Blizzard of 1978

The local news channels, here in Northern Indiana, have been making a big deal about the blizzard of 1978.

Apparently it was around this time of year, back in 1978. Schools here in Northern Indiana were closed for a week or more and snow was about 10 feet deep.

I have absolutely no memory of that happening in Lafayette, but Bruce did some investigating and says it was about that bad all the way down to Indianapolis.

I sent an email to several friends and family members who were in Lafayette in 1978 to see if they remembered the blizzard. Maybe some of their memories will jog loose my brain cells that are holding my memories hostage.

I'll post replies here as they come in.

From Mom:
We were snowed in the house for 5 days. The snow was up to the top of the porch. You kids thought it was great. We took cardboard and you guys thought you could sled on it; went off the porch and out across the driveway side. You got out about 5 feet and then went down, we had to make a chain to get you back in, laughing all the time.

Skipper had to pee on the tree out front. We cleared out a path, he went out and peed and got his leg wet. It froze and Mike and Dad had to go carry him in.

We played games and watched the weather reports to see when it would break.

The guy on the snowmobile (that Laura mentioned) ... I do not remember. A guy who lived down in the next block came home on the snow removal truck he had been driving for 2-3 days. Jack hollered at him -- offering him money and beer to come on down to us, so we could get out.

From Cousin Greg:
I remember it. We were living in a rental house in the town of West Point at that time. I don't remember being in school when it hit though. I thought we were in bed when it hit. It seems to me that I remember waking up and school was closed. I was attending West Point elementary then, and it could have been closed due to the boilers not working.

I do know that when we finally went back to school the piles of snow were taller than the buses and State Rd. 25 was one lane in front of the school. The time we were out of school was a blast. The snow around the house was about 3 feet deep and sometimes more. We played outside for what seemed to be the whole time we were out of school. The snow was so packed on the top 6-10 inches that you could dig tunnels through it and build block Forts, which of course we did. Kevin was small enough that he could walk on top of it and not break through.

Laura, I don't remember us ever having a snowmobile though so unless you are talking about a different Uncle Mike it wasn't Dad.

Snow is great when you are a kid. I can remember sitting by the radio each night after the blizzard waiting for them to say TSC closed tomorrow, which was always late at night and last. Then the dreaded night came and they didn't say it. BOO!!

From Friend Susan:
Oddly enough Sharon....I would have guessed I too should remember something about it if it was that big of a deal, however I don't. I don't remember being out of school for an extended time or anything. Oh well, we went to school together, maybe we should stop and see if we remember anything from High School.

From Friend Tim:
I remember it well. The snow drifts were up to the soffit of the house. Dad got stuck on the way home from work at Alcoa just down the street from home. The streets were impassable with large drifts. They finally made a path down our street with a front end loader.

From Friend Deanna (and Dan):
I can't believe you don't remember. The storm started on Dan's birthday (it just happened to be my brother's birthday too)!

It is the only time my dad has not been able to get his truck out of our driveway. The drift across the road between our house and the neighbors was about head high! The wind shifted daily and where there were drifts one day, there would very little the next.

We had a snowmobile on order, it came in about a week after the blizzard and we rode them constantly. My parents friends all had them too. We lived on the edge of town and would somtimes have over 20 snowmobiles parked in our yard. I think we missed between 2 and 4 weeks of school that winter. It was alot of fun! The snowmobiles made the entire winter much more bearable!

From Friend TJ:
I totally remember. I got off school for my birthday! We lived on South 9th St. in Lafayette in the days when that was out in the country. There was a big cornfield across the street and the wind blew straight across making snowdrifts just about up to the roof. We thought it was great.

I was just thinking about that the other day after I was thinking about how it doesn't really snow anymore (here in Philly where I live now) due to global warming. Somewhere I'm sure I have pictures of the big blizzard, but it would probably be June before I could dig them up from the boxes in the basement.

From Cousin Jacquie:
Yes, I remember it very well. I was a sophomore at McCutcheon. We were at school when the blizzard began. They let school out in the mid morning I think around 10:00.

