The Historic Context of the Blizzard of 2010

My father called me on Saturday morning to inform me that Monroe, New York had made headlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  “It says that Monroe set a new record with 31 inches of snow.  Is that true?”  He asked.  “No, it’s not.” I replied.  “I think that we probably got more snow that that…and it was on top of significant snowfall that we got a couple of days before.”    My husband was away on business during the snowstorm.  He thought I was exaggerating about the snow until he had to get a running start just to climb over the big pile of snow on the road created by the snowplow to get into our driveway. 

It is rare that snowfall stops us in the Northeast, because communities are usually equip to handle these emergencies, but this snowfall was special and I could not resist taking pictures as it piled up around me.  I wasn’t going anywhere anyway, and as long as I was warm and toasty inside my home, it was actually very beautiful.   Signs of spring are already peeping out everywhere that is not covered by snow.  So this snowstorm will be just a memory in a short amount of time.

I started thinking about this in a historical context, and the fact that I was doing the same thing that probably thousands of others have done before me, recording for all of posterity those snow events that temporarily showed us who the boss of our planet really was.  The men in the picture at the beginning of this article are no different then me.  This picture was taken not to far from where I live and is part of the archives of the Chester Historical Society.  You can view more historical snow pictures online on the Hudson River Valley Heritage Website.  We may were different clothes and drive different cars, but who does not enjoy looking back at a picture like this?   In fact, the men in the picture seem to be enjoying their predicament, from the looks of the broad smiles and relaxed behavior.

I liked the fact that I was here to record this small piece of history, since it is not likely to happen again in my lifetime.  This snow event broke a record that was over 100 years old. Someday someone will look back at my pictures and perhaps put the events that occurred over last week into a historical context that is relevant to him or her.  Now I appreciate snow photos in the historical archives that much more because it makes me realize that sometimes you do not need a large span of time to create and connect with history.  All you need is a similar event.  The video slideshow is my view of the “Blizzard of 2010.” 

 

Comments

[writing jobs]

great article and very artistic one good for historical subject!

[free lance writing]

very historic, good for education it is!