Memories from the blizzard of '78

In 1978 one of the biggest blizzards ever slammed the state, killing at least 20 people. A lot of folks were stranded inside their homes. Friday is the 30th anniversary of that massive storm.

We asked you to share your stories of the storm. Many people wrote in. You can read their stories below:

This is what I wrote in my album. Thursday Janurary 26, 1978. Worst storm in Michigan history. Barometer reading was 28.28. Indiana and Ohio and Kentucky had about 18 inches of snow. We had winds up to 40 miles an hour. Governor declared a state of emergency. Every road in the lower part of Michigan was closed. It started to snow around 9 o'clock Wednesday night, Lake Erie had wind gust's of 103 miles an hour. We lived on a farm at the time and could not get out for a week. We had 12 foot drifts on 8 mile rd outside Union City. They had to clear the road with a front-end loader.

- Roger

My memory of the 78 blizzard actually starts the summer of 77. I had completed my advanced individual training in the Army Reserve late that summer, returned to Three Rivers and was living at my parents. I had obtained employment at Wells-Index that October. As I remember it, the storm started on a Friday night. I had gotten off work that afternoon and got cleaned up for a night of bowling and drinking in Sturgis with a few friends. It had started snowing just as I was leaving for the evening.

My usual path to Sturgis was Stoldt Rd. to U.S. 12. I had the car radio on and started hearing the first weather reports I had heard all day. Between the snowfall I was seeing and the news I was hearing, I turned my Pinto hatchback around at U.S. 12 to return back home. It was the worst along the open fields, barely able to see the edges of the road as the wind blew across the north-south route. In the areas protected by trees it was easier to discern where the road was in front of you. Sam's Bar was never before such a welcome sight as it was that night to let me know I was closer to home.

As I pulled into our driveway the snow was scraping the bottom of the car and accumulating on the front bumper. Got the car in the garage and it didn't move again for five days.

My dad, however, wasn't as lucky. He was working as a security guard at the Hydramatic plant. He went work that afternoon. During the weekends he was usually the only one there, other than his shift relievers, until Monday morning. As you may imagine - he got snowed in. The other guards couldn't get to work.

Luckily during all this, we never lost power or phone service. We were able to check in on him. He let us know that the police were aware he was there and that he had been in touch with the only other person who might be able to relieve him, problem was how to get him there.

I think it was DeBoer Materials that had the job of clearing snow at Hydramatic at the time. They made sure dad at least had food and drink. Eventually somebody from DeBoers managed to get to dads reliever. From Friday afternoon to Sunday evening dad was there guarding Hydramatic from the blizzard. He was dropped off on W. Michigan that evening to trudge through 18 to 24 inch deep snow to get to the house just two blocks away, about did him in. Twelve hours later, DeBoers front-end loader came down the street to pick him up. Seems the GM folks made the arrangements with DeBoers to get dad and his counterpart there and back every 12 hours until things got back to normal. For nearly two days that two block stretch of S. Andrews was the only one in the neighborhood open to Michigan Avenue.

Our neighbor Casey and his wife Diane owned a dune buggy. Not just any buggy, theirs was a mid-engine sand rail. He called me and asked for help delivering fuel oil to some friends of his out on Wilbur Rd. That's when I found out that dune buggies could ski! He had these tires he used on sand dunes that were actually paddles. Went through the snow like a boat on water! Skimming along the top of the snow on the buggy frame skid plates, the front wheels acting more like rudders. The police weren't too happy we were out on the roads but made sure to ask that when we got back to check in to see if we could get to others who needed assistance.

All in all, it wasn't too bad here in town. After the first couple of days you could at least get out and walk around. But it will be too soon if I ever see that much snow fall in one storm again.

Why did I mention the summer of 77? I actually got a sympathy card and a gift from a friend I made that summer. Seems she saw the news accounts of our plight here in Michigan and felt sorry for me. She wanted to let me know the she was thinking about me while she was stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center - in Hawaii. The gift was a Leigh.

- Robert E. (Bob) Tomlinson

I had flown to Buffalo, New York just before the storm hit. I missed 14 flights in a row from Buffalo because the flights could not get back into Detroit. I finally made it back to Kalamazoo Metro only to find my car missing. I looked and looked with no success. Then I remembered a week before when I had parked my car I had parked next to a red pickup truck. I had noticed this pickup truck at the time because is was a popular red color. I looked around and found the roof of the red pickup right at the level of the snow. I went over to some airport maintenance personnel and borrowed a shovel. I then shoveled down in the parking space next to the red truck and there was my car! The hood of the car had about 3 feet of snow on it and it took several hours to get the car out and get home.

- Jeff Heuser

Just a small memory to share... We were young, less than five years old. I remember my mother putting my sister & I on the toboggan, and pulling us down the street to go to the store. It was a long 7 block walk to Vineland Foodland in St. Joseph, especially pulling two kids along. I remember seeing cars buried in the snow, past their door handles, and holding the bag of groceries on the toboggan as we headed home again.

What a great idea to share stories from that blizzard! Have fun reading & collecting them all!

- Amanda Creeden

In 1978, I was an 8th grade student at Hillside Jr. High at the time of the blizzard. We lived on the westside. The snow was falling so fast and the flakes were the size of over sized golf balls; causing the roads to be covered hip deep (I'm 5'8') by morning. The snow had blown and drifted to the top of the garage windows all over the neighborhood; making it nearly impossible to get the cars out of the garage.

Because the roads were covered with snow, the schools were closed for almost a week, which allowed me to stay up past my bedtime, 9:00 p.m., bonus! During the days ahead many neighbors were forging out to gather groceries, since everyone was snowed in. My mom, sister and I took a sled to Hardings on West Main, by foot, to purchase food to weather the storm. By the time we reached West Main, we found that the city buses were giving pedestrians rides for free.

