Year: 1978

Saturday February 4th 1978
Headachy, but fever gone so struggled to work. Routed Mike. worked on five funerals. Ran out of flowers, but I went to Marion Flower Shop and got Iris and carnations.
Two wedding appointments. David called saying they would be up to Mansfield for skiing tomorrow and here later and will stay Monday to go to Palace to see Maynard Ferguson.
Called Kathi and they are all set to leave for Oklahoma City tomorrow.
Bed early- coughing. Frozen pipes under TV room. Burst. Howard got water turned off and furnace turned over. Merle Peacock out to be sure no danger.

Friday February 3rd 1978
Taxes on four properties $785- these are new appraisals, but not much more than I have been paying.
Fever of a hundred and three, but took triaminicin and aspirin and it helped aches. Deep chest cough. To bed at 7. Shorty* called about 9.

[*Shorty Decker, Donald Decker’s mother from Fountain City, IN]

Thursday February 2nd 1978
Sunny but cold and I don’t for a minute think Winter’s over even if groundhog didn’t see his shadow.
News full of curtailing electric usage because of coal strike.
Got dinner for Jordan’s, BBB, Mary and Kenneth Hecker. Had ham loaf David had brought with herbed rice, broccoli and snackin Cake. Talked and played Boggle.

Wednesday, February 1, 1978
[No entry]

Tuesday January 31st 1978
Mike Zucker had therapy appointment at 11 & didn’t want to come back for p.m. deliveries so I told Dave to tell him if he didn’t want to work and if we had to call in Mike Martin it would be the new Mike’s job. Dave handled it and said that Mike Zucker quit. So Mike M. came in about 12:30.
Cheryl Knapp in. Their basement was flooded because of no sump pump running, but pipes weren’t Frozen!

Monday January 30th 1978
Back to normal at work except to Cheryl Knapp and Mary Walker and Lillian not in because roads still blocked. Lil was at her parents on Pleasant Hill Road and they burned the boards from coal bin in old furnace not removed. Kate Snow from attic to melt for water.

Sunday January 29th 1978
Sheriff still asking people to stay off the roads. David called and said 71 was blocked from Washington Courthouse to Cleveland. Radio back to normal schedule with only blizzard news at an expanded news cast.
Sun shining so house finally warmed up to 65. Only had enough wood in the house for about 8 more hours so haven’t burned any. The rest is buried under 6 feet of snow pushed up a long driveway. Call Kathi to reassure her. She had been trying since Thursday and all long-distance calls to Caledonia were blocked.

Saturday January 28th 1978
Wind has stopped. Dave and Tonya were able to get to shop and get funeral work out for Mrs. Rhodes who died of a stroke during the blizzard. It was her house near Meeker where I stopped during a March blizzard on my way to Kenton with a wedding and had to turn back.
Snow plows through and Mr. Buyer in with his tractor and cleared my drive. I had started a one-track clearing. Took a walk east to edge of my property. Still very cold.
Shop has been closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Cheryl’s family got to Laura’s by snowmobile.

Friday January 27th 1978
Dove flew into crabapple tree. Wings and legs coated with ice. Could hardly fly.
Too cold to be in upstairs but rec room about 55. Still blowing and WMRN only had people calling in for help which the sheriff monitored and they have snowmobiles going out with medicines, stoves, etc. And also bringing people out of their houses. Mary, Kass and mother called me yesterday and today, but just to check, as Caledonia phones are on battery and they asked not to use them. Sorted 1977 checks and worked on genealogy papers. But have this feeling of waiting for something to happen. No traffic on roads so suppose we are blocked at corner of Williamsport Road. And down by Goff’s where road dips.

Thursday January 26th 1978
Birds at feeders all day on side away from wind. Peter’s blowing almost parallel to ground.
Howard woke me at 7:30 saying electric had been out since 4 a.m. no heat water or cooking. Moved dish gardens and other stuff out of greenhouse to rec room and build a fire there. Couldn’t see out the windows, frosted shut but 60 mile an hour winds driving snow so couldn’t see across the road. David called to say his surprise birthday party was off. I had decided last night not to go because of weather forecast but didn’t think it would be a blizzard. Cooked steak on fireplace grill and ate with candles. Howard had transistor radio and things are bad. But our electric came on at 7 p.m. so had a warm bed. Temperature in house 36.