there are those who choose to live in harsh conditions for research purposes. Most of us can't even imagine living in anything other than comfort. Hope you are having a great week. Tammy
We are so soft now, and I fear none of us would survive things like this too well. It's good to look back and remember how tough we really could be.
Yikes! You just never know do you? Thanks for sharing your memories! xobean
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