One of the more humorous things that I recall is that back in our day, children were not allowed to laugh at their parents, but during this time, while shoveling, my mother fell in the snow and my sister and I laughed out loud... those were good times. She told us that we had used our "Free" card.

Although, this was a trying time, I found that during the Blizzard of '78, as well as during the aftermath of Tornado of '80, neighbors stepped up and helped each other out by rallying together to clean up the mess and offer up a hot meal. Those were catastrophic times, but those storms really brought community together for the good in our neighborhood.

- Tiffany "Washington" Jackson, 43, Kalamazoo, MI

January 26, 1978 was my 10th birthday and it was not unusual for some bad weather to hit, but that year even I knew it was bad! Two friends walked to my house to bring me a birthday present and stayed the day to play. By the time they left they were rushing home in snow that was past their knees. Saturday will be my 40th birthday and every year someone always comments, "it's almost Christine's birthday, were going to get some bad weather."

- Christine Folck

I was a Police Officer in the former Battle Creek Township at the time of the storm. We used borrowed snowmobiles and 4 wheel drive vehicles donated by a local auto dealer to get around. I had to abandon a snowmobile on Helmer Road near the airport when we couldn't move it because of the snow and a tractor could not even get in to retrieve it. It was later recovered once the snow was plowed by trucks. It took several days to get the roads open and the patrol cars back on the street. We mainly handled high priority calls using the snowmobiles and 4 wheel drive vehicles.

- Chuck Ostrander, Battle Creek, MI

My husband and I were living in Battle Creek at the time. We had a full sized van. Because of the wind drifts, our van was totally COVERED in snow and had to be shoveled out.

On that Thursday morning that we were snowed in, it would have been pay day (and grocery day). But instead, we had to walk a rough two blocks to the corner store to buy a gallon of milk and some cat food...and write a check for it.

It was, however, the first winter that I lived here in Michigan (I had just moved from California) so I was very excited to see all the snow(!!)

- Linsey of Marshall

At the time, my husband had a jeep and he transported hospital staff to Borgess and Bronson literally around the clock. It was great fun for him.

- Alison S, Kalamazoo

It was the year I graduated and I remember waking up that morning and hearing that Portage Central was canceled so I went back to bed just to have my dad come in and ask me to help him shovel the driveway, when we walked outside I could not believe all the snow so we started shoveling by the time we got to the end of the driveway a neighbor across the street yelled to my dad , hey Willie where you going Upjohn's is closed besides the snow in the street is as deep as the driveway your not getting through there, I could not believe my dad got me up at 6:30am to shovel, so I looked over at him and kind of just smiled and said at least it is done... which it was not because within the hour it had filled back in, I had never seen so much snow.

- Audrey, Vicksburg MI

I and my family lived on a small side street in Watervliet at that time. There was a warning to not try to get on the road, which our street had a good 3 to 4 feet of snow and not plowed of course during that heavy snowfall. Some cars were buried on our road. A group of neighbors all needed to get some groceries and we had a small neighborhood grocery store about a quarter mile from us. So the men waded and dug a path down the street and we all waded through snow to the store. They were out of fresh milk so we bought powdered and were so lucky that a bread delivery truck was stranded near the store, so we were all able to get bread! I still remember that parade of neighbors going back from the store, down the middle of M140 to our street, in a single line, everybody carrying a bag or two of groceries!

- Reta Smith, Alamo Twp.

My father worked at our neighborhood grocery store, as the blizzard approached the management/office staff let their employees go home to avoid all of them getting stranded at work. The management staff stayed and ran the store, so local customers could get the groceries needed. When it was closing time they loaded up a few sleds with groceries (I recall at least one “sled” being created out of an egg box with rope) and walked six blocks and stayed at our house. They stayed for at least a couple of nights and had brought additional groceries for us and our neighbors who were senior citizens. They would wake up early and walk back to the store to open up in case local customers who needed groceries showed up. I had to give up my room for all of the additional house guests, but they were kind enough to bring me some of my favorite foods and snacks in exchange.

I didn’t realize at the time that what they were doing was such a selfless act. Their families were at home and they made the commitment to make sure that they were there for the surrounding neighborhoods if needed.

- Tina, Kalamazoo

I was 13 and we had to dig a tunnel through a huge drift in our back yard to get to our milking goats and chickens. Dad had a snowmobile and he took orders from neighbors for groceries. Made for great sledding that year!

- Becky in Quincy

My memory of the blizzard of 78:

I lived in a rural area north of Muskegon. It was my senior year of high school.

Snow drifts were 30' + and it was before people owned snowblowers. My brother and I shoveled snow that was over our head. Snow was drifted higher than the stop signs. Cottages at the lake were had only roofs showing.

School was closed for the entire month of January!

It was difficult because we lived in a very small home and there were 7 of us.

- Konnie Hopson

I don't know why you are making such a big deal about the storm of 78 without even mentioning that it happened on the aniversary of an equal or maybe even worse storm of 1968. 3 feet of snow drifts from 6 to 8 feet that really paralized the area for 4 or 5 days depending on your location. 1978 was bad but in 1968 there were no snowmobiles or as many 4 wheel drive vehicals to help.

- Thanks, John Thompson, Battle Creek.

I was 9 years old and my brother, sister and I had a ball playing in all that snow (missing schools wasn't so bad either). I recall the snow coming up to my waist. We lived on Nichols Road and there was no traffic at all. My dad left his truck at the bottom of the hill and my parents and the neighbors next door took our wagon down the hill put it on the truck, picked up groceries and dragged them back up the hill so we could all eat. My neighbors had a snow drift that went up to the roof and were all playing behind it. Looking back that was probably dangerous, but we enjoyed it! We actually have a footage of the storm on the old 8mm filmstrip.

