12-04-2009
( Reply#: 4074 ) |
Tom J |
Jim:
Thanks for starting this thread. I tried to get a blizzard discussion going a couple years ago, but I think there were only a total of four replies. Maybe this one will attract more posts.
Here's a link to my old thread. Let's do our posting in this thread, though, if that is OK with everyone. I only provide the link to my old thread for reference.
http://www.sheptalk.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=192&SearchTerms=snow
Tom |
12-04-2009
( Reply#: 4075 ) |
Bill Bucko |
I was a Purdue freshman, home for the holidays. The only way back to W. Lafayette was via the Monon RR. The train slowly inched its way through the drifts, but did get me back to campus before the scheduled reopening of classes. However, classes didn't start on schedule--due to snow.
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
12-04-2009
( Reply#: 4077 ) |
MrRazz |
Remember it well...I was still delivering the Hammond Times then. Routinely they dropped them off daily at my house, but not then. They dumped them out on 165th street when they finally got it open, and I had to pull my sled to that location and pick them. Needless to say my delivery times were not met then. But loved those snow days when it came to school.
For those of you that still live in the region and been there most of your lives...does it still snow as much there as it did 40 years ago and are the winters still as cold or has global warming or other climate changes led to milder winters there? As a kid living in Hessville, it seemed like it snowed and stuck around most of the winter. Could ice skate almost all winter at the park.
Did any of you guys used to sled down the hill in the woods near the old water tower just south of 169th? Man, that was great fun.
Someone posted something a while back about going down the toboggan slides at Swallow Cliffs in Palos Park, IL We used to go there, and it was wild. They had about 4 or 5 runs from mild-wild-wilder and wildest. The chutes were usually iced over snow...I'll bet you would go down 60-65 miles an hour with a loaded toboggan. Near the bottom you would go flying under an observation bridge and yell out a code word, so your family and friends on the bridge knew it was you that just blew past. The worst part was climbing the stairs back to the top. Remember one girl in our party who was on back and somehow got squeezed halfway off of the toboggan and was dragged most of the way down...she looked like hell after the toboggan came to rest. Read recently that they had closed and removed the chutes a year or 2 ago due maintenance costs and liability issues, but I guess the hill is still open for random sledding. |
12-04-2009
( Reply#: 4078 ) |
Paddy |
That was quite a snowfall. I was a senior at PUCC back then, living on Alabama Avenue with a very pregnant wife who needed a prescription refill. We found a drugstore open in the Woodmar Mall area, and I trudged up there and back to get her meds. Our lovely daughter (now a mother of four) was born on April 8th of that year, long after the snow had melted. That snowfall and my daughter's birth made 1967 a memorable year. |
12-04-2009
( Reply#: 4080 ) |
BobK |
I had just started a new job two weeks prior to the snow as a programmer for Calumet Steel in Chicago Heights. I was living on the North side of Hammond and took 94 down to 394 to go to work. On that morning I was about to transition from 94 to 394 and was thinking that driving was getting tough due to the snow getting so deep and no plows. About the same time the weatherman on the radio was still saying they expected flurries.
There was a loading dock off of the Data Processing Dept and the small door had a window so I was keeping an eye on the snow accumulation. I could see it was getting real deep and wasn't letting up. Here I was with a Cutlass Supreme with a 1/8th of a tank and didn't get very many miles to the gallon and I only had 10 cents on me. They had a lunch room at work with great food and the cost was taken out of your pay monthly and in our office which was only the other side of the plant there was a vending machine for drinks which were free, so I only carried a dime in case I needed to make a call.
A little before noon I told the boss I was getting out while I could. I headed for 394 and when I got to Glenwood Dyer Road there was a drift about 4 feet high right down the middle of the road. So, I tuned south to US 30 and over to the 394 entrance but it was blocked by the State Police. My only option was the get back to the office and when I got back everyone had gone home except the Data Processing Director, the Controller and the President of the company and little old newbie programmer, me.
