And, We've Had Bad Winters Before-- Part 2

Back in January 1979, Chicagoans were already sick of snow. During an average winter, we get about 40 inches of the stuff, bringing out the famed "holders" for shoveled parking spots. However, that year, more than 30 inches had already fallen. Fears were that there would be more snow than the 77-78 winter when more than 85 inches fell. //// And, like this year, back then it was mighty cold as well. The 76-77 season had a 19 degree average, third lowest in Chicago history. The next winter it warmed up to 19.1 degrees, but the 1978-1979 winter was 18.4 degrees. //// I sure remember those three winters as I did not have a snowblower, but was much younger. I still didn't like all the shoveling and the 78-79 winter I was running out of places to throw the snow. I had snow piled 3-4 feet on the sides of the driveway. The roof of the local K-Mart on Rollins Road collapsed with snow accumulation and Round Lake Beach made national headlines. //// Believe me, you couldn't even find a snowblower the following year, which was supposed to be even worse than the previous three. //// Fortunately, it wasn't and we began a lot of years of what I considered reasonable winters. Yes, we did have snow and yes, it did get cold, but entirely acceptable in my estimation. //// This continued until about seven years ago when they started getting bad again, forcing Liz and me to head for warmer climes in Florida for part of January and February. //// Gettin' Ready to GET Outta HERE. --DaCoot