Saturday, January 28, 2023

The 1978 "Blizzard of the Century"

 


While the Bengals are back in Kansas City for another AFC Title game vs the Chiefs...we, unlike last year, will opt out of this one...KC is a nice visit, it was great weather and good food and of course the Bengals won...hopefully the same outcome and perhaps a Super Bowl win this time, but that is far from certain...hard enough to beat a good team 2 or 3 times in a row, this would be 4 should the Bengals prevail.

Go Bengals...Who Dey? 

The Blizzard of 78...My Short Story as posted on one of my Motorcycle sites...

Hard to believe it's been 45 years ago this week the Blizzard that crushed the Midwest and New England was kicking ass...wife and I were living in Northern Wisconsin, a dozen or so miles north of Wausau, out in the sticks...while we didn't get the amount of snow that Ohio, Indiana, and much of New England received, the winds made sure what we got was blowing around drifting and piling up. My very pregnant wife was working in Wausau and had opted not to drive that morning to Wausau South Hospital where she was a social worker, I was a DJ a few miles north at WJMT Radio in Merrill, but had the day off. When it was time to pick the wife up I, and the 2 Airedales, left early to see the scenery and drive the remote back roads to Wausau.

A few miles into the drive, I turned and DAMN here was some fool sitting right in the middle of the road...I swerved to avoid him[you couldn't see shit from the blowing and falling snow}and ended up with all 4 wheels off the road in a snow bank...that damn Cherokee would go thru more stuff than the Wranglers I have owned since, loved that thing...but nothing goes when all 4 wheels are off the ground. Turns out the damn fool in the middle of the road was a "roadman" for the school district and was out checking roads, I told him I was stuck, and he looks at me with a blank stare...and as I walked back to the Jeep, the son of a bitch backs up and takes off...leaving me, the Dogs, and the Cherokee stuck...MFer if I could have caught the SOB I would likely have beaten him to black and blue...

What to do, I didn't know much about the road and area I was stuck in, having just moved to the area the year before, but I knew there was a farm house about a mile back and that I was screwed if I didn't get help...so off I jog, leaving the dogs in the Jeep ... I arrived at the farm about half hour or so later...talked with Mr and Mrs Farmer...he had an old Allis Chambers tractor that he said was a power pulling machine...he fired it up, I jumped on the back and down the road we went...the snow blowing in my face {no cab on this puppy} felt like needles in my face...but arrive we did. We hooked up the chain to my rear under carriage and it took only a few seconds to pull me out...Thank God for good hearted Farmers...I offered him $20 it was all I had on me, he just laughed and said, "Do me a favor sometime"{ ... and we went our separate ways...

Me and the pups continued on into Wausau with a story to tell the wife and to repeat for the rest of my days...

Photos from Western Ohio that were in our local rag at the time...I remember mom telling me they couldn't get to the store for 3 days, even in town, while it wasn't as bad in the Northwoods, it did leave me with that story to tell

Top Photo is along I-70 not far from Indianapolis while ...bottom 3 from our local newspaper and the area around and south of Grand Lake...






3 comments:

Gene Bach said...

I am most definitely NOT a fan of snow.

PRH said...

You sure Gene? You live in Idaho or Montana? Time to move south far south.. :)

Betat said...

I am thankful for the author's commitment to creating content that is accessible and inclusive of all readers.

2024 Winds Down

  This year is on track to be the least posted Blog since I began this thing back in 2007 over 17 years ago... Blogging is just not that hig...