City January 26, 2010 3:33 PM

The Blizzard of '77... what was that?

The Blizzard of ‘77... what was that?
I might have been a young boy back when the blizzard of all blizzards hit, but I can tell you that for many reasons I'll never forget it. And neither will the rest of the country. Like all other weather-related snafus, Buffalo has come to grip with this distant memory, and there are some people out there who even look back with a certain awe. This Thursday the Buffalo Weather Experience Center and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library are teaming up to present an interesting event that looks back at the "Storm of all Storms".

For those of you who may have only heard the stories, here's your chance to check out what it was really like. How much snow was there? What did people do? What did it look like? How did people react? What caused it? Those are just some of the questions that will be answered on Thursday January 28 at 6pm at The Central Library. The event is free and open to the public.

To pre-register for the event, send an email here.

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Talk about a camp out, 16 straight snow days from school. But my poor dad who worked across from the Westinghouse Plant had to go to work the whole time.

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I missed a week of work because the side streets in Black Rock were clogged by abandoned vehicles. The stores ran out of milk, bread, and then the real disaster struck, THERE WAS NO MORE BEER! Fortunately a friend had a snowmobile and we were able to restock our supply and all was well.

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Thats rough. The good thing about home brewing is I have about 5 gallons of the stuff fermenting and or aging in the house at any given time. I guess blizard preparedness is another reason to get into beer making.

replied to Blackrocklifer
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On the day of the blizzard, my grandfather tried to beat the storm and walked to the grocery store for some basics as the snow started falling. After just one hour, it was a difficult return trip home as he had to walk through white-out conditions and three-foot drifts.

I spent the next two weeks off from school and shoveled snow every day. One day, I walked to Riverside Park -- a thin pedestrian trail had been shoveled by local residents down the center of some of our side streets -- and saw big rig trucks abandoned on Tonawanda Street with just the tops of the trailers visible in the snow.

Except for the days when our family resorted to cans of Spam because we ran out of all the good-tasting food, I remember the Blizzard as a great childhood experience.

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I wish I was born a little earlier... I always heard stories growing up and wished I was alive for the blizzard. It sounded like a lot of fun. Family members said the snow drifts made it to the top of the local supermarket in the Central Park Plaza and you had an impromptu sledding hill.

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One of my friends was born during the storm, and his mother wasn't able to get to the hospital, so she delivered him at home; kinda neat story -- I think it might be that White Death book that includes her personal narrative.

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There were a lot of storms that year. We had a snow day each weak from christmas to the storm. The snow piles were crazy. Then a weak after the storm the weather guys freaked out about another storm. We were all sent home but nothing happened. By April it was 80 and they showed people on the beach

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Being 18 at the time, the worst part was being stuck in the house with my parents for a WEEK! Ugh..and the relentless shoveling. Overall, kinda fun and exciting.

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