I was working at Albion Community Hospital at the time of the blizzard of 1978. We worked for four days getting our nurses to work for three shifts. We utilized the assistance of the wonderful people of the National Guard. One of our physicians used his jimmy trucks as ambulances. One physician came from Concord on a snowmobile.

- Pam, Marshall

I remember the blizzard of 78. I was only six years old. My family had a small farm in Bronson Michigan and we had to make tunnels to get to the animals. We had neighbors that used their snowmobiles to get around and check on families around them. Lot of the families milked cows. I remember having 2 weeks off of school and playing out in the snow with my brother. We had a chicken coop that we could walk on the roof and that was a blast. I'm now married with three kids and they would love to see that much snow.

- Tammy Gebbink

I remembers that storm of 78 my son was one and we lived in a trailer park . The snow was getting so deep we didn't know what we were going to do .We watched the people across the street stand on their car to dig it out. People on snowmobiles brought food, diapers and water . I couldn't believe my eyes .I know I'll never forget 1978. Thanks so much.

- Karen Wood

Not only do I remember the blizzard, but also the early spring that followed. The flood was worse than the blizzard.

- Teresa from Schoolcraft

There was so much snow that my employer (National Water Lift) was closed. When I heard a radio request for help, from Borgess Hospital, for anyone with a 4-wheel drive and a CB radio. I had a 1978 GMC Jimmy, and was bored sitting at home, so I responded. It turned into a 72 hour, 3 day adventure carting hospital staff and non-emergency patients to and from the hospital. We were reimbursed for gas, but after my first run, I'd have kept doing it anyway for the fantastic feeling of appreciation one gets when rescuing stranded people. But it turned out that feeling wasn't the best of it. I felt like Superman when the hospital honored my efforts with an official commendation.

- Larry

I live in South Haven and the blizzard that came in on Wednesday night, January 25, 1978; I had strep throat and met my doctor at his office at 8:00 that night for antibiotics which was a good thing cause I literally could not leave my house till Sunday when the town was finally dug out. I lived in a mobile home park at the time and a neighbor on the opposite side of the road was in the Nat’l Guard, needless to say they came and got him but that was about the only thing moving on the roads other than snowmobiles and 4 wheelers. You could see where my car was parked in the drive only because it was a big bump with a swell at the back where the snow swirled around it.

We have pictures too, of my parent’s living room picture window which faces the lake but you couldn’t see it cause there was a wall/drift of snow all the way up the side of the house with like a 2’ tunnel between the house and the drift where the snow swirled around keeping it clear. I remember their road being closed too, for a couple days before the big plows finally came thru. In the mean time, my little sisters had tunnels going all thru the drifts in the yard which we have pictures of one of the cats sitting in one of the tunnels along with a picture of the dog on the roof of the garage. Luckily Dad had a snowmobile so we had access to the outside world if we needed it! That’s when we use to get lots of snow. Now a days, when people say we’re in for a hard winter this yea or this is a bad winter, it kinda makes you chuckle. I’m sorry, they don’t know what a hard winter is...

My sister and I were in High School at the time. Mom worked in Battle Creek and Dad in Kalamazoo. The storm hit while Mom was at work and she couldn't get home for three or four days. Meanwhile, back at the house, we had plenty of food, but Dad ran out of his "staples" pipe tobacco and coffee. So, he strapped on his snowshoes and hiked about a mile into town to get his tobacco and coffee. I'll never forget it.

Now THAT was a snowstorm! We lived on Jackson Street in Mendon. We decided to walk out to my grandparent's place on Kirby Road (across from where the high school is located now) to check on them. This is a couple of miles on a good day! I remember that it wasn't too bad in town, but when we got to Kirby Road it hadn't been plowed at all. My sister Luci and I went ahead, because at 9 and 11 we thought this was great! The snow was almost up to our waists. Our parents came along behind, and it was tough going indeed. My mom had a camera, and I have photos of Luci and I in the deep, deep snow on Kirby Road. Later, when the plows came through, the snow banks on the side of the roads were far over our heads. I laugh now when people get all excited about less than a foot of snow. Thank goodness, we haven't had a blizzard of that magnitude in some time! I'll try to get those old photos scanned and submitted. It's amazing how much snow we had and how fast it fell.

- Amy Crabtree Campbell

I have heard many stories about the 78 Blizzard. Many have told me about Doug Seelye of Richland using his personal end loader to clear out the entire town of Richland himself. Also, someone once told me of a guy who lived on 48th street riding his snowmobile all the way to the Kalamazoo County Road Commission and being the only one to report the first day. I also remember going to Gaylord that year and sledding of the roof of my Uncle's two story home onto the snow piles made from clearing the driveway. As a kid I remember it being just a bunch of fun, but for my parents I remember it just being allot of hard work.

- Aaron Pennock, Battle Creek, MI

I moved here from Atlanta, Georgia in July of 1977, learned how to drive in August and brought my first car in September. On this date in 1978 I was working on Vanderbilt Rd. in Portage. We left early that day because of the heavy snow warnings. I started my drive home down Oakland toward VW Ave. About halfway there, I ran my car off the road into a deep snow bank. Snow covered the front of my car almost to the top of the hood. I didn't know what to do. As I sat there a pickup truck pulled up beside me and three men got out. I was, admittedly, a little afraid. One of them came to my window and said they would try to help me. They opened the hood of my car and proceeded to dig snow out of the engine compartment. In almost no time they had removed enough snow and pushed me back into the street. I thanked them and asked if I could pay them something. One of them said that digging my "Green Hornet" ut of the snow was enough to make for a good story and left.

If one of you happens to be reading this; thank you again so much for the help and for giving my culture shock a Happy Ending.

