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This snowfall isn't reallv big for SalinaOne storm froze people in bedBy GORDON D. FIEDLER JR.The Salina JournalIf there were a Hit Parade of Snow, the 8 inches that fell Friday and Saturday could do no better than 28th place in terms of monthly Salina totals recorded since 1949.Compared to some months, last weekend’s accumulation was a mere inconvenience. Salinans who were clearing snow by hand in 1979 will remember January of that year when the city was buried under nearly 33 inches of the stuff, the greatest one-month accumulation recorded in 30 years. Also hard to forget was the 23 inches that fell in February 1971.According to the Weather Data Library at Kansas State University, other back-breakers occurred in February and March of 1960, when 20.5 inches and 18.5 inches fell, respectively.Longtime funeral home director James Geisendorf has less-than-fond memories of that winter.“We got a death call at midnight from St. John’s Hospital. I couldn’t get a car out of the garage,’’ Geisendorf said.A snowplow driver eventually helped him extract the vehicle, but it was 7 a.m. before he reached the hospital.“The whole town closed down. There wasn’t a soul moving,” he said.But to grasp the really big snows, the kind that bring cities to their knees, it helps to venture beyond the record books to a time when the snow fell faster, the wind blew harder and the walks to school were much, much longer.Saiinan Merle Homman remembers a Thanksgiving storm in 1934 when he was a student at Solomon High School.“We walked three miles to school and we never saw any fences. Went right over them,” he said.“They never did close the schools► See KILLER, Page 9Photo courtesy of James GeisendorfPiles of snow cover portions of Santa Fe Avenue In downtown Salina In March 1912. A blizzard left 6-foot drifts downtown.Journal file photoSnow falls over East Iron Avenue downtown during a storm In January 1979. During the month, snow accumulated to 33 inches.Journal file photoSnow forced the closure of Interstate 70 during a storm In January1985.
Newspaper Details
Salina Journal
Salina, Kansas, US
Wed, Jan 13, 1993
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Salina P.
KS, USA 19 Jan 2023
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