I spent 3 days there with them and we were very glad we had the vending machine and it was free. We also raided all the lockers looking for food and found a couple of apples and a twinkie which we divided between us the second day. There was no place to walk to from our isolated office on the corner of State St and Joe Orr Rd. Late on the second day a couple of guys from the melt shop next door got to the other side of the plant to the cafeteria with a huge front loader and brought some food back for us.
On the afternoon of the third day, leaving my car in the lot, I made it to the cafeteria, got something to eat and got a ride with one of the guys from that office who lived on the South side of Hammond.
It was quite a ride. He took Halsted to 159th which turns into 165th in Hammond. There was one lane plowed and all you saw to either side was a wall of snow. And, the lane didn't necessarily stay on the street. Because of stalled and abandoned vehicles the path at times detoured through business parking lots. We finally made it to Hammond and he dropped me off at 165th and Hohman. Hohman had been plowed from sidewalk to sidewalk and not a single vehicle to be seen, It was eerie. I walked up the center of Hohman all the way to the Paramont Theater where there was a cab and one of my brothers who worked at the Paramont. He was taking the cab to the South Shore station to pick up film so I got in too. Darn cabbie charged me too and I had to borrow the fare from my brother.
When I got to Gostlin the street was being cleared by large National Guard plows. We lived on Clark St and it wasn't plowed and my wife had gotten our other car around the corner and into a snow drift.
I changed clothes and had some dinner and took my Father-in-laws snow blower to get my wife's car out of the drift. We had just gotten the snow blower for him that past Christmas and it was a lifesaver. The next day we spent blowing the snow out of the driveway and the yard so we cold get cars in off of the street and then cleared the sidewalks for several house down the street.
Monday I was ready to go to work but we got more snow and I stayed home for the day.
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
12-05-2009
( Reply#: 4081 ) |
Tom J |
Wow! Glad I was home when it hit. You had quite an ordeal, Bob.
I was in my senior year at Hammond High when the big snow came. I actually enjoyed the blizzard, because I was at home, and I didn't have to go anywhere.
Tom |
12-05-2009
( Reply#: 4082 ) |
Joel357 |
I remember it well, about a week or so before, my grandfather H.E.(Doc)Miner passed away and if you guys remember the temperature before the big snow was an unseasonably warm 60 plus degrees. I was a 4th grader at Eads School, in Munster. I remember it started to snow and kept on snowing. I have some home movies on DVD that my dad took and wow I can't believe how the snow shut everything down. We all enjoyed the snow days. I do remember getting hit with a deluge of snow in the late 70's but, being a kid in 1967 it more fun than an inconvenience that the adults had to put up with.
Joel |
12-05-2009
( Reply#: 4085 ) |
Roger D |
I remember the blizzard well. My wife and I lived in the 6800 block of Carolina in a duplex. I was to work 3-11 that day, I went to the grocery about noon. When I got home I told my wife that it was bad out and I was going to leave for work a half hour early. When I backed out of the driveway the car got hung up and stayed there for two days. I missed three days work. |
12-06-2009
( Reply#: 4087 ) |
Jim Plummer |
I was also attending Purdue in West Lafayette. I was home on semester break and had a date lined up for every night of the break. Things were looking real good; then it snowed-I was house bound for the whole time. We took a sled down to the A&P Store on 165th street by walking down the center of Kennedy ave. which had not been plowed. The shelves in the store were almost bare and we took what we could find. When I drove my '54 Ford Victoria back to Purdue, they had, had an ice storm which had shut everything down as well.quote:
Originally posted by Bill Bucko
I was a Purdue freshman, home for the holidays. The only way back to W. Lafayette was via the Monon RR. The train slowly inched its way through the drifts, but did get me back to campus before the scheduled reopening of classes. However, classes didn't start on schedule--due to snow.
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63
|
12-06-2009
( Reply#: 4088 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
I remember it well, about a week or so before, my grandfather H.E.(Doc)Miner passed away and if you guys remember the temperature before the big snow was an unseasonably warm 60 plus degrees. I was a 4th grader at Eads School, in Munster. I remember it started to snow and kept on snowing. I have some home movies on DVD that my dad took and wow I can't believe how the snow shut everything down. We all enjoyed the snow days. I do remember getting hit with a deluge of snow in the late 70's but, being a kid in 1967 it more fun than an inconvenience that the adults had to put up with.