Living happily in Michigan 30 plus years later,

- Teresa Brough

Unfortunately, I wasn't born until 1988 but my parents obviously were around for the storm of '78. I think it's funny that there is an actual news story about this because every time there is a huge storm coming to west michigan, even if it's a tornado, thunderstorm or a blizzard, my parents always refer back to the storm of '78. They'll call me and ask me where I am and tell me to go somewhere safe cause the storm of '78 is coming, and I'll be like.. um it's raining & windy, what's the big deal? However, from reading everyones stories.. I now know it actually exists and they aren't joking around.

-Sarah, Kalamazoo

I was in third grade at Wall School in Sturgis Michigan when the blizzard came. It felt like we were out of school forever. My brother, sister and I would show "movies" in the living room using my Viewmaster Projector. We played a lot of board games and drove my poor parents crazy. The best thing that came out of the blizzard was my youngest sister, who was born nine months later.

-Verna Blanchard

I was living in the Westnedge Hill area at the time of the 78' snow event. My sister and brother-in-law were staying with us for a short time as they were relocating from Spokane, Washington to Traverse City. They had two Alaskan Malamutes and we had three pooches of our own. That was an adventure in itself! When the snow hit in force we realized that there would be many folks in the neighborhood that would be unable to glean needed supplies. Fortunately my Brother-In-Law had been involved in dog sledding with the Malamutes and had the proper harness. We slipped one of the Malamutes into a sled harness and attached it to my toboggan. I strapped on my snowshoes and hiked next to the dog/toboggan to the old Jewel food store on Howard St. making a number of trips for groceries & supplies. The folks were very thankful for the needed items, but to be honest I had more fun than I deserved as we trekked the north-face of Mount Westnedge on numerous runs. By the way, the dogs loved the snow as well; especially the Beagle who had snow-tunnels all over the back yard.

- Andy, Kalamazoo

I was 4 years old when the storm hit in the winter of 1978. We were living in Hastings out on Rork Rd which is not a main road and plowing was not a priority! My mom needed to go to town (I think it was being cooped-up in the house with a 4 and 2 year old -- that was only fun for so long!) so she had to call my Grandma to come and pick us up. We had to walk to the end of the road which had been plowed (the corner of Rork and Airport Rd) to meet her. That as where the adventure began! What I remember is a wall of snow! We were all bundled up and ready to go. My mom put us down and off we went until my sister and i fell into the snow! So walking for us was not an option! Mom was quick to figure out what needed to be done! She scooped up my sister and told me it was time to roll! So i rolled all the way to end of the street! That was so much fun! The next thing I remember is Grandma waiting with her great big Oldsmobile!

- Tammy, Baumholder, Germany

I was living in the Vine Street neighborhood in Kalamazoo at the time of the blizzard. I remember coming out of the house and looking at the mound of snow where my car was, and only being able to see one small spot on one door that wasn't covered in snow.

A day or so later, WKZO radio announced that all cars in our neighborhood were going to be towed so that the plows could clear the streets. Everyone in my building bundled up and went outside to start digging out our cars, even though we had no place to drive them -- the streets were still completely filled with snow. At that same time, a neighbor two doors down was just starting to clear out his (very long) driveway. He put down his shovel and said that if we all helped clear out his driveway, we could park there until the plows passed. It took ten of us more than two hours to shovel his driveway, but nobody had to retrieve their car from the pound!

I also remember slogging my way to the little neighborhood grocery store and seeing people skiing past us on Westnedge Avenue. When we got to the store, there were still a few loaves of bread left but I laughed out loud when I saw that the entire beer case was empty!

Oh how I remember it well. I was a senior in high school and my sister was in 8th grade at the time. We lived out in the country outside of Delton by Pine Lake. My dad worked in Kalamazoo and my mom worked in Plainwell.

I don't remember the whole scheme of things but remember that somehow my mom got snowed in in Plainwell after work and my dad got snowed in at home with us. I swear we could have walked out of our sliding glass doors straight onto the snow it was so high. Luckily I knew how to cook because my dad was NO cook at all and called my mom in a panic and asked what to fix us kids for meals. We didn't have any power so I remember bringing our mattresses out into the living room in front of the fireplace, (Thank God we had that), so we stayed warm.

We had a snowmobile club "Delton Drift Dodgers" that made their way around to all the homes that were not on the paved roads and went to the local stores to pick up groceries for us. If it wasn't for those kind people I know a lot of us would have run out of food before the plows finally made their way to our street.

I remember the BIG V plows coming down our road hitting the snow, backing up, hitting it again, and so on til they made it down our road. I also remember when we were finally able to get out we used those bicycle flags on the whips attached to the bumpers of our truck so someone could see us coming since the road was only one car wide.

Definately a time I won't forget anytime soon. Sounds funny but thanks for bringing up this blizzard because it was a time that I cherish because I got to spend some quality time with my father who is now passed.

- Rose - Formally from Pine Lake now in Gobles

Every time we have a big snow and the kids are freaking out, I tell them "This is nothing compared to the blizzard of 1978!" Guess this ranks up with "When I was your age I walked 5 miles to school," etc. I'm now officially an old man, I guess.

The storm gave my parents an excuse to play a practical joke on me. I had gone to bed early the night before not knowing the forecast for the next day. That morning I woke up and did my normal 15-year-old morning thing and headed out into the garage to head off to school. Mom and Dad were playing along. "Have a good day. Don't forget your homework." I pressed the garage door opener and saw white... more white.... more white... ALL white. Garage drifted over. Went to the front door. Drifted shut. Went to the kitchen where my parents were giving me a deadpan look and asking "What's wrong?" I never had the chance to pay them back for that.

Portage schools were shut down for 2 weeks. At the time, I was a Kalamazoo Gazette route carrier. We couldn't deliver papers for about a week. Once we were able to resume service, the Postal Service granted us permission to place the papers in the mailboxes if there was no paper box.

