Viewers will witness the heartfelt stories of: a “delivery on the davenport,” a desperate rescue mission for a West Millgrove baby, the mysterious snowmobiler in black who transported a couple to the hospital, and factory worker nicknamed “Bigfoot” that saved two truckers lives.
President Carter called upon the National Guard for assistance and disaster response for Wood, Hancock, Lucas and Ottawa counties. The clean up lasted for days complicated by abandoned vehicles that littered the roads, downed power lines and tremendous amounts of snow. Faced with no place to dispose of the snow, some areas still contained reminiscence of the blizzard up to the month of May.
Once residents became mobile again, their attitudes changed. Grocery stores were packed and shortages of bread, milk and beer became commonplace. One news anchor lightheartedly commented on the phenomenon,
“... this just shows that people are getting in the spirit of the Blizzard of ’78.” Transitioning from fear to humor, entrepreneurs started creating “I survived the Blizzard
of ‘78” T-shirts and sold them within 24 hours of the aftermath.
WBGU-PBS’ local documentary “The Blizzard of ‘78” recounts the stories of survival, heroism, heartache and the sense of community that was created as a lasting effect on many residents during this epic storm. This visual time capsule was created in 1998 by Producer/Director Tony Howard and was narrated by F. Scott Regan. Tony Howard is also known for directing other WBGU-PBS documentaries such as: “Stirring Up The Past: The Grand Rapids Applebutter Fest,” “Baseball In Japan,” and “To Dance Irish."
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See some Photos from the Blizzard of '78
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