Joel
Man, if you could somehow get those home movies digitalized and post them on Youtube, that would be SO cool!
Tom |
12-06-2009
( Reply#: 4090 ) |
Joel357 |
I'll try to get my brother to add it to youtube. He does have some of our clips on there all ready. I would be happy to share with you if interested. I know it is of my family home movies but it is of the 1960's.
Joel |
12-06-2009
( Reply#: 4092 ) |
Joel357 |
Tom J,
I found it on the DVD and some of the scenes my dad took was in the general vicinity of where you guys used to live, closer to the expressway and in my neighborhood of Munster. There are shots of Dewey Johnstons gas station, the Pines bar and some scenes around Hohman Avenue north of the river. I can't figure out how to copy it to my hard drive yet but give me a little while and I'll at least try to copy it and send to you. What say?
Joel |
12-06-2009
( Reply#: 4093 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
Tom J,
I found it on the DVD and some of the scenes my dad took was in the general vicinity of where you guys used to live, closer to the expressway and in my neighborhood of Munster. There are shots of Dewey Johnstons gas station, the Pines bar and some scenes around Hohman Avenue north of the river. I can't figure out how to copy it to my hard drive yet but give me a little while and I'll at least try to copy it and send to you. What say?
Joel
I would LOVE that! Yes, please see what you can do!
Thanks.
Tom |
12-08-2009
( Reply#: 4143 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
As Joel357 reminds us, the weather during the week preceding the storm was warm and damp -- like, "hey, Spring is really early this year!" Well......on Thursday morning, Jan 26th, the snow was already pretty serious; we lived south of Hessville park and had to take a city bus all the way to up to Noll, where I was a sophomore. School let out at noon, and I took a bus home, which got stuck several times but made it to 173rd and Kennedy (by the old Gregory's Food Store). I started walking east through Hessville Park, but the snow was so deep I felt like I was in quicksand and about to be sucked under. I ended up practically running, which was a real drag.
Next day, Friday, our swing set in the back yard was almost totally covered--and that's about 8 feet of drifts. Somewhere there's a B&W photo of my brother Mike and me attempting to swing on it, and I recall my mother got totally PO'd because we weren't out front shovelling the driveway. That night was Noll's big Turn-about Dance; my brother and I were supposed to go, but I really didn't want to. The dance was cancelled, and we stayed home and watched "Time Tunnel" on TV, which had just started its run. That was also the day the three astronauts were tragically killed on the launching pad in Cape Kennedy by a flash fire during a test run.
Our dad, "Dean of the Big Bands" Mike Rapchak, had to stay in Chicago at the apartment of his fellow TV announcer-friend Don Ferris. When dad finally was able to get a South Shore train home to the East Chicago station (Sunday morning, Jan 29th) he had to walk THE ENTIRE WAY home... south on Indy Blvd--down the middle of the street--up and across the 9-Span bridge--to 173rd, then east to Hessville and our home. That was the day a feature article about him appeared in the Sunday Hammond Times TV Guide supplement....which I still have somewhere.
You couldn't make this stuff up! |
12-08-2009
( Reply#: 4146 ) |
Tom J |
Larry, man, scan that article about your dad and post it for us!
Tom |
12-08-2009
( Reply#: 4152 ) |
Joel357 |
Tomster,
I have tried and tried for the last couple of days to try to get the snow clips loaded on my drive to upload to youtube with no success. Not to worry though, one of my technicians here at Miner Electronics says he will help me out. He is the younger brother of Paul(Tony) Martin, HHS class of 1965 and grew up down the street from me. Hopefully the next couple of days I will have a youtube link so all can see.
Joel |
12-10-2009
( Reply#: 4164 ) |
Jay |
My memories of the 1967 snow storm are sparse and cloudy. I do remember walking up a giant snow bank in my yard and was able to climb onto the roof of our house. I also remember that after we hand shovelled our sidewalks, you could not see over the giant snow mounds we created on our lawns.