I was not in Portage for the 1967 storm. Immediate comparisons were made between the two storms. That debate lasted for most of the winter. Two things were similar about the storms: 1) they left snow piles visible until Memorial Day and 2) extended school for most until the first day of summer or later.

- Jim Lawless

I have many stories about the blizzard of '78 but don't seem to have the time to put them on email. Froh Home, a nursing home, in Sturgis, MI needed volunteers as the working shift could not leave because of the snow and the next shift couldn't get in because of the snow. Volunteers from nearby homes, ours included, waded the deep snow in snowmobile suits to help. We learned to set tables and make poached eggs in very large quantities.

Leo and Marcella Taylor, an elderly couple, found that both of their exit doors were buried in snow. Marcella had taken the bottom window out of the storm door and was removing snow from the inside of her house by scooping snow with a pan and putting it in the bathtub. I was on the outside shoveling toward their back door. We did eventually get them so they could get out.

Many roofs on Griffith Street and Hatch Street were laden with snow-weight. These were the two streets in our neighborhood that we could get to. Homemade wooden tools were made to pull and push the snow from the roofs without damaging the shingles.

- Thema Bennett

Well, I was watching the Incredible Hulk. I was 15, and being so entrenched on figuring out how David Banner was so angry, I peaked out my window. I said that's a A LOT of freakin snow! But being as entrenched as I was, I began to use the time stranded in my house to wonder why Mr. Banner was so angry! Could of it been quicksand? Handcuffed to a woman who is falling over the cliff? Being placed in a cage with an angry gorilla? Ah I guess, it doesn't matter. hours became days, and I was still stranded in my boring house. On the third day, my mom finally said it was safe for us to go outside. It was still cold as you know what. Once I came back from my 2 hour walk in the snow to the liquor store a block away, and handed mom, the lotto ticket. We actually won $30, which we used to buy a working snowblower. My mom told me that if it wasn't for that lotto ticket, we may have been stuck another day in the house! I'm not sure if I believe that, but that's what she said.

- John FitzGibbons

That storm was a kids dream unless you are 16 and it is your first winter driving. Everyday for the whole two weeks we were snowed in I dugg out my car and every morning it was once again covered. We lived on a dead end street wo we were not the plows main concern. The lady across the street was pregnant and her doctor sent snowmobiles up to get her they had to put her on the back of the snowmobile. I am sure she was ready to deliver by the time she made it to the hospital. We had seven kids and my mom in the house, staples will only go so far. My sister and I grabbed metal backpacks headed to the end of the street. A trekk that would usually take 5 mins took 20 or more. When we got to the end of the street there happen by a truck full of men in the bed of the truck. They asked if we needed a ride they were going to Meijers, we said yes it beat walking and jumped in. When we pulled up to the westnedge meijers we saw skiers, snowshoers, snowmobiles and other hikers. The man said the truck was leaving in 45 mins anyone who wanted dropped back off needed to be in the truck by that time. Walking into Meijers we noticed immediately that the roof had caved in and it was snowing inside the store! There was no shoving or panick just people getting what they need. We got milk, bread, eggs, and a few other neccesities We went back to the truck and they dropped us off. We never got their names, It took us another 20-30 mins to get back up the street. We were warm, well fed,and we had each other to keep us company. As the snow piled up and covered our picture window so that you couldn't see out. The world and time just kind of stood still. Cell phones were not invented, we did not have satillite radio, computers, dvds , or even a VCR. Just 3 channels on the TV, and monopoly. A more simplier time.

- Lisa

I remember the blizzard of 1978. I was in highschool at the time. My mother was out of cigarettes, and wanted me to trudge to the store to get some more for her. I didn't, and she is celebrating her 30 year anniversary of being smoke free! Mom always did like me best!

- Pete

I was 10 when the storm hit and lived in the Westwood neighborhood. I remember the snow drifts being higher than the front window and tunneling out the of the garage door through the back yard to check on the neighbors. I also remember my parents taking sleds and walking up to Hardings to get groceries, but they when they got to the end of our street, someone picked them up on a snowmobile. Even then, it took them forever to get back home. There was such a sense of community back then, everyone helping everyone. Where did it disappear to, I miss those times.

- Tammie S.

i remember i tried to drive to work but 3/4 of the way there i got stuck. i remember it well because i had just bought a brand new car. well it got buried on the side of the road and eventually a snow plow hit it and totaled it. i made it to work but there was only a few people there. i tell that story to my grandkids now, haha.

- peter hernandez

I had left Saginaw enroute to Three Rivers. I had a four day weekend planned. When I got in the kalamazoo area the radio station said we were in for a big storm. By the time I got to Schoolcraft it started to snow. The roads were getting pretty bad by the time I got To Three Rivers. When I got to my friends house on Berg Road it was getting pretty bad. My four day weekend turned into two weeks that I spent at my friends house. But all in all we had fun ,He had two snowmobiles. The snowdrifts in front of his house and on berg road were anywhere from 10 to 12 Feet Tall. The wind was something else.

- Mike

I remember that blizzard very well. You see the LOVE OF MY LIFE walked from Comstock to Lakewood to see me in all that snow! Then he shoveled my drive and two of my neighbors drives. He is still the LOVE OF MY LIFE. I love him even more today than then. We will be married 30 years on October 14,2008. God gave me a wonderful Husband, our kids a wonderful Father and our grandkids a GREAT GRANDPA! Thanks for letting me tell the world!

