January 25, 1996 - Get Thee Behind Us, Blizzard of '968A • The Suffolk Times • January 25, 1996
Get Thee Behind U Blizzard of '96
When to head south was the question.
Our camper was still winterized and
moved to a location that would let us get
out should more snow be on the way,
Then the long -range forecast told of a
major snowstorm brewing that could
hold us up for days and days. This, plus
the problem of driving in bad weather,
pnipd us into action, We'd move real
early Friday tnorning and with luck be
storm. Thursday was spent !�
packing the camper.
Bleary -eyed, we rose at 4
a.m. and within a half -hour
we were on the road.
Feeding chickens and cows
was left . to our kids and
grandchildren next door.
There was plenty of hay for
the cows and I'd just filled _
the feed box for the chick-
ens the day before. There was hardly any
traffic until we hit the expressway and
then there were the early birds heading
to the city to work. They must truly love
the East End to make that 5 a.m. effort
each day and then turn around and head
back after work.
Seeing we weren't allowed on the
parkways we stayed on the expressway
until we reached Exit 18A, the Brooklyn
Queens Expressway. Here we rumbled
elevated through the maze of an indus-
trial world. It looked pretty shabby to me
but at that hour of the morning not too
much sparkled.
Soon we saw what looked like
Christmas -tree lights strung from the
Verrazano Bridge and we were elevated
high over the entrance to New York
Harbor, then through Staten Island and
we were on the pipeline to the south,
Route 95. It was just below New Jersey
that we saw the sunrise over farmland
that was struggling to survive in the wake
of today's ever - present development.
Barbara's sharp eyes picked up a red -
tailed hawk sitting in a tree by the side
of the road. With the sun up we thought
little of the impending storm that was
predicted and moving across the coun-
try. Yet the radio kept up its warnings all
day long about its magnitude. Would we
miss it? We pressed on.
In Virginia we started to see American
holly and pine trees, The temperature
waS moderating. Greenhouse doors were
open and when we
stopped at the welcome
center people were walk-
ing around in shirtsleeves.
Surely snow couldn't
Focus
on
Nature
by Paul
Stoutenburgh
N.J. Turnpike Bird Life
I spotted a shrike atop a tree looking
for a mouse or vole that was off guard. It
was here we saw our first vultures, or
buzzards as some called them. A flock
of grackles flew across the road and
come.
By the time we got to
North Carolina remnants
of old cotton fields
showed up. The accompa-
nying ramshackle la-
borers' houses that were falling to ill use
reminded us of how much machinery
has replaced man in the work force
today. What wonderful stories these old
shanties could tell.
We had left home with a temperature
of 20 degrees. We had driven all day and
it was time to stop; we'd gone 701 miles.
We found a nice park at Wilson and bed-
ded down. The temperature dropped to
32 degrees. This made us worry. Snow
was predicted for the next day. Would it
hold off until we got farther south?
South Carolina rolled by. It became
overcast and now the warnings became
more threatening. At one point an aban-
doned cotton field looked as if it had
snowed. We had to look twice before we
realized it was just the white cotton balls
that had been missed after the picker had
gone over them. We pushed on. Signs of
a warmer place were everywhere: fields
of collard greens, a night heron along the
wet roadside, a flock of red - winged
blackbirds, and yet the prediction of cold
and snow kept coming across the air-
waves. More vultures and redtails were
seen as we sped southward. At one stop
pansies were blooming as if spring were
just around the corner. Our overcast
turned to rain. Was this the beginning of
■ ..g9.. f . am16 01....16
75 Years Ago
Jan-28,1921
Crime Decrease in 1920: The annual state report
on crime, just issued by Secretary of State John J. Lyons,
shows that the record of printers was not as good as during
the previous 12 months, with 76 landing in court and con-
victed, as against 59 the year before.
A study of the report shows that editors are on the gain;
in place of the two convicted in 1919, but one landed
behind bars last year. A dozen actors found their audiences
in the courtroom, as compared to 11 the year before.
