I remember being warmer outside than inside. No school for several days. People were friendly. Offering to help each other out.....remove broken tree limbs, take the sled to the store to buy groceries for a neighbor. What memories. Anybody have "I survived the Blizzard of '78 t-shirst"?
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By adamg - Jan 22, 2005, 10:33 PM Post #2 of 52 [In reply to]
Somewhere in the attic, I think I still have a "I survived the Blizzard of '78" certificate that I bought a couple days after the storm in Harvard Square. Now what made you think of the blizzard? :-).
O.K. O.K....I'll jump on my own typo before the spelling Natzis get here. "t-shirts"!
Did you pay for the certificate?
By adamg - Jan 22, 2005, 11:13 PM Post #5 of 52 [In reply to]
Ayup. 50 cents, I think.
By Ron Newman - Jan 22, 2005, 11:14 PM Post #6 of 52 [In reply to]
I was here in '78. Was at MIT trying to register for spring term, but registration day was entirely cancelled. Had to make my way back over the Mass. Ave. bridge to 111 Bay State Road, where I was living. I may even have had a bicycle with me, I don't remember for sure. It was the second huge storm of the year -- another one had hit about three weeks earlier. My co-op house of 28 or so students consumed milk at an alarming rate, and there was none to be had anywhere in the neighborhood. Normally we had it delivered several times a week. The house owned a toboggan, so a friend and I set off looking for a convenience or grocery store that could supply us. We finally ended up at DeLuca's Market on Charles Street, where we had to explain to the other people in line why we were buying so much milk. Then we strapped it all to the toboggan and dragged it a mile down Beacon Street back to our house.
one of those kids is me...
Attachments: blizard of 78 holliston.jpg (16.7 KB)
Great picture Sonia! My brothers and sisters built a 6-foot snowman. We made snow tunnels too. Tonight's Nor'easter brings back fond memories for all. Glad I could unite us tonight in such fond memories instead of our usual bickering! Who's the guy with no coat on in your picture If I may ask? I remember the Blizzard of '78 being pretty darn cold indeed.
that's my dad...he'd finished shoveling and was hot I guess...I think that is a miller beer in the snowbank..
A well-deserved Miller beer!
Good deal.
How many bikes have you owned? Are you giving John Kerry a run for his money or what?
By Ron Newman - Jan 22, 2005, 11:44 PM Post #13 of 52 [In reply to]
No idea. I did manage to get this one back to Bay State Road that day, though I probably had to walk or drag it there. I don't ride in snowstorms anymore...
Where you ever a bike courier?
By Ron Newman - Jan 23, 2005, 12:02 AM Post #15 of 52 [In reply to]
No.
By Neal - Jan 23, 2005, 1:08 AM Post #16 of 52 [In reply to]
I was two months shy of my fourth birthday, and hardly remember it. My father was working at Polaroid in Kendall Sq at the time and began to drive home as the snow started in his VW Rabbit before breaking down outside of Union Sq with a busted distributor cap. He abandoned his car under the Magrathinobrien Highway and flagged a Mass DPW plow who by pure luck was assigned to clear Route 3A in Burlington, about one half mile from home. At about the same time (it may have been the next day), my little brother Michael, who was about 10 months old at the time came down with a nasty case of the croup and had to be taken by a Police car following a DPW plow truck to the Choate Hospital in Woburn, as the Governor had ordered all public roadways closed. He was there for a week and my mother was given some sort of pass from the Police which allowed her to drive between the house and the Choate. She said that she would usually be stopped by the police at the town line and then when she explained her situation, would get an escort to the hospital.
By Dave - Jan 23, 2005, 2:22 AM Post #17 of 52 [In reply to]
Here's a Globe photo of 128. Although it says Dedham, it's actually Canton, right near 138.
By Comm. Ave - Jan 23, 2005, 6:18 AM Post #18 of 52 [In reply to]
One of the fist things I told my wife was that we would need to get our daughter out for a picture if it is over two feet, just like the one of my sister and I after '78. I was three years older than she is now, so we have to pick a short of shorter snow drift (I'd hate for a big gust of wind to come by and bury her. . . ).
By Sparky - Jan 23, 2005, 8:53 AM Post #19 of 52 [In reply to]
Ah the "Blizzard of 78". Well the first thing I remember was how the forecasters got it all wrong, 1-3", 3-6", 6-9", 9-15", the world ending, etc. We lost power for about three days but luckily had a fireplace to keep us somewhat warm. Like most Yankees we had plenty of Screaming Yellow Zonkers to keep us warm too. Ron is right in that it was just one of a series of big storms that year, methinks three of them. I got caught on Route 3 in Kingston in the first blizzard when they shut it down. A State Trooper came up to our van and asked us to help him dig out some cars so they could make it back to HoJo's where a bunch of folks spent the night. One had slid into a gas tanker truck and a lady hurt a tad. As for Dave's photo my future brother -n - law got caught on Rt 128 climbing the hill in Canton and had to leave it there with several hundred others, he hiked back to Norwood and spent a few days at the family estate. We missed a week of school which was great! To Cheryl & Kathy November 1978 ~ Democrats drinking the Kool-Aid ~ November 2008 "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Sarah"
By triquetra - Jan 23, 2005, 9:33 AM Post #20 of 52 [In reply to]
Same storm hit Illinois that year. I remember slipping and falling off the porch, under the railing, into a huge snowbank. Scared the heck out of my dad until he realized I wasn't hurt; I wanted to do it again! *~*~*~* Luceo non uro
Blizzard warning remains in effect until 6 pm est this evening. An extreme situation is occurring in eastern massachusetts. Four inches of snow was reported in 25 minutes at chelmsford massachusetts shortly after 7 am as the last excessive band of powdery snow swings southeastward. The north shore is being blitzed by snowfall rates of almost 4 inches per hour. It may last only another hour or two but its a complete short term paralyser. It is spreading east southeast at 15 mph into boston now and will continue there through at least 11 am. This big snow band will arrive on the south shore between 10 am and 11 am and then cross the upper cape between 11 am and 2 pm. It tends to last about 2 hours. That means 8 inches of snow may fall in portions of the boston area in a 2 hour period during mid and late morning. Final blizzard totals for most of eastern massachusetts will range between 28 and 38 inches setting a new single storm record for boston, surpassing the amount from the great blizzard of 78 and the presidents day storm of 2003. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box/fcsts/BOSWSWBOX.html
By Ron Newman - Jan 23, 2005, 10:43 AM Post #22 of 52 [In reply to]
Even if this storm has more snowfall than 1978, I doubt it will have as big an impact or last as long in people's memory. The '78 storm started at midday on a Monday, and was much larger than had been forecast. This resulted in a huge parking lot of abandoned cars on Route 128. This week's storm started on a Saturday evening and people were better prepared for it.
By Sparky - Jan 23, 2005, 10:43 AM Post #23 of 52 [In reply to]
Still doesn't even come close to the "Blizzard of 78". In the "78" storm the snow was much much much wetter, and it hit a much larger geographical area. Then on top of that there was the massive flooding which destroyed hundreds of homes all along the NE coast. No comparision. November 1978 ~ Democrats drinking the Kool-Aid ~ November 2008 "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Sarah"
By Ron Newman - Jan 23, 2005, 10:47 AM Post #24 of 52 [In reply to]
We don't know yet how much flooding will occur because the high tide is just now happening.
I was 8 when that hit. My mother worked at Bert's Resturaunt. SHe couldn't find a baby sitter, so I got to hang out at Berts while they tried to clean up. The hotel next door, the Pilgrim Sands, had a second floor indoor swimming pool that ended up being completely full of salt water.
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