I remember the blizzard of '76
I believe the year was 1976. A blizzard like no other blew in and dumped a tremendous amount of the white stuff in this area.
The wind was fierce and blew the snow into small, slippery peaks of ice. My husband was traveling for Public Service. I was home alone. At that time we lived in a barn-like home with the upstairs living area and the downstairs garage. A large sliding door looked out to the north in the bedroom. Another graced the southern wall of the living room.
The extreme cold froze both exits. Gathering my wits, I poured hot water along the tracks. I then sprayed them with WD. No more problems. I had several horses, a couple of dogs, and a cat that needed fed and watered. We had installed a wood burner that needed
wood to keep the house warm and comfortable. I was much younger.
These chores didn't seem challenging or difficult. It was something that had to be taken care of each and every day.
The drive to our home was about 150 feet long with fencing on each side. From my view, I could only see the tops of the fence posts. I had no idea how I was going to manage getting out of my drive. As I thought about various solutions, I saw a large, grey 4-wheel drive careening up the hill and into my lane. Two large men were bouncing up and down off their seats as the truck took the iced ruts full bore. Their heads were glancing off the roof. When they arrived at the doorway to the garage, I slid open the sliding door. Both heads popped out of the windows and they were grinning from ear to ear. It was our good friend, Danny. He completed the job of mashing the snow drifts so that my car could make it down to the road.. They gunned the truck back to the drive and I watched them fishtail down the country road.
Later that evening, I was lying in bed. I heard someone drive up. I couldn't imagine anyone being out in that kind of weather. I wiped the moisture off the glass and stared in amazement as my husband walked to the house. He later told me that as he drove from southern Indiana to get home, the state police were following close behind ordering the closing of the four lane he was traveling. He noticed a
number of cars along the sides of the highway. They had been completely covered by snow plow blades pushing snow to the sides to
clear the roadways. I was very glad to see him but told him in no uncertain terms that I thought he was crazy for driving through such a storm. As the years passed, I realized that for him to take chances was part of his make up.
It gives me pleasure to write about these memories.
Tawni is a former teacher at Linton-Stockton Elementary School and can be reached by email at tawniprudhomme@gmail.com .
- -- Posted by skyrocket on Thu, Dec 27, 2012, at 4:52 PM
- -- Posted by Lil' Hahn on Thu, Dec 27, 2012, at 10:58 PM
- -- Posted by Fordtruckmaniac on Mon, Dec 31, 2012, at 2:55 AM
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