Revisiting winter 1979

REALCUISINE | Julianne Glatz

Sounds like you had some nasty weather back in Illinois last week. Here in New York City, that particular weather system wasn’t bad, although further north, New England was inundated again. Boston has been particularly hard-hit. Just before I visited my son, Robb, there last month, his car was so buried that he had to use his key-alarm to discover which snow-covered mound was his. It took more than eight hours over three days to dig the car out – and that was with help from friends.

I had a strong sense of déjà vu during my Boston visit. It felt as if I’d returned to another time in another snow-drenched city: Chicago, 1979.

The winter of 1978-79 wasn’t so much memorable for a single blizzard as for the total amount, and that the snow didn’t melt between onslaughts. Chicago’s normal snowfall is 33 inches and rarely exceeds 40 inches.

But that winter, the total was 88.4 inches. By the end of January, there were 47 inches on the ground, most of which was compacted ice. Roof collapses were common. Folks shoveled out parking spots and filled them with chairs. Fistfights often broke out if someone attempted to “steal” a spot. President Carter declared 23 northern Illinois counties disaster areas. It destroyed the career of then-mayor Michael Bilandic. A 1:44 minute YouTube video, www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-vzgnfXsyI provides an idea of what it was like.

My husband, Peter, was in his senior year of dental school. I was singing in the Chicago Symphony Chorus, which fortunately didn’t have any concerts scheduled during the worst of it. Daughter Anne was three, and I was expecting again. We had a garage space behind our Oak Park apartment, but the alley was impassible – it wasn’t  plowed until April – so we parked in a hospital parking lot a couple blocks away. Peter and the rest of his class were trying frantically to fulfill their graduation requirements – no easy task, since the patients they were treating and their instructors were more often than not unable to make it to the dental school. Everyone was winter-weary and edgy.

Despite several major snowstorms, things haven’t been too bad here in Brooklyn. Sidewalks are quickly cleared, and there’s a wonderful grocery only steps away. I feel guilty whenever I call home. Back in Springfield, Peter has had to deal with stuck cars and water seeping in from ice buildup that’s ruining our dining room floor – and he’s having to do it alone. His latest challenge is Chucky – a groundhog that somehow found its way into our basement, presumably from a crawlspace. So far, Chucky’s resisted the humane trap that Peter’s baited with (supposed) groundhog treats.

Soon I’ll be heading back to Springfield.

Hopefully the weather will be better – and if not, at least Peter won’t have to go it alone. But I just hope Chucky’s out of our basement by then!

Contact Julianne Glatz at [email protected].