Reminiscing About Our Lives in Storms?

As the “Winter Storm of 2026” continues to make its mark across the United States, our thoughts and prayers are for those of you who have been affected.  Meanwhile, our memories have turned to previous storms of similar or greater magnitude.  Such storms, like other major events in our lives, tend to be “frozen” into our memories.  Our thoughts often “drift” back to them as we remember where we were and what was happening in our lives and families.

We thought it might be fun to reminisce about several major storms during the past fifty years to reflect on how they marked our marriage and family.  We share the following information in words and photos in hopes it will brighten your winter day.

Our reminiscence begins nearly 57 years ago.  In February, 1969, while we were finishing our last semester at Malone College (Canton, OH), we were greeted with what the weather service called the “Nor'easter of February 1969:  A prolonged and intense snow event recognized by meteorologists as one of the major snowstorms in Northeast history” (NOAA).  Then, winter gave way to spring, and our thoughts turned warmly to graduation and plans for our wedding in June. 
[The photo was taken on one of the breaks we took from the Malone campus to visit the McKinley Monument.]

By 1978, nearly a decade after our marriage, God had blessed us with two children, Bradley (8) and Melinda (3).  While employed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) near Washington, DC, we lived in Bowie, Maryland which was in the path of the “Blizzard of February 1978.”  
[Photo on RIGHT: Our Ford Pinto buried in snow.]

This classic nor’easter hit the East Coast on February 7–8, impacting New England and the Mid-Atlantic with heavy snow and strong winds, and drifting.  “It remains one of the most memorable storms of the 20th century before the 1990s.” (ChatGPT, Wikipedia, Timetoast Timeline Maker) (See HERE)
[<== PHOTO: Bradley and Melinda with snow packed against upstairs windows.]

The blizzard was more disruptive because of the drifting snow.   As a result, the storm dumped several feet of snow on and around our cape cod home.  The storm’s inconvenience to many was a delight to Bradley and Melinda.  As the photos suggest, they enjoyed what creative children do with this crystalline form of water.  

Snow is an amazing part of God’s creation.  It can at once bring joy to children, beauty to landscapes, shelter for animals, and hazardous conditions to highways.  Our family will never forget the “Blizzard of February 1978.”

Certainly, we have all experienced storms, not only winter storms but other storms in our lives.  Like the frozen landscapes of winter, our lives seem to stop cold.  Our spirits are “frozen” with disappointment, fear, and a host of emotions we cannot describe.  But through it all, we can hopefully see the hand of God ever at work shaping our lives and causing us to grow through the trials.  Why shouldn't we trust in the One who can make such beauty in winter as we can see from the crystalline snowflakes to the sculptured snow drifts?  And, when the winter trials melt away and Spring comes, we can once again praise God for His faithfulness.

We invite you to leave a “Comment” below if we have stirred one of your memories of a storm you have experienced—whether a winter storm or otherwise.

Read More About Snow:
“Can a Person Live “Pure as the Driven Snow?”   Oikonomia, January 3, 2022   Go HERE.