Bud Herron’s recollections of the blizzard of 1961 were very timely. It’s sectional weekend. The Republic’s weather forecast was for 6 to 10 inches of snow. It appeared the pieces were falling into place of a repeat of February 1961. His memories come from an all-night sock hop. Mine come from never arriving there.
As a schoolmate of Bud’s, his descriptions are very accurate and revive many of my memories. Classmates that were at the Columbus gym said it was announced that snow was accumulating, which prompted only a few folks to leave. A little later, a public address statement was that people should stay at the gym as roads were becoming impassable. True to human nature, many headed for the exits.
My best friend had departed at the first notification, and only made it to the Bob-O-Link where he and a couple of friends spent the night. Some that I knew made it as far as Petersville.
Von Marshall, the Hauser coach, had a young babysitter at his home in Hope with their infant. He and a friend made it to State Roads 9 and 46 before abandoning their vehicle, and somehow managed to walk to Hope. A wonder they were not found in a snow bank the next day!
I didn’t even get to the gym. I picked up my girlfriend at her folk’s house west of Hope. Her two brothers had left a few minutes earlier to head to the gym in Columbus. They called back from a farmhouse about two miles away, that in the near zero visibility they had driven off a small bridge over a drainage ditch and were awaiting a tow truck.
She and I made it to their location, and we all stayed in my vehicle awaiting the tow truck. The longer we sat, and when we started noting lightning in the blizzard, we decided we needed to get back to their house. With minimal visibility, we drove only a short distance until our forward progress came to a halt. We found mom’s Falcon station wagon was no match for high snow drifts. We struggled on foot to get back to the nearest farmhouse.
One thing I discovered is that depth perception is non-existent in blowing snow. We walked right into drifts up to our elbows. One of the brothers lost his shoes in the deep snow and continued in stocking feet. We made it to the house and were provided refuge from the storm for the night.
Sunday was a beautiful Norman Rockwell sunny day. The poor Falcon sat in a clearing, with drifted snow about roof high. It started, but no way of moving it. We decided with a loan of a pair of boots for the shoeless brother, we’d walk the two miles back to their house. Much of the way was walking in fields since the road was filled with drifts. It was two days before bulldozers cleared county roads and mom got her car back!
Another observation. Mr. Judson Erne had his hands full patrolling the gym monitoring conduct. My dream of being snowbound with my girlfriend for days was tempered by having her two brothers along. Who needs Mr. Erne?
Ah, the blizzard of ’61! None of us who experienced it will ever forget those memories.
A.C. Reeves is a Columbus resident and a 1961 graduate of Hauser High School. Send comments to [email protected].