- Norma Rogers

The memories of snow storms past remember that 78 storm we did have alot of snow remember see a Gazette photo of Burdick Street at that time that showed Burdick Street as one giant drift I also remember the storm of the following winter 79 had just come back from Florida trip just in time for the giant windstorm Wind snow cold must be January in Michigan

- Jim

I was a junior at Rockford HS in Rockford MI. We had 11 snow days with no school. There was no mail delivery, churches were closed and most local downtown businesses. Our friends had snowmobiles and would call to ask if there was anything we needed from the store and they would deliver the groceries. The snow was so high that we could walk on the snow and look directly into the kitchen window. Carrie R. Kalamazoo

- Carrie Richman

My daughter was just over a month old, my brother in law and my cousin had trouble trying to get through on snowmobiles to bring me some baby formula. Also, my daughters best friends from school were born during that blizzard. They both live across the field from us. The snow plows couldn't get through, so helicopters were flown in to bring their mothers to the hospital to deliver them!

- Denice, Delton

I remember the blizzard as I spent 72 hours in a factory after telling my coworker that only a "fool" would go to work in that weather.

- Diane Galesburg

I was 6 at the time and I remember having to walk across the roof of our cottage on Fish Lake in Sturgis to make it out front and down the street to a small grocery store for necessities. I lost one of my boots in the process, which was not found until spring.

My stepfather, who was dating my mom at the time, tried to make a run for it back to his place before the snow really hit, in doing so he managed to get stuck about a mile from our cottage. While trying to dig himself out, he soon realized that he must have lost site of the road, as he was digging up cornstalks from the middle of a corn field!

- Jason, Sturgis

How could I forget the blizzard! That was the year I bought my first (starter) house up in Oakwood. My parents were worried because I was way across town and if I needed help they might not be able to get there. Fortunately, my father always "planned ahead". Just a couple of weeks before the storm he showed up at my door with a new snowblower...just in case we had some snow! It was great, when the snow began I rushed out and cleared a path to the street (Oakland Drive). Every so often I would bundle up and clear again. After awhile, I decided perhaps I should go to the store and stock up on a few groceries. I was only four blocks from Hardings so I grabbed the shopping cart my grandmother used when we were little and went shopping. There were a few snowmobiles and some people walking out on the road. On the way home I saw something in the snow pile near my house. Upon examining closer it happened to be a twelve-pack of Miller beer. There was nobody around so I picked up the beer (which just happened to be my brand, and of course "ice cold") put it on top of my groceries. When home I cuddled up with a good book and my Miller and waited out the storm. Cheers.

- Sue L

My memory of the blizzard of '78 is that I was pregnant with our first child. My husband was working nights in Three Rivers (about 15 miles away). Needless to say, he could not make it home that night. I was home alone for two days when I went into premature labor. He was able to get someone to bring him home on a snowmobile. However we were still snowed in and 10 miles from the hospital. We were on the phone back and forth with Dr Lewis and the road crews. Dr Lewis got within a few miles of our house by truck, then rode a snowmobile the rest of the way. He waited at our house with us until the road trucks got us plowed out. He got us into the hospital and successfully stopped the labor. When a snow storm was forecast for the next weekend, he called and suggested we stay in town till the storm was over. Our daughter was born healthy on March 21, 1978.

- Nancy, Sturgis

My memory of the storm of 1978 is it was my 23rd birthday on Jan. 26th. I had big plans that I had to cancel. Now I always seem to just plan to stay home on my birthday since that day. I also remember a big snow storm on my birthday in 1967 or 1968, I think that storm was just as bad as the storm in 1978. I have no plans for this year either.

- Robin Nowakowski, Scotts, MI

Our son was on dialysis and during the snow storm we were unable to drive from Allegan to Kalamazoo, where he would undergo dialysis. The local Police Department had personnel who brought their own 4-wheel drive to our house, picked us up (my son was too young to go by himself) and take us to the municipal airport in Allegan. We received an air lift from the United States Air National Guard by way of helicopter. He loved it. I was scared to death. You might know there are not creature comforts in their helicopters. They told me not to hold on to the middle post which was the cylinder that was turning the blade. We flew over roads that were literally snowed shut, cars were stranded - quite an experience.

Once we got to the hospital we had to stay until roads opened - several days. Because hospital staff was limited and those that were there had to stay during this emergency - I was able to help out in small ways - non medical. I could run messages, etc.

It is a storm we will never forget.

- Pat Miner, Allegan, Michigan

I remember that I left Maple Hill mall, were I was working and know it was going to be bad. I was invited to stay at a friends house, plans made before the storm. I got as far as just past the stop light on west Main and could not go any farther. I got back on the parking lot and managed to get home to my parents house. Hated to be stuck at home in a storm, nothing to do if you know what I mean. But those days were different, I lived on the north side of Kalamazoo when it was "Dutch". We had a group of neighbors that got together and started to shovel a path through the road to Westnedge ave. and one brave person got a lost from each neighbor and tried to get to a store so no one was without the necessities of live. Those were the days when people took time to check on each other to make sure everyone was o k. I will never forget.

- Teresa Teerink

Three families (17 people) stuck in house in Fennville for about 3 weeks. The men had to walk to town because they couldn't drive. It was very nerve racking.

- Lucy Pullam

We live south of Mendon between the cornfields and soybeans. At the time of the blizzard my husband was in Montreal, Canada on a business trip and I was home with sons 10 & 8. I was getting sicker the cold going into my chest, I called the Doctor who called a Rx into the pharmacy in Colon. How was I suppose to get in and pick up, they said don't worry we will get it to you. A short time later my dog started barking at the strange sound outside the house. Lo and behold it was a home delivery of my Rx by snowmobile volunteer. I offered him a tip for the service but he refused. He of course was also having fun with his snow machine. I do not know who he was but I thanked him very much.

- Barbara Miller, Mendon

What we remember most about the Blizzard of 1978 is giving birth to our son on January 19 and just making it home to Bangor from the hospital in South Haven the day before the storm hit. So our son Marcus Edward Mitchell is now know as the Blizzard of 1978. Now it seems there is always a storm around his birthday.

