The Blizzard of '78
For those of us that lived through the Blizzard of '78, it's one of those, "where were you?" moments. What made it worst was that the weathermen did not prepare us enough. Seems they didn't see it coming themselves. Too many people were left stranded on the roads trying to get home. Some died of carbon monoxide poisoning stranded in their cars. Some people were stuck at their workplaces, some children were stuck at school for two nights. I've read accounts of people taking shelter in a movie theater off the highway eating popcorn. For you younger folk who don't know what I'm talking about, here is a pretty good article: Remembering the 1978 Blizzard - New England Historical Society
The snow started on February 6 in the morning and fell for 33 straight hours with wind gusts and drifting snow. The snow, they say at times falling 4 inches an hour, accumulated to up to 2 feet, however we lived in Norfolk, CT aka the icebox of CT known to get more snow than most of the state. Some records say we received 30"-36" and that doesn't include the drifting. I had to look up these facts to refresh my memory.
Our story of the Blizzard of '78: George was working in Hartford. I worked in Bloomfield and carpooled with another woman from Norfolk. Remember this was before cell phones. I'm trying to remember and decipher the timing. We must have left work before the usual 4 pm. The normal ride home was an hour. According to my AI, as my memory is eluding me, it probably took 2-3 hours to get to Winsted.
When we reached Winsted between 6-7 pm in the dark, we decided to go to the Subway grinder shop, which was open, to see if we could call our husbands and to take a break from the intense ride. We had no clue if they were home or stranded somewhere. We went in and moments later, in walks George. If you see the pictures of the roads and the fact that we were coming from different places, you can see just how miraculous this was. What a God wink!
George had his car, so after recouping for a moment, we decided to try and make it home the last ten miles. It was rough, but we made it. Obviously, we couldn't drive up our 450-foot-long uphill driveway, so we trudged up it on foot. I am sure I was never so happy to be home and with George. We could have been stranded anywhere.
I don't recall losing our power for the two days that we were stranded home. I really don't remember anything more. I just remember how grateful we were that God led us to each other and got us safely home through the worst winter storm that we have ever experienced.
"In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Proverbs 16:9
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