The Blizzard of '74
It seems that winter is upon us. To be honest, I live in Georgia, so the worst of winter here is rain and cold (40 degrees - it’s freezing out there!) I have to admit that I watch the videos of blizzards in the northeast with a bit of envy and a lot of nostalgia.
I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania and lived in PA until I was 47 years old. So I’ve seen my share of snowstorms. It seemed like they were worse when I was a kid. Which was great, because there had to be a lot of snow in order for schools to be closed. Down here in Georgia if someone hints there might be a snowflake in the air they close everything!
I love snow. But only if I can sit in the house and look at it. I spent too many years digging out my car or snowblowing a path to the barn or worst of all – driving on bad roads. That’s why I now live in the south.
In the winter of 1974 my brother was being discharged from the Navy and had moved his family to Pennsylvania from Norfolk. He had some business to take care of at the base, so after Thanksgiving he returned to Norfolk leaving his wife, two young daughters, and his wife’s mother and aunt in their trailer out in the countryside of Somerset County. They were about ten miles from our house.
It started snowing early Sunday, December 1st. By late afternoon the snow was rapidly accumulating and the wind had raised. Blizzard conditions. It got worse as the evening went on. Sometime after 7:00 (I remember because I was watching Apple’s Way. Anyone remember that show and teen heartthrob Vince Van Patten?) . Got sidetracked for a moment. Sometime after 7:00 Mom looked out the window and saw two four wheel drive trucks driving around our barn.
We watched one of the men get out of the truck then reach back in and pick up a little girl.
“That looks like Becky,” my mom exclaimed.
Becky is my oldest niece, at that time about 2 ½ years old.
It was Becky. And her baby sister. And her mom and Gamy and Aunt Mabel. We were being invaded.
The men in the trucks had been driving the roads. Seeing the conditions. Doing a little four-wheeling maybe. They saw my sister-in-law’s trailer just back from the road in a grove of pine trees. Their electricity had gone out sometime earlier, and the wind was starting to bring down tree branches. The men knew the people in that trailer were in a dangerous situation.
So they drove in and told Mary Ann they needed to get out of that trailer. Did they have anywhere to go?
The only place they could think of was our house. Mary Ann was distraught that she couldn’t call and let us know because the phones were out (no cell phones, remember?) But they packed up what they needed and piled into the trucks.
I don’t think we ever knew who those kind men (angels?) were. But looking back on the events of the following week those men most certainly saved my family’s lives.
We got them settled in. My Mom reassured Mary Ann that this was no imposition at all, and we all trooped into the living room to finish watching Apple’s Way.
Then the lights went out.
They stayed out for the next seven days.
And we weren’t going anywhere. The snowdrifts in our country road were so deep that by the time the snowplows were able to start work on it, even they had trouble getting through the road.
The advantage of living in a country farmhouse is that even without electricity we were comfortable. We had a coal and wood furnace so we were warm. In the kitchen we had an old cook stove where Mom could melt snow for washing up. And we had a propane stove, so we could cook. Oh, and don’t forget the basement full of home canned food and a freezer packed to the gills.
We had kerosene lanterns for light. Not the brightest, but adequate.
And we had a piano for entertainment. In the evenings I played, and they sang.
The only thing that was problematic was water. Our well was accessed by a surface pump located in a pump house. Every winter we lit a lantern in there to keep the pump from freezing up. But it needed electricity. No electric, no water.
What we did have was a deep spring down the lane near the pasture. I remember Dad rigging up a way to fasten two old three-foot tall metal milk cans to the back of the tractor. He was able to get through the lane and into the spring to get the fresh water, not just for us, but also for our cows. It was a big job, but was evidence of God’s protection and provision during that time.
I loved getting snowed in as a kid.
It meant no school and lazy days sitting around reading a book or working on a paint-by-number kit. Getting snowed in as an adult wasn’t quite as much fun. We may have been snowed in, but I still had to make my way to the barn – often through chest deep snow drifts – to care for the animals. And I had to run the snow blower and dig the car out, because sure enough I would have to get out the next day and go to work. That took all the fun out of it.
I’d love to get snow in today. As I mentioned, it doesn’t take much to shut everything down here in the south, but that adult thing gets in the way. I still need to cook and clean and wash clothes. If I’m not doing something useful I feel like a bum.
Are you like me? Are you just too busy and even when watching TV your brain is running wild thinking about all the things we need to do the next day.
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” Christians need to learn to do this more often. Just sit back, read Scripture and pray. Put on some worship music. Let God fill your heart and remove all the discord in your life. The problems may still be there, but He will give you peace and direction to deal with those things.
I have to admit, I need to take my own advice. I keep waiting for a snowstorm to give me the chance to be still, when what I need to do is plan for my own “snowstorm” – a time to meditate and commune with God.
If you’re in the path of a snowstorm today, count yourself lucky!! And be safe.
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