The 1978 Blizzard: An Indiana Perspective

• Some blizzard background from the National Weather Service.
  
  
• WIBC/Indianapolis News Special: Indiana and the Blizzard of 1978.
  
  
• From WRBI Radio in Batesville: ‘The Great Blizzard of 1978’ set records that still stand.
  
  
• Fort Wayne broadcaster Ron Gregory: "Being on the WOWO air in early evenings, I had the pleasure of passing along good news for school kids in 3 states! They of course loved me, and Bob Sievers in the morning, for being the first to close schools. Remember, this was way before social media and the internet. I got safely home the first night. I remember, the snow was so deep the only way you could spot a parked car, was to see it's antenna just barely popping up through the snow over it's roof. It was that bad. I received a call from the station informing me the Sheriff of Allen Co. would be over to my home, and nearby Chris Roberts, to haul us downtown to the WOWO studios on his snowmobile. We had to dig a tunnel into Chris' apartment building to extricate him. We were informed that Jack Underwood had been "on the air" for 19 straight hours and badly needed relief. Chris and I spent the evening in the nearby West Central neighborhood home of Jane Avery (former Community Harvest Food Shelter director) getting some much needed nourishment and rest. Then back to the station a few blocks away. Along with our station microwave oven, black and white TV, and great companionship, we weathered the storm (pun intended) and hopefully served our vast listener-ship with dignity and accuracy. So much more in the next few days, as you can imagine."
  
  
• Indianapolis broadcaster Johnny George: "I was living in The Orchard off 56th St on the Eastside at that time. The snow was covering my from door and had to dig out just to see what I would be facing outside. At that time, I was operating THE Indiana Record Pool out of The Marrott Hotel. I wasn’t going there that weekend, but had responsibilities at The Exchange in Castleton Plaza to spin records that weekend. Nope, no way. Stuck in my apartment with my girlfriend on the Southside of town who was snowed in too. So it was peanut & jelly, plus soup that weekend. I finally got out late Sunday and found out that Mike O’Brian of WNDE and a neighbor/friend of mine was in our clubhouse all weekend partying and spinning records to entertain our Orchard Troops. I hadn’t heard the word, so I was stuck by myself through the whole thing until Mayor Hudnut had the DOT clear the streets by Monday."
  
  
• Fort Wayne broadcaster Chuck Chapman: "I was working for 97.3 FM (formerly WMEF-FM, now WMEE-FM) in early 1978 as FM Program Coordinator and morning-drive host and news announcer. The blizzard hit hard overnight Wednesday, January 25, 1978. I knew we were in trouble when I tried to open the storm door the morning of January 26 and found the snow half-way up the door. Because the roads were impassable, I could not get into work to do my shift until that following Saturday morning. This was after my wife and I trudged a couple of grueling blocks down our street the previous afternoon so that a four-wheel-drive vehicle could pick us up and take us to another road, where a man on a snowmobile took us to my dad's house, where we stayed overnight. My dad lived about a mile or so from the radio station. Since the roads had not yet been plowed because of the snow depth, I had to walk, er trudge, again, that mile, using a ski pole to prop myself up in case I fell. When I got to the station a little before 6 a.m., I called my wife to tell her I had made it (she was very relieved). Needless to say, that was not a beautiful way to get to work at a station whose motto was "Just Beautiful Music." I walked back to my dad's after my shift. The next day, Sunday, enough roads were plowed so that my dad could drive us home. The rest of that winter, a lot of people (including me) were more than a little gun-shy when there was a weather forecast calling for snow."
  
  
• Indianapolis broadcaster Russ Dodge: "I was in my first year as a sales rep at WTLC-FM 105.7. I lived 10 minutes from the station but I was snowed in like everyone else. When I got the call to come in and help with storm coverage, I couldn’t get out of my apartment complex. Overnight man Thomas J Griffin III was there by himself looking for any help from staff who could get to 2126 N. Meridian Street. Amos Brown lived the closest at 13th and Meridian and tried to walk to the station. As he struggled up the street, a Jeep stopped to help. It was Tom Cochran who was on his way to WNAP and he dropped Amos off at WTLC. This was the first time they met. Eventually WTLC was staffed thanks to weekend newsman Tim Paige who had a Jeep and slowly made the rounds picking up news and air staff. As for me, I never made it out of the apartment complex but I was newly married so I really didn’t mind being snowed in!"
  
