Do not copy any of my artwork, poetry or photography without my permission.

Do not copy any of my artwork, poetry or photography without my permission.
....carpe diem. The Daylily. "Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun." Khalil Gibran. She gives her all for just one day then bows her head to God and fades away to nourish the next generation. God I pray I may give my all each day to honor you and bow my head at the end to nourish the next generation. Peggy Jones. NOTE............ Please folks do not copy any of my art or photos on my blog without my permission. Thank you for your good manners.

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Friday, February 8, 2013

SS, snow, blizzard

Sepia Saturday
Snow






Courtesy of New York History Museum
Blizzard of 1888


Led blindly by their teachers, schoolchildren gripped makeshift lifelines -- sheets, towels, rugs, a school bell rope -- as they plunged desperately into the blizzard of 1888.
"It came from the northwest with the force of a hurricane. The wind bitterly cold. The snow fine, sharp and penetrating," survivor Ernest Nyrop of Neligh wrote years later. "It was like the finest flour and smothering in its action making breathing very difficult."
The blizzard struck on what began as an unusually mild day. The temperature in Valentine on Jan. 12, 1888, fell from 30 degrees in early morning to 6 degrees below zero by mid-afternoon, and the cold hit a bone-chilling 35 below the next two nights.
Farmers tunneled into haystacks to stay alive. Teachers tied young students to ropes so they wouldn't wander while stumbling through driving snow. Men and women groped houses in search of doors.
Raging winds banged shutters, battered walls and shook buildings. Some believed it was an earthquake. The noise caused young children to scream and brought older students to tears. It lasted 12 to 18 hours.
No one knows the exact death toll. Historians estimate at least 235 perished.
***
And we think we have it rough.




Outside our front door
2009.
Thank goodness for gas logs no electricity for 3 days.


Roughing it.

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18 comments:

Alex Daw said...

Wow - that's some powerful account of the blizzard - I really get a sense of how frightening it must have been..

Vee said...

That sounds pretty rough. I can't even imagine. That's a incredible photo. Our event has reached blizzard status in Boston with 75 mph gusts of wind. Here, it's just starting to crank up.

Eugenia O'Neal said...

How terribly frightening for the children! And now New York goes through it again.

marilyn said...

Seems they are having a repeat of this event in the Northeast today. I do hope safety will prevail for all those involved.

Bob Scotney said...

The image of students being guided by ropes seems so alien today. Schools shut in the UK at the first sign of bad weather - we are a soft lot.

Peter said...

In this first amazing picture, can you imagine what the people in the basement must have thought when they looked out-of the window? That must have been quite a blizzard!
Hope the tree outside your front door survived.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

I can't imagine! I wonder if they wouldn't have been better off staying inside the school. Great story!

Love your cookstove.

Kathy M.

Postcardy said...

That 1888 blizzard sounds scary.

Your pictures made me think I should buy some candles--just in case. And I hope the heat in my building works when the power is out.

21 Wits said...

Wow what an interesting blizzard report- those are some seriously huge snow banks!

Brett Payne said...

I agree with Postcardy, very scary. I don't fancy digging myself through snow drifts that deep, but "like the finest flour and smothering in its action making breathing very difficult" sounds pretty awful.

Lovely's Blot said...

Reminds me of the film 'The Day After Tomorrow!'

Alan Burnett said...

Great picture > I look out of my window at the half inch of soft snow and feel ashamed about my bleating complaints.

Little Nell said...

Wonderful pictures Peggy - all of them, but that account of the blizzard is so graphic and powerful it made me shiver!

Little Nell said...

Wonderful pictures Peggy - all of them, but that account of the blizzard is so graphic and powerful it made me shiver!

Anonymous said...

This weekend's weather in the northeast sounds comparable. Over 200 deaths.... Wow. Glad to live where and when I do.

anyjazz said...

What a terrible event. So many lost. Thanks for an interesting and informative post.

Wendy said...

What a contrast between roughing it in 1888 and 2009. I'm a whimp -- I'll take the 2009 version any day!

Bruno Laliberté said...

True, we are better equipped to be facing such storms now, but when you're stuck outside, no matter the technology, it still feels like crap.
:D~
HUGZ