The Ice Storm of the Century - 1991

People who were in Rochester, New York on this date 33 years ago will never forget the Ice Storm of the Century.  There are ice storms and there are ice storms!  

Being a sound sleeper, the crashing trees and tumbling power lines went on overnight unbeknownst to me.  Just before dawn, the phone rang.  When I answered, a friend asked, "Are you all right?"  

"I think so" was my answer.  "Is something wrong?"

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power, many for weeks.  Even though many mutual aid power companies made their way here to help, there was just monumental damage.  My home had no power or heat for over a week.  We slept with thermal underwear and all the blankets we could gather. We cooked on a Coleman camp stove.  If you went to the store for food or supplies, they were working with flashlights and could only accept cash.

Schools were closed for over a week.  My sons were in high school.  The school organized a large group of kids to go around removing debris from neighbors' yards.

Letting my dogs out caused ice to stick to their paws and they tracked blood into the house.

Yes, those were bad times.  But we persevered and survived.  I don't remember any deaths being reported due to the storm.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going!