- Ginny & Larry Mitchell, Bangor, Michigan

I was working midnight shift at Portage Police with about 6 other officers when the storm got serious. We didn't know the storm was that bad until we came upon a car stuck in the middle of Portage Rd and Centre St intersection. We called the car's owner to see if he was going to move it and he just kept laughing. Our day shift never made it to work and by the end of the first day, the National Guard had been called out. They started trickling in and finally arrived at the Portage Police station with two troop transport trucks. That was how we got around...if at all. We ended up housing the Guardsman in our City Jail. After working about 20 hours, our midnight shift finally made it to Ofc. Paul Sherfield's parents home who lived off Milham behind Southland Mall. We crashed for about 8 hrs and then the troop transport picked us up for a 16 hr shift. After that we managed to make it to Herb and Margie Snow's house off Skyler St. They were the parents of 1 one of our officers, Sharon Brignall. We were very tired and slept like a log only to awaken to the smell of something cooking. Herb dug out his patio and was barbecuing steaks for us. Every snowfall for the next several years we would tell Sharon that we should all probably spend the night at Herb and Margies with anticipation of another BBQ steak dinner. I finally made it home three days later to a 3 yr old, 5 month old and a lovely wife who smiled, pointed to the kids and said "It's your turn". I don't thing she wanted to hear about the BBQ steak dinner.

"Lt. Pali" aka Lt. Paul Matyas, Portage PD

I was a freshman at Western Michigan University living in Fox Hall in the Valley. The first few days of being snowed in were a lot of fun, with everyone partying. I lived on a co-ed floor. Some of the guys jumped out of the windows into the deep snowdrifts. A friend and I pierced each others ears. After a few days, the cafeteria started running out of some food, and I remember having sandwiches for a couple of days.

- Lori from Schoolcraft

I was a junior in high school and my family lived in the country 5 miles north of Sturgis. My father worked for the City of Sturgis in their electric generating plant downtown. Fortunately he was off when the storm hit, but the poor guy who was operating that night ended up being there for two days until they could get someone in to cover for him! I believe I remember someone sending a snowmobile to take my dad into town to help at the plant. As for the rest of us, we didn't have much to do for the next couple of weeks. My mother was very worried about me going to the barn to feed and water my horse, as the snow was blowing so hard you couldn't see a thing and all there was past the barn was fields. I ended up staying on path to the barn using a piece of rope looped around the clothes line, which ended about 6 feet from the barn wall. That way I knew I was going straight and was OK even when I couldn't see. By the end of the 2nd day I didn't need the rope - the drift across our back yard was so high and so tightly packed that I could hold the clothes line

at around waist level to make my way to the barn! We eventually all got sick of watching the 3 channels of TV we had and began sitting around listening to the radio over the wind at night. I've lived in many places since that time but have never experienced a weather

extreme like we had with that storm.

- Denise Lewis, Sturgis

We had a 1 year old baby, with no milk. my husband was really sick. I took my son,(11) and the Ford Ferguson Tractor to go one mile to the store. Got there, got the milk, eggs. while there a man asked me if I was headed south, and I told him yes, he needed a ride. I told him we were on the Tractor and if he could find a place to hang on tight, he had a ride. I had that tractor wide open, and the back tires were just sliding from side to side all the way down. The guy got off about half way back to the place where he said he was going. I got the the Lake, and the snow blowing across the road had made the road icy, and the Tractor got stuck. A snowmobiler came by and took my son home, brought my sick husband back with a shovel, and he finally got me unstuck. when the tractor finally got rolling, he jumped on, and tossed the shovel up too, and it hit the tire and cut off the valve stem, and by the time we got to our drive way, the tire was flat, and it cost my husband a bunch to have Chloride put back into the tire. That was an expensive gallon of milk. When the snow melted, we found eggs in the driveway, as my son dropped them on the way into the house because the bag got wet from all the snow....

- Linda Huckfeldt

I was three years old with my mother taking pictures of my brothers and myself having the time of out lives playing in the snow. We made a snow house in the large drifts in the driveway. I also remember running out of milk and orange juice, and having to drink Kool-Aid for breakfast because we could not get to the store.

- Barry, formally of Kalamazoo, now in Rochester MN.

In 1978, I was a college student, working part time at the Kalamazoo Public Library. After only 3 days, the director announced that the downtown library would open to the public. I really couldn't believe it. At that time, the only cars out and about were the National Guard and emergency vehicles. Lucky for me, I lived in an apartment in the Vine neighborhood and was close enough to walk, especially since my little volkswagon was buried to the top and out of sight. So, on day 3, we opened with a small staff of determined librarians, clerks and student help. Our parking lot was full of snow and the mall was covered with drifts as tall as the tops of the buildings. Nothing else downtown was open, just us. The surprising thing was that we were quite busy with patrons who walked to the library and get a book or several to give them something to do while stranded at home.

My story about the blizzard of 1967? I was in 6th grade at Waylee Elementary in Portage and the blizzard began in the morning, after school started. By the time the superintendent decided to release the students there was already a lot of snow and visibility was minimal. Waylee was also the site of the bus garage for all the schools in Portage but the snow by then was so deep that our teachers ended up grabbing shovels and dug those huge buses out of the drifts that they were stuck in, so they could get the children home.

- Jill - Kalamazoo

That winter I was 11 years old. My cousin and I had went outside to play in the huge snow drifts along the house. We wedged our way in between the snow and the edge of the house and the icicles where bigger around than both our arms could reach. So we decided to knock them down with our feet. We would lean back against the house and kick. Well about the 3rd one came down and fell onto her shoulder and into my head, and long story short. I started bleeding thru the famous orange hunting hat and couldn't get into the house quick enough. My father worked for Upjohn/Brook Lodge at the time and he had to come home in a large dump truck, and plow a path from our house to Borgess all the way up G ave. Many stitches later and a great story to tell with my scar.... Oh and Family rule no one knocks down icicles EVER !

