Miner County, SD
BLIZZARD OF 1888
Composed and printed in hand-set type by South Dakota Writers' League., 1939
Transcribed by ©K. Torp, 2006

THE 12th DAY of January, 1888, dawned with the mildness of a spring morning; water dripped from the roofs and people shed their heavy outer clothing.

The sun was warm and comforting at noon, when the children went out to play after their quickly swallowed lunch. The teacher at the Carthage school. house bestirred herself opening windows, while the children were out-of-doors.

At two-thirty a hissing, terrifying noise enveloped the schoolhouse, followed by darkness. The next instant the terrific blizzard was swirling around the corners with the fury of a demon. The teacher tried to reassure the frightened children, telling them there was nothing to be afraid of. Silently they huddled around the stove.

Members of the board of education procured all the available rope in town, fastened one end securely to a corner of the Martin Block and set out to find the schoolhouse. After what seemed an endless struggle and when they were literally almost “at the end of their rope,” they succeeded in reaching it.

Tying the two youngest to the teacher, the men, hanging on to the rope and pulling the older children by the hand, made their way laboriously back to the Martin Bank Building. Bedding was collected and the children, teacher, and several men kept vigil all night up above the bank. When the children became restless, the owner of the local lumber yard took them on his knee and told them stories, although his mind was on his family at home wondering if they were safe inside. The next morning food was brought the emergency roomers and the children went merrily back to school.

Back to the Main Index Page