Friday, January 26, 2018

Little Blizzard


I grew up in Nebraska. I am also old enough that I remember trudging to school in thigh high snow. And no that is not a parent's tale to show children how tough I had it. It just was.

In school we learned about blizzards in history. Houses could be almost completely covered with snow. People would have to dig out because when they opened the door all they saw was a wall of snow.

We learned that sometimes people dug tunnels in the snow to get from one place to another. Farmers would tie ropes from the house to the barn. Livestock had to be tended even in a blizzard. The farmer would hold onto the rope so he would make it to the barn he could not see because of the whiteout of the blizzard. Then he would use the rope to make it safely back to the house.

One story that always stuck with me was the one of the teacher of a country school.  The temperature was freezing cold and the snow blowing so hard that she decided to keep the children at the school with her until conditions eased.

But the wood to keep the one room school warm ran out. The blizzard was still in full force. She had to get the children to safety.

She tied a rope around her waist and around the waist of a student. Each student was tied to the one before him/her.

They went out into the cold blowing snow. They could not see anything. There was no way to know where they were nor to judge how far they had gone. That brave teacher managed to reach safety with all her little charges in tow.

We just had a blizzard a few days ago. It was a real blizzard. It takes that blinding whiteout to make a true blizzard.

In less than twenty-four hours we received more than 12  inches of snow.  The snow plow cleaned our street at least 3 times that morning. You could not tell.

The thing is that this was a little blizzard. We had worse when I was a child. There were much worse blizzards before then. A little blizzard.

20 comments:

  1. Oh wow I could never live in those conditions, how I hate the cold. What a great teacher though to look after all her children so well. Enjoy your weekend and hope it is not too cold, Diane

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    1. Those terrible blizzards I spoke of occurred in the 1800's. They still happen occasionally but now we usually have enough warning to prepare for them.

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  2. I've actually experienced one blizzard in my life. They are identified/classified by the drop in barometric pressure and the vast amount of snow that falls. I had a cat who was disabled by that blizzard. The barometer and the whiteness made his lose senses. He walked the walls for months, to steer himself.

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  3. I remember how exciting it would be to get snowed in (if I had been able to get to the store before it hit). It is always amazing when nature reminds us of what she can do.

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    1. Being snowed in was always an adventure. And the snowmen we could make... fun.

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  4. I've never experienced such a bad blizzard. I remember one year we were snowed in and lowered our daughter out a window so she could dig us out and open the door. She was in elementary school at the time.

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    1. We usually had a shovel stashed somewhere handy inside. The floor would get a bit messy but we would finally get outside.

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  5. I saw my first snow (I grew up in south--subtropical--Mississippi) when I was ten. I enjoyed it at first, but when it lingered all day, I grew impatient for it to go away. I still hate snow. It covers the ground, and I miss the ground. When I climbed St. Helens, the ground was covered by lava. There was nothing green anywhere. It was like snow only worse in that in snow, there are evergreens. I realized when I climbed St. Helens that I would never want to go to the moon or to Mars.

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    1. I like snow to look at. With age I worry about falling and snow is slippery and not uniform in depth and stability. I saw Mt St Helens many years before it erupted so I have no point of reference.

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  6. We lived in eastern Nebraska from 1963 until 1965, and you speak the truth. Nicest people and worst weather we have ever experienced.

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  7. These all keep my imagination running wild.
    But I rather prefer not to live in this freezing place.
    I'll become a frozen stick.

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    1. Maybe not live here but think of the experience of feeling the snow falling on your face.

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  8. being from sunny warm lands such stories always been fascinating to read in books which i used to borrow from library but never had idea that life during such cold and stormy weather as difficult and dangerous

    i LOVED her and i respect that wonderful lady who saved those students and saved herself in their hearts and memories forever

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    1. That happened during the 1800's. If you do a search about the Children's Blizzard you will find many stories of bravery.

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  9. An blizzard as you describe I have never experienced, Emma. When I was a little time ago in the Netherlands we had a lot of snow - and trains and airplanes stopped - but it was just "much snow". Your description of neighbours tunneling to each other reminds me of the author Tove Janssons' description in one novel - when they woke up, the light coming through the windows was blue - because the whole house had been snowed under!

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    1. Things like waking up with your house covered with snow used to happen in the Plains States. There were few trees and the ground was mostly flat. There was little to stop the heavy snows from blowing to wherever they felt like blowing.

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  10. We had the biggest snow in my lifetime in January of 1993. We didn't have power for over a week. We almost froze because our house was All Electric.
    After it thawed, we installed propane gas with an electric stove and a fireplace.
    We also got a generator.
    Every day is a school day
    R

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    1. During the times we lived where electricity was available we still hd wood burning stoves for heat. The living room stayed warm. Lots of quilts kept us warm at night.

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