- Cindy from Augusta

The Blizzard of '78 was just one more excuse to socialize at the house five of us shared on Forest Street. We enjoyed cross country skiing down to the Jewel on Howard Street for daily supplies, had shoveling events, walked over to East Campus to sled down the hill behind East Hall, one of us did flips off of our front porch into the snow, and when we were finally allowed to drive back on the streets again we headed over to Carousel for ice cream cones.

The Forest Street Girls currently of Mattawan, Denver, Richland, Plainwell, and Barry County

I was working mobile security patrol that night. It started to snow around 10. By midnight the snowflakes seemed as big as softballs hitting my windshield. By 1 am my partner on the other route was stuck and couldn't get out. He spent the rest of the night waiting for a tow truck to come. Most of the rest of my night was spend shoveling and trying to keep going. If I made it to 10 stops after that I would be surprised. Finally in the morning I left our office on E. Michigan near King's Highway and tried to make it to I 94 to drive home to Battle Creek. When I got east of River St. on the BL I found that MDOT had found a creative way to close the freeway-they simply stopped plowing the on ramps and let them drift in. By the time I realized this my car was hopelessly buried. I started walking back toward downtown and was picked up by a 4x4. When I got dropped off downtown, it was eerily quiet. The only things moving downtown were pedestrians, cross-country skiers, a few snowmobiles, and the odd 4x4 (younger people should be aware that 30 years ago there were a lot fewer pickups on the road, most were not 4x4, and SUV's were almost non-existent). I made my way to a small motel, checked in and passed out. I woke up around 4 PM. When I looked out at the parking lot, the cars I had seen in the morning were now just bumps in the snow.

The next day I was talking with a friend at Nazareth College who told me if I could get up there the college would put me up for free. I walked up there and spent the next day and night there. On the third day I was finally able to get my car towed and repaired. I was a part-time police officer for Pennfield Township and felt it important to try to get back to Battle Creek to help my department. I94 was still closed, but I heard that people were getting through on M96. I found that 96 was nothing more than 2 tracks in the snow. This made it interesting if you came across on an oncoming car. It 2 hours, but I finally made it home.

One final memory of the aftermath: I was on patrol in Pennfield and found the leg of a cow sticking out of the melting mountain on the side of the road. None of the farmers were missing cows, and it was never determined where the cow had come from.

- Art, Battle Creek

My memories of the Blizzard of 1978 are few, since I was only 7, but I do remember it. I remember my parents being quite nervous when we got up that morning and the house was buried - you could not open either the front or the back door because the snow was drifted well over them. We were living on Balmoral Street in a South Portage neighborhood. As God or fate would have it, we had a volunteer firefighter in the neighborhood. He had a couple friends with him, and they went around to each house in our neighborhood and unburied one door for each house. It was no small feat, since even in 1978 there were at least 50 or 60 houses in that neighborhood. I will never forget that, and always remember that as one of the nicest things someone could do. There was no money involved - my dad offered them money and they refused. My mom did give them coffee though. They helped out of the kindness of their hearts and their desire to help in a crisis. Bless him and his friends wherever they are, and bless all others like him.

Once we were saved by the volunteer firefighter, my parents bundled me up in a snowmobile suit and boots, several scarves, big mittens, and gave me a Tupperware bowl. They let me tunnel from the front door that was now unburied, to the back door, to unbury it. It was one of my best memories from that house. My parents still have pictures somewhere of me standing on top of the snow mound that completely enveloped our car, putting me a good 9 or 10 feet above the ground.

My dad worked at General Motors and was able to get back and forth to work with his snowmobile for a few days. The snowmobile is also how we got to the Booze Barn on Sprinkle Road - the old one, before it burnt down and was moved - to get milk and some food. At least I think that was the reason we went - now that I think about it, there may have been some beer purchased as well. [wink] Another night we were going to Schedule's grocery - that is not the correct spelling, but that is how it sounded. It was later Fred's Foodtown and then Lakeshore I believe? Anyway, it was dark, and my dad and I rode on the snowmobile to go get food. On the way there, I lost one of my boots. However, the snowmobile was so loud that my dad could not hear me until we got to the store. At the store, he bought some baggies and tape to cover my foot on the ride home. We stopped around where I thought it fell, but we could not find it, so we went home. My dad went back out later and found the boot for me. I'm not sure if it was simply because he was a great dad, or because we probably couldn't afford a new pair of snowmobile boots. At the time, I just thought it was because he was so great.

I also remember being out of school for what seemed like forever, but after reading all these other stories was probably only about a week. That week off school was spent with neighborhood friends. We all dug igloos out in the snow, and made these elaborate tunnels from one house to the next, stretching for a dozen or more houses. The tunnels would stop where the driveway began and pick up again on the other side of the driveway. For us kids, I think it was the coolest thing we ever did. I actually learned just how warm and insulating that snow could be - inside our little igloos it was very comfortable. My mom would make snacks and thermoses of hot chocolate and we would go out and have lunch in our igloo.

It honestly is one of my fondest memories of that part of my life. I am truly sorry to hear there was tragedy as well. At seven, you really cannot comprehend that. For my four kids who are ages 6 to 12, I would love to see a real blizzard (without the death and destruction) just so they could see what it used to be like.

- Lisa, Kalamazoo

I shoveled all night and had a clean driveway in the morning (Img105, Img106 in the gallary above). But there was no place to go with the street about 20 inches above the end of my driveway (Img107). Later I cleared a path to the mailbox (Img108) and removed the snow in front of the front door (Img109) creating a narrow path to the door (Img110). It was surprising (and fortunate) that there was no significant snow accumulations on the roofs.

- Sandy Kuentzel in Portage

If you'd like to share your memories, send an email to website@wwmt.com. Thanks for sharing.