It took days of waiting before many side streets got plowed. As a result, we did not see my dad for a few days. During the worst part of the storm, he was at work. So he had to remain at work because not only could he not get home, but the guys at home could not make it to work. So work provided him with a bed, blankets and food for two or three days.
It was strange to see no vehicles moving on the snow covered neighborhood streets, only foolish pedestrians.
Three lessons I learned from this experience;
1 - always have a supply of bottled liquids, canned and dry foods.
2 - take the car out of the garage and park in it front because streets get plowed earlier than allies.
3 - keep your car parked in front where it does not block your house or that of other neighbors until your side of the street gets plowed
I also remember The Hammond Times publishing a booklet with stories and photos of this history making event. I know I have a copy of it somewhere in my house. If I find it, I can scan it and post it. |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4181 ) |
Joel357 |
Hey Tom J and everyone,
My brother has uploaded my family to youtube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for jlm1228. I think you all will like it. It's about 4 minutes long.
Joel |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4182 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
Hey Tom J and everyone,
My brother has uploaded my family to youtube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for jlm1228. I think you all will like it. It's about 4 minutes long.
Joel
Oh, man, that was FANTASTIC! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hey, that view of Pines Tap brings back some memories, but unpleasant ones. I totaled my first car at that intersection. Some drunk guy was going south on Calumet, and I was going north. He turned left across my path, and when I hit him, his car went through the front of that bar. I think that happened about this time of year in 1968.
Tom |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4183 ) |
Joel357 |
Tom,
I knew you would like it.. |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4184 ) |
Joel357 |
the movie, not you getting your car totaled. I had a similar circumstance in St. John when I was on my way to a class at Purdue. Not pleasant. |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4185 ) |
Joel357 |
you lived on Woodlawn, right? |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4186 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
you lived on Woodlawn, right?
Woodward Avenue, Joel. Woodward is only one block long, the 6400 block. It runs from Cleveland Street on the north end to 165th Street on the south end and is two blocks east of Calumet.
Tom |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4187 ) |
Tom J |
Hey, I saw that you or someone in your family posted some old family movies. I watched a couple of them and really enjoyed seeing life being lived back in those great days of our childhoods. I guess you are in those movies somewhere? Were you the baby in that one video that was sitting on the couch and toppled over?
Hey, if ANY of you have old family movies to share, I would love to see them.
Tom |
12-13-2009
( Reply#: 4188 ) |
Joel357 |
Tom,
That was my little brother in 1962. I was 5 at the time and I was the little tyke that wore glasses. I guess it was close to a "Wonder Years" moment growing up in that era. If you're on Facebook you can find an updated photo of me there.
Joel |
12-14-2009
( Reply#: 4193 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Loved the sights of the Big Snow. Can you tell us how the movies were put on You Tube. Who knows what else we might get to see!!!quote:
Originally posted by Tom J
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
Hey Tom J and everyone,
My brother has uploaded my family to youtube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for jlm1228. I think you all will like it. It's about 4 minutes long.
Joel
Oh, man, that was FANTASTIC! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hey, that view of Pines Tap brings back some memories, but unpleasant ones. I totaled my first car at that intersection. Some drunk guy was going south on Calumet, and I was going north. He turned left across my path, and when I hit him, his car went through the front of that bar. I think that happened about this time of year in 1968.
Tom
|
12-14-2009
( Reply#: 4195 ) |
Tom J |
Does that mean that YOU have some goodies to share? I hope so! [:)] |
12-14-2009
( Reply#: 4196 ) |
Joel357 |
I tried to upload clips and spent a couple of days messing with it. Tom, I used lanquage that no one would appreciate on this forum. I was complaining to my brother, the other day and he said he had the video software to upload it. So, he is out in AZ and it took him a little while to put it on youtube. After the snow clip is a clip from the Hobart Airport and RFK's campaign plane landed there. My dad had, at the time, a Super 8 Bell and Howell camera, with a zoom lens on it and he got really close up shots of Bobby. My dad was a private pilot and he kept his plane at Hobart airport and was just by chance he was out there.
Joel Miner |
