The Great Blizzard of 1978

Pennsylvania barn in snow from a later storm (I don't have pictures of '78). E. Brundige © 1992

I was too young to know the danger -- all I remember is the wonder. We lived in Chester County, PA, right outside Amish country, among farms, fields, and little clumps of forests that looked like The Shire. Better to be there than in the city: we had a root cellar and food stored away, plus a full rack of split wood and a fireplace. It was still an adventure.

My father was stubborn; he'd heard the weather reports, but stayed at work until the end of the day, then drove home.

Or tried to. Country roads back east are older than you realize; a century or two of use has dug them down below high banks on either side. Snow blows across and falls into the trough. A mile or so from home (it's a miracle he got that far) it was just impossible to cut through. My Dad drove his Buick into a nearby farmer's field where the snowplows wouldn't catch it, then walked home.

He's fortunate he made it home. Even pushing through snow up to your knees can be hard work, hard enough to cause heart attacks. Plus it's easy to get lost in white-out conditions. He should've gone to the farmer's house and stayed put. I know that now.

At any rate, Dad got home, and we tucked in with the winds howling and the drifts blowing across the yard like ocean waves. I don't remember the night that well. I just remember the days after: walls of snow. I don't remember how long the power was out: that's what the Coleman stove in the garage, the fireplace and candles were for.

Mainly, I remember hiking up the road each day in the bright cold sun, snowbanks higher than my head, drifts taller than my father's. My parents carried shovels. It took them some time even to find where the car was buried. Each day they'd dig a little more of it out, while I helped or played in the snowbanks, digging tunnels. The snowplows didn't come through for days. I think school was closed for over a week.

I remember my little black dog hopping along in the snow-paths we made, his tail just visible at the top of each bound.

We were lucky.

Wow. Here's a comment left in the guestbook at the bottom of this page. Thanks, Rich, for taking the time to share your memories with us, and more importantly, for serving when we needed you most!

“I was a member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard during the blizzard of 78. I was a young man of 24 and I remember it like it was yesterday. I first heard of the impending storm a few days before and I remember not paying to much attention to it.

Well the afternoon of the first day was when I had a feeling that I was about ready to be called up with the national guard. Sure enough the next morning I heard the radio broadcasting " All members of the Ma national guard are to report to there local units." So on went my uniform and winter gear and off I went. Took me about an hour to get to the armoury at lincoln sq in Worcester ma. I lived only a little over a mile away. I made it through the snow and on foot no less. Well the duty came and I along with all the other guardsman followed the assigments.

I was first ordered to take a c59 tanker filled with fuil and refule all emergency vehicals. Then I was on assigment to help get emergency people to hospitals or where ever they were needed. Still more to do. Find fire hydrents with a squad of men and shovel them out. Well I remember working with the worcester police to use our military trucks to get people to the emergency rooms when needed. Well that is just a short memory of where I was and what I did. I was on duty for almost a week before things were in such a state of near normal life again.

I am Rich Smith and I was PFC in the ist bn 110th Ar of Hdq company lincoln square Worcester,ma.

Here's a salute to all the national guard, police, firefighters, and emergency services personnel who get us through storms and earthquakes and everything else. You folks are heroes!