One Book selection 'The Children's Blizzard' full of human drama
Imagine being stuck out in Winter Storm Elliott, the “bomb cyclone” that gripped much of the country just before Christmas with its gusty winds and arctic temperatures.
Now, imagine that you were a teacher, living on the Great Plains in the late 1880s. The day had started out rather mild, and most of your pupils came to school without their heavy winter clothing. A storm like Elliott strikes, with little warning due to a lack of weather forecasting during the era, just in time for dismissal. You must decide whether to keep your students at the schoolhouse, where you might not have enough fuel to keep them warm, or let them try to outrun the ferocious blizzard.
That’s exactly what happened Jan. 12, 1888, when a weather phenomenon much like Elliott – a collision of cold, dry air from the north with moist, warm air from the south – struck Nebraska and the Dakota Territories.
That winter storm, which has come to be known as The Children’s Blizzard, is the basis for a novel by the same title penned by Melanie Benjamin. It is Alliance’s One Book One Community selection for 2023.
Based on actual oral histories of survivors, the novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen – two sisters, both schoolteachers. One becomes a hero of the storm, and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath of the “ground blizzard,” which didn’t produce a lot of accumulation, but created whiteout conditions.
“Well, to me one of the main points of the book is how these were ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances,” said Benjamin. “One decision made in a moment of terror meant some people survived while others didn’t. I am fascinated by that, personally.”
The Children’s Blizzard is also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It is Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured immigrants across the sea to settle the pitiless Great Plains.
Like Woodson, Anette’s caregiver Anna Pedersen was transformed by the storm despite not being actually in it.
“The storm was bigger than anyone on that prairie,” said Benjamin, who explained that the novel is based on accounts of real survivors but the story is her invention. “It roared through, and upended lives forever. Gavin and Anna are two examples of characters who weren’t trapped in the storm like some of the other characters in the book. Yet they both found, to their surprise, that it upended their lives, perhaps even more drastically than those who were caught in it.”
Full of twists and turns, the story is one that keeps readers intrigued and captivated as the characters navigate the storm, which lasted 12 to 18 hours amid sub-zero temperatures and winds of 60 mph.
The storm, which led in part to the creation of the United States Weather Bureau in 1890, killed at least 235 people, possibly as many as 500, according to some estimates. Many were immigrant children coming home from school.
“I think it’s a survival novel, for sure – something like Jack London, man against nature,” says Benjamin, “But it’s also full of human drama and the power of love and forgiveness. I really tried to find the beauty, the hope, the redemption in some of their stories, to balance the tragedy. That’s what I hope people will come away from, after reading; how love can help mitigate the most unimaginable loss, how people coming together, instead of tearing each other apart, is what will save us in the end.”
Copies of The Children’s Blizzard are available for purchase at Rodman Public Library. They are also available for checkout with a valid library card.
One Book One Community programming
Three programs are planned ahead of Benjamin’s visit to Alliance. She will speak at 7 p.m. March 23 at Union Avenue Methodist Church, where she will give remarks about “The Children’s Blizzard,” her writing process, her other works and answer questions. She will sign books following her talk.
All programs leading up to Benjamin’s visit will be held at Rodman Public Library, and registration is required at rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup for any of the events. The schedule is:
“Winter Survival 101” – Feb. 21. Local Boy Scouts of America representatives will discuss navigating through wintry weather, with topics including fire starting, shelter building, cooking and preparation for winter camping.
“Local Schoolhouses and the Three R’s in 19th Century Alliance” – March 6. Robb Hyde, president of Alliance Area Preservation Society, will speak at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“The Children’s Blizzard and Weather Prediction” – 2 p.m. March 11. Youngstown meteorologist Eric Wilhelm of WFMJ will speak.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: One Book selection 'The Children's Blizzard' full of human drama