  
• Lafayette broadcaster Jeff Weber: "I was Ops. Mgr and morning guy at Z96 (WAZY-FM) and WAZY-AM in Lafayette. Having joined the staff in June of 1977 from NJ, I experienced my first Indiana Winter, better known as the Blizzard of ’78!
  
  As it began snowing heavily and with winds gusting to 60-70 mph, it was clear that getting to the station in the morning was going to be difficult for me and my little Datsun B210. Z96 was located on a back country road and I was told by staffers that it typically drifted shut when it snowed. Knowing one of my neighbors had a jeep (no SUV’s back then!) I asked if he might give the overnight jock and myself a ride to the station at 7 PM so we could avoid the worst of the storm. If only…As we drove on the already drifting shut road, it became clear the jeep wouldn’t make it through. In fact, as if we were in some melodramatic Lifetime movie, my friend shouted over the strong winds and pelting snow, “we’re not going to be able to make it. I have to let you out or you can drive back home with me.” Being the dedicated (and perhaps naïve city boy) I chose, along with my overnight DJ, to walk what seemed to be ten miles in 40 degree below zero temps, 60 mph winds and an intense snowfall I had never seen before. It was probably only three quarters of a mile but it seemed forever. Oh, did I mention I chose to carry my sleeping bag and a bag of food and snacks with me too?! Obviously we made it, but my moustache was frozen solid as were my jeans. My ears stayed numb for more than a day thereafter but we did survive.
  
  As for Z96, our 50,000 watt giant, the station stayed on the air thanks to GM Hal Youart shuttling staffers back and forth on snowmobiles. Having been through many an Indiana Winter, he had the foresight to buy two of them to keep on hand. That was my last job before getting my first GM position which was also in Indiana. And what do you think was my first purchase once I started the job? Gotta love those snowmobiles!"
  
  
• Fort Wayne broadcaster Philip Haberkorn: "40 years ago we were in the midst of the Great Blizzard of 1978. In those days, many communities still had local radio stations that have since been bought up by big corporations and "professionalized" by eliminating the little things the FCC intended local stations to do that big corporate stations didn't. Like lost dog announcements, and obituaries. Anyway, At WIFF, I was on duty along with Operations Manager John Ober for three or four days before the station owner, Wayne Paradise managed to get there from his home a couple of miles away, and filled the fridge with TV dinners before hitting the road again. Snowmobiles were illegal on roads back then, but police and Civil Defense cut some people a little slack for making "essential" trips. John and I took turns spinning records, and we had to combine both stations' programming to simplify things. The FM was Easy Listening, the AM was Country, so I worked up a list of crossover country tunes.....easy to do because Kenny Rogers and Crystal Gayle were among many country singers whose hits were also making the pop charts....and believe it or not, some FM listeners called in to complain about the country music mixed in with Dean Martin or the Tijuana Brass. The authorities issued a "no telephone calls" directive to keep lines from being tied up, and that was among the many announcements we passed along through the first day and night. Next morning, after the 9:00 news, I got ready to host the Trading Post show. Yeah, the CALL-IN buy sell and trade show. As the intro was starting, it dawned on me "what am I doing??????", so I stuttered my way through something like "we're only taking calls from people who can volunteer to help somebody, like shovel sidewalks or go to the grocery store for homebound neighbors," and sweating bullets hoping I was making sense. John passes me a note through the door: "the sheriff's on Line 1." I go to a commercial, pick up Line 1, and the sheriff says "I was about to ask you not to take calls, but I like that idea, it'll give some of our snowmobile guys a little less workload, but wrap it up by 9:30, OK?"...Whew. We finally got out on Monday or Tuesday. I drove my Firebird out from under the snowdrift that was blocking the front door, which was really cool, because the snow on top of the trunk lid looked like an airfoil tailfin or something. John and I were too tired to realize how much fun we'd been having."
  
  
• Kendallville broadcaster John English: "During the blizzard of 78, Larry Gilliland, Fred Manahan (owner-deceased) and John English kept Kendallville's WAWK AM and FM on the air 24 hours for four days before relief got there. At the time WAWK-FM was at 93.3 fm (now WBTU) and had a powerful signal for a small market. With no newspaper delivery, we became the communication hub for Noble, Dekalb and surrounding counties for days.
  
  Many stories, but maybe the funniest was this: A local IGA grocer sent his adult son by snowmobile to the radio station and dropped off a six pack of Dreweries beer. They apologized that it was the only six pack left in the store. I told Larry we couldn't drink that because of the FCC. He chuckled and said, "John, the FCC isn't coming out here tonight." Tasted pretty good.
  
