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Parking Lot E at the old heating plant along
Thurstin Avenue. |
Last Saturday was the 30th anniversary of the worst winter storm in Ohio history, which struck before dawn on Thursday, Jan. 26, 1978. The blizzard
continued through Thursday and into Friday. Transportation, business, industry and schools were closed statewide for two days,
with normal life not returning to the state for five days, according to the Ohio History Web site. The lowest atmospheric
pressure ever recorded in Ohio occurred as the center of the blizzard crossed Ohio, with winds of 50-70 mph. The heavy snow
and blowing of deep snow already on the ground caused enormous snowdrifts that covered cars and houses, blocked highways and
railways, and closed all airports for two days
BGSU weathered the storm but canceled classes Thursday, Friday and Monday.
More than 5,000 members of the Ohio National Guard were called to duty and were pressed into long hours of work with heavy
equipment clearing roads, assisting electric utility crews, rescuing stranded persons, and transporting doctors and nurses
to hospitals. Thousands of volunteers with snowmobiles and four-wheel-drive vehicles responded to pleas from police statewide
for help, and neighbors assisted one another, sharing food, helping to shovel and checking on those stranded by the storm.
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