From the time they released us until they got the school busses loaded they decided that it was too dangerous for the busses to be on the roads due to zero visibility. However it was too late to get those of us who had driven to school back. Had I not been 16 years old and totally stupid I would have gone back inside the school.

It took me about 2 hours to drive home. I could only go about 5 miles per hour and had to feel if my tires went off the road and had to go by memory where the road was supposed to be. I could tell if I was still on the right path by the mailboxes that would practically brush the side of my car. I could literally see no more than a foot in front of the car. It was a miracle that I made it home at all.

All the kids that rode to school on the busses were snowed in at school for several days. Some parents that owned snowmobiles went and picked their kids up but everyone else was stuck there. At some point I believe they were said to have run out of food, but I don't remember how they got more food delivered to the school.

I remember that during a snow storm dad and Joe went and picked up grandma Gillis and brought her to our house, but I'm not sure if it was this time or if that happened during a different blizzard though.

From Aunt Joyce Ann:
OMG!!! We had a snow drift from the top of our garage over the street to the top of our neighbor's garage!!! The town of Clarks Hill started cleaning up the streets. When they got to our street, they just looked, turned around and left!!!! We had just purchased a new (used) car, brought it home and that is where it stayed for about 2 weeks. Charlie had a small Chevy Vega for sale and it was covered in its parking space.

Chas. was working on a farm at the time and had come home w/tractor so that was our transportation. It did not have a scoop though. About 3 days after the storm, we had a friend from Clinton Co. come over to dig us out. The town NEVER returned!

The BAR!!! Our neighbor was a bartender and opened up the town bar
and yes, my dear husband was the first customer. Bonnie called me about 2 hours after Chas and his friend arrived and said to please come up to join her. I can only imagine what those two had tormented her about! Finally got the guys out of the bar and we were invited to some friends house (all the way across town (a town of only 700) for the evening. We had so much fun.

The kids played with other starved for companion kids. Tammy was 8, Jason almost 5. One of the local fellas took Jason under his wing and played games with him all evening. They were both in heaven. Wayne was killed a few years ago in a traffic accident. Whenever we ran in to him, he always recalled that evening.

There are many stories. Like our neighbor was celebrating his birthday alone. His wife was stranded in Michigan. He came over to our house the 2nd day and brought all the beer he had (7 different flavors). It took him 1/2 hr to go across the street!!! No, he did not arrive intoxicated. Maybe when he left though.

From Cousin Tammy:
YES, it was great. We were out of school for what seemed like forever. We were at mom's this morning after church and I saw what she wrote you...it was so fun.

Everyone gathered every night at someone's house for a party; getting there via snowmobile or tractor. I was only 8 and one of mom and dad's friend's daughter, also named Tammy, was a teenager and had her nails painted blue. It was was 1978 after all! She painted mine blue, too and I thought she was the coolest person in the world!

From Friend Barb:
I remember there was one but that's it.

From Sister Laura:
I recall someone driving a snowmobile onto our street on Stillwell and wanting to go for a ride. I think it might have been Uncle Mike. I also think someone brought Grandma in to stay with us as she was still working at St. E's at that time.

I don't recall anything special about being off from school - but, then we were off from school lots when we were kids.

From Brother Mike:
I remember that blizzard, and the blizzard of '76, because I had to shovel out most of the neighborhood.

From Sis-in-Law Gretchen:
During the week we were off school, I was worried about my hamster, Mortimer. He was in our science class at Grissom (Mishawaka, IN) and was all alone with no food!

When I finally got back to school...no Mortimer. I was heartbroken. He broke out of his prison and disappeared. Weeks went by and he was finally found in the kitchen at school! Mortimer was very crafty and lived a long, long life for a hamster--3 years!

From Hubby Bruce:
I was called in to work at Park-N-Shop to help stock the shelves with bread and milk. I had a Willie's Jeep and drove it up on a huge hill of snow. My jeep was one of the last vehicles on the road that first day.

From Grandma-in-Law Iris
I was next door having dinner with my neighbor (Osceola, IN). I left, out her back door, about 8pm and got to the edge of her house when I came to a wall of snow as high as the house. I felt my way along the side of her house, where the snow wasn't quite so deep, until I felt the fence and finally made my way back to my front door.