  Don Moore, who later became owner, had been hired as morning man, but couldn't get there for days to start his job."
  
  
• Fort Wayne broadcaster Jay Farlow: "I was a student broadcaster at Ball State University's public radio station, WBST when the blizzard of 1978 hit. I was a freshman music education major, but I came to BSU with a summer's experience as a board operator and announcer for Sarkes-Tarzian's WPTH (now WAJI), so WBST gave me a part-time announcing job. I remember the storm starting on a Wednesday night. Thursday morning, several WBST staff members from our dorm on the north edge of campus (Botsford/Swinford) walked as a group through the closed campus to reach the studios and help broadcast emergency information to students and Muncie citizens within range of our signal. The studios at the time were housed in what is now called the Arts and Communications Building on the east side of Emens Auditorium, a little more than half a mile from our dorm. When we arrived, we had to circle the building to find an entrance that wasn't totally blocked by snow drifts. We kept WBST on the air 24 hours a day, providing more continuous coverage than even Muncie's commercial radio stations provided. Muncie's mayor later commended us for our service to the community. It was unusual for the stations to operate 24/7. WBST and the city's commercial stations routinely signed off late at night."
  
  
• Indianapolis broadcaster Don Hibschweiler: "At the time of the Blizzard of 1978, I was working at WDRQ-FM in Detroit. I remember sitting in my car in the station’s parking lot early that evening listening to Chuck Riley on 1070 WIBC from Indianapolis. WIBC had gotten permission from the FCC to use their daytime power and directional pattern during the weather emergency. It was booming into Detroit like a local station!"
  
  
• Columbus broadcaster Bob Hawkins: "I heard the 10 bell bulletin alarm on the teletype machine around 4PM at WCSI Columbus, IN where I was the Chief Engineer and part time air talent. I thought : yeah, right. I was doing an appearance at a night club that night so I went ahead and set that up. By around 730PM, the crowd wasn't there because of all the blizzard talk so I headed home thinking well, if there's a blizzard coming, I want to be home anyway. Station management had other ideas and sent a sheriff's department car out to bring me to the studio. At that point, I started taking it seriously. The station stayed on until midnight as usual. At that point, it wasn't clear that this was going to be a storm we would still be talking about 40 years later. I slept on the couch and next morning at 5AM, I was about the only one there so I did the 5AM morning show and turned the daytime only AM on 3 hours before sunrise. Seems I got to leave later in the day after the storm had done it's damage. No lost air time and WCSI was a priceless link to the community for the next several days as life slowly returned to normal. Some memories are best experienced as once in a lifetime events. This is one."
  
  
• Fort Wayne broadcaster Diane Shannon Hansell: "Steve Christian was on the air doing 6-10. JC Corcoran was in the building doing production and getting ready for his 10-2 shift. I was a young 20 year old on my first job in radio and doing the all night shift, 2-6am. As the weather reports got really bad, Rick Hughes came in. Our engineer Jeff Goode came in. Fast Jimi Roberts who was doing 10am-2pm came in. Doug Pritchett came in to help. And our news guy Robert came in. So here we are, out on Maples Rd trying to create a plan. We pooled our money and sent Steve Christian out to buy some supplies, thinking we might be there for a day or two. The grocery was closed and the only thing open was a Hooks Drug Store, so he returned with some snacks and a number of cans of Spam.
  
  We jumped right into storm coverage mode and worked 24 hours a day to find all the information we could and got it out on the radio. I think we did a great job of coverage and keeping the city informed. The funny parts were all behind the scenes because we actually ended up being stuck for 4 days at the station. The jokes about Spam turned into everyone wanting to kill Christian. Our only savior was the nice people who lived across the street started to worry about us. They came over, brought us wash cloths and a big pot of homemade soup. They later returned with more food. We worshiped them!
  
  We took turns sleeping, playing cards and watching the TV people go stir crazy. One of the best moments was in the middle of the night, Mack Berry at Channel 21 took a sledge hammer to the candy machine live on TV. It was hysterical. And I have to say.... to this day, the experience of being stuck in the station for 4 days was a standout in my career. I always think about how funny it was but in reality, for a bunch of young music jocks... we did a pretty good job of handling the disaster. We took the situation seriously and made sure we dug for information.
  
  But when the sun rose on the 4th day, and the snowmobiles came to get us...I was so happy to go home!"