Twenty -six bartenders and 19 saloonkeepers came to
grief. There has been no improvement in stenographers; 18
were convicted as compared to 12 the year before and the
crimes were other than through transcribing notes.
Twenty -five auto repairmen landed in the toils, 65 bar-
bers had more than a close shave, and authors, butchers,
bookkeepers, chauffeurs, cigarmakers, dentists and janitors
failed to live up to their previous good record. But lawyers,
farmers and automobile dealers are becoming more law -
abiding citizens.
50 Years Ago
Jan. 25, 1946
County Group for SI Bridges: Members of the
Suffolk County Association, a countywide civic organiza-
tion, are advocating the construction of the Shelter Island
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
BOAT - TAILED GRACKLE —This noisy fellow is common in the south. It is
similar to the purple grackle that is with us all summer long. There are
reports of occasionally seeing it as far north as Long Island.
things to come?
In Georgia we passed through and over
the great salt marshes that this state is
famous for. It was here in Georgia that
studies of the salt marsh proved that
pound for pound and nutrient for nutrient
the salt marsh just as we have in our own
creeks back home is more productive
than the best grain fields of the west.
Snowy egrets and great blue herons start-
ed to dot the marsh. We stopped at
Darien, Ga., that night. We'd beaten what
was to be the biggest blizzard in years.
We could now relax and go at a slow-
er pace. Florida was but a short distance
away. The temperature still stayed on the
cool side. We were told it had been 28
degrees and as we drove along early the
bridges as one of the postwar projects of the State Depart-
ment of Public Works or the Long Island State Park Com-
mission. Bridges from North Haven to Shelter Island and
from Shelter Island to Greenport would connect the state
highways on the south and north sides of the county.
$100,000 Loss in Office Fire: All that remains
of Greenport's most modern office building, a three -story
brick structure erected by the Greenport Basin and Con-
struction Company during the boom times of World War II,
are the crumbling brick walls surrounded by the fire -swept
ruins of two other adjoining wooden buildings. The fire,
which swept the company at an early hour on Sunday
morning, was the climax of the wartime activities when the
company employed over a thousand war workers.
The loss is estimated at over $100,000.
25 Years Ago
Jan. 22, 1971
Atomic Plant Is Topic: Both sides of the contro-
versial atomic - powered plant proposed for Shoreham have
been invited to a meeting arranged by the North Fork Envi-
ronmental Council for Jan. 28 at West Cutchogue School.
Representatives of the County Legislature and State
Department of Environmental Conservation have been
invited to join in a panel discussion after the Long Island
Lighting Company and the Lloyd Harbor Study Group have
given their arguments for and against the nuclear power
plant that LILCO is seeking to construct.
next morning we saw ice on greenhouses
and icy lawns where sprinklers had
come on during the night. The jet stream
had really lashed its cold tail deep into
the south. Later we'd hear reports of
thousands of acres of tender crops lost
here in Florida due to the cold weather.
Our destination of Ocala National
Forest in Flo-
rida was a stop `At one stop
we'd made on
previous visits. pansies were
We arrived late
in the afternoon, blooming as
only to find the if spring were
park gate closed
and locked up just around
because of the
political games the corner.'
going on in
Washington. We checked our books and
found a park 20 miles away. It was a
welcome spot.
We then headed for our final destina-
tion, an Army Corps campsite on the
Caloosahatchie River, where we would
be working with the endangered mana-
tees that pass through the area. We spent
the night and had good news. We
wouldn't be needed here until the 21st of
January. It would give us time to go
down to Everglades National Park. We
hadn't been there in some time.
By now old friends showed up around
our campsite. The handsome bald eagle
greeted us as we entered the roadway
leading up to the locks. White ibis fed in
the nearby fields. Boat - tailed grackles
noisily chatted. Later we watched on our
little tabletop TV the snow problem that
had almost caught up with us, the
Blizzard of '96. We were in Florida, a bit
on the cool side, but for now it was fine
with us. Predictions for the next day was
in the upper 70s. Sounded good to me.
The Suffolk Times
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