Blizzard of 1978: A look back on the storm's effects in Tippecanoe County

Tippecanoe School Corp. had already been closed 11 days during the winter because of snow. There would be more.

Tippecanoe County Highway Supervisor William Stovall said he didn't know when he'd get drifted-shut north-south roads reopened. That was Wednesday, Jan. 18.

It was beginning to look like a rerun of 1977.

And it was coming up to the first anniversary of Jan. 29, 1977 — the day of the worst blizzard this area had ever suffered through.

By Friday, Jan. 20, 15 area schools were closed. On Saturday, Jan. 21, weathermen said Lafayette would be on the fringe of snowstorms for the next five days.

On Monday, Jan. 23, weathermen said there was a chance of snow flurries Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, freezing rain fell. The Purdue Weather Service said there was a possibility of up to 2 inches of snow Wednesday night.

He was right. There were also a couple of inches Wednesday afternoon and a few more Thursday. Eleven inches fell before the storm stopped. In total, it left 14 inches on the ground.

With temperatures dropping to near zero and wind gusting to 50 mph, members of the Four-By-Four Club, a four-wheel-drive vehicle club, gathered and went out to help stranded motorists. They were the backbone of rescue efforts — the only ones who could get around.

The wind chill factor dropped to 65 below zero. A man was found frozen to death on Columbia Street.

Where buildings would normally be full of people going through the daily routine, there was nothing. There was no place to go and no way to get there besides.

The blowing snow blinded anyone on the road. Motels filled with travelers. "Food, beer and booze is holding up fine, although we're almost down to Billy Beer," a desk clerk at Howard Johnson's East on Indiana 26, said.

Students rushed out to stock up on beer as Purdue University closed for the third time since 1950.

Businesses, industries and schools closed. Snow drifts reached 15 feet. Cars and trucks were abandoned.

The Civil Defense, National Guard and Red Cross all geared up to help the injured, the stranded.

National Guard Armories were opened to those who couldn't get home.

Police and fire departments, ambulance services made plans for getting personnel in, and getting to those in need.

Indiana Gov. Otis Bowen visited with stranded locals at the Lafayette Armory and went for a helicopter ride — with a pregnant woman. Bowen's helicopter was used to bring Elizabeth Gifford to Lafayette from Rensselaer. It was thought she was going to deliver a baby, but several days later still had not. Bowen sought to have the state declared a federal "snow disaster" area after surveying conditions.

Beverly Richardson didn't let a blizzard slow her down, though. She had a baby boy, Troy Eugene. But it was a tough trip to St. Elizabeth Hospital. "We were driving and couldn't even see the road," she said. "Our car kept skidding and getting stuck in drifts. Finally, there was so much snow in the engine the car kept dying and dying."

People slept at work.

A Journal & Courier pressroom foreman, who on a hunch knew it was going to be a bad one, spent Wednesday night in town instead of going home — and the next two sleeping on a floor in the office. Several others spent Thursday night in the plant, too, and worked day and night without regard to normal shifts.

Businesses closed early Wednesday as the snow kept falling and the wind kept blowing. Those who made it home knew they'd be there for a while.

"All our volunteers are in about the same boat as everybody else, so out of about 60 people we've only got about six who are out and about." Civil Defense spokesman Barney Reiser stated.

It was the worst blizzard recorded in northern Indiana.

Your memories

We asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter to share some of their memories from the blizzard. Here's what those in the community recall most about the devastating storm.

Allison Everett Farrell: "Bundling up and walking to the grocery store with my dad. We had to climb over piles of snow the city had plowed to the edge of the city limits. Unfortunately, we were not in the Delphi city limits so we were snowed in and plowed in. We also ran out of the house and cheered the day farmers plowed our road with their tractors!"

Richard du Charme: "Attending Delphi Middle School and it seemed like a never ending snow filled vacation."

Penny Reid: "We were snowed in with no food and i was expecting my daughter in March.. my father-in-law got on his horse in Shadeland and rode all the way to town and bought us groceries and carried them back to Westchester Estates."

Wanda Bowlin Smith: "I was 11. Seemed like we were out of school forever. Played outside. Lots of fun."

Leah Bell: "Lived in Shadeland on Henry Street. Awoke at 6:00 a.m. heard howling wind. Looked out and I could not see but a few inches outside the windows. Husband could not make it down the road off 25 from work and had to abandon car. 7 days later payloaders finally dug out our street. Snow was encased around our house like a wall over 12 foot tall howling winds and bitterly cold."

Lisa Walton Harker: "No one could drive anywhere; being out of school forever and not having to make it up; running out of milk and eggs; the piles of snow once it was plowed, you could stand on them and be as high as the roof of the house; the pictures of cars and semi trucks completely snowed in on the highways."

Aleeah Yates Livengood: "That I couldn't see my boyfriend that lived in Buck Creek; who now happens to be my husband."

David LaGuire: "Randy and I walked down 4th street to the J&C. we printed as many as 4 days worth of papers before some of them left the building, but we printed every edition."

Ann L. Ohl: "I was a young mother of a 3 year old, stranded in the country at Rossville. My husband was stranded at work at Alcoa. He called and told me to burn the furniture in our wood burning stove if the power went out. It didn't come to that, but what a scary time it was."

Rob Blue: "I was born in it." "Home Hospital. We lived in Montgomery County at the time, but since dad was the only cop for a ways, they'd plow 231, and a path to our driveway, and clear the driveway as well."

Andy Fristoe: "Hollowing out a cave in the 10-ft. drift that leveled off a ravine on the 8th hole of the Lafayette Country Club. It was a once-in-a-lifetime snow fort experience for a 14 year-old boy."

Meri Ray: "Had tonsils removed day before it hit. Stayed with parents in town during my recovery, since I had two sons to take care of. My home, mobile home, front door blew open, furnace pilot light blew out, everything froze, including all the water lines under the mobile home. After 3 days, my dad was able to get out there to give me the news. Thanks to insurance all was repaired. Not a fun memory for me, but the boys loved playing in my parents back yard. They made roads & tunnels in the snow for their toy cars & trucks."

Your turn: What do you remember most about the monumental blizzard of 1978? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Do you remember the Blizzard of 1978? Revisit the J&C's look back