Happy Birthday, Benson!

BurningDesire: Traveling

Ohio Blizzard, 1978

Sidney, Ohio

7 February 1978

My dear Bob & Charlotte,

Thank you so very much for the Lowell Thomas book. It is most interesting, of course, and very readable. Greenville, about thirty miles from here has always claimed him. He has relatives living there. Since receiving the book I saw him on TV on the Merv Griffin show talking about it. Hugh Downs was also on the same program. He is another Ohio product. He is from Lima. However, his mother was from Sidney and I knew her when she was young. I never knew him.

We don't know anything here but the weather. The first few weeks in Jan. we had snow and cold. We had finally accumulated 24 inches on the ground.

Before it melted the blizzard struck in all its force on Jan 26. The wind was 75 miles an hour. The snow drifted to 12 feet or so. The governor sent in the Ohio Guard some 150-160 strong, three helicopters and heavy equipment from Wright Patterson Air Field. The snow drifted over the roads as fast as they could clear them. It took days for the 800 miles in the county could be cleared. They worked on I-95 first, of course. As of today most of the roads have just one lane.

This county was one of the worst hit in the state. So Sidney was made the headquarters of all this activity. The Guard was housed in the high school and the helicopters landed there. They worked around the clock rescuing people.

With all this we were lucky in Sidney as we had electricity, gas and telephone. Thousands in this area were without any of these for several days. For four days there was no hope of any relief. We just hibernated. Fortunately, I had enough food and was warm. Finally, a boy came along and dug me out. I still have one door that I can't open. My car is in a snow bank and I wouldn't drive it if it wasn't. There is a sheet of ice under all this some two to three inches thick. It is very slippery as the temperature at tnight has been zero or below and there has been no melting in spite of sunshine the last few days. So there is no immediate hope of any relief. It has been quite an experience that I wouldn't care to repeat.

We had no mail or news papers for four days. The local radio stattion did a superb job. They broadcast 24 hours a day and were much help to the Guard about rescue work.

The Red Cross set up shelters in the Presbyterian Church and the Eagles Lodge here. In the church we housed 97 one night and 110 the next. We also fed them. I don't have figures on the Eagles, but at Anna (8 miles north) over 100 were housed in the high school for several days. It is a very small town but it rallied to the problem. There are many tales to be told of this storm.

The Sidney Daily News and the Dayton Journal Hearld both published blizzard extras to be kept as history of the storm.

My love to you both. I think of you often.

Always

Mary

(Mary Line was aunt to Robert Johnson)

Nutty Scientist

T.V. SEAT

9/8/78
DEAR LOTTIE AND BOB.
WHEN ORE YOU GOING TO SEND ME THE T.V.SEAT. AND PLASE SEND ME LOTTIE A LIST OF ADDRESTS OF OUR RELATIONS.

LOVE,
Martin

Please Send Me The TV

"We've ordered a trained one"

Jun 12, 1978

Dear Mom & Dad

Thank you for all the goodies you've given Road King. I'm sure the baby won't need diapers or pins or wipe ups since we've ordered a trained one. Just in case, though...the quilt and pillow are really sweet. I've got them in the crib just waiting for what's his name. Thanks also for the plastic pants, bag & bottle stuff, and for coming all this way to the shower and for ths pictures.

I love you.

Minne Bill & Sara

Dad - Thanks for helping on moving day & for loving me still when I got rude.

"Gigantic pile of steaming chicken shit"

Hi Mom and Dad -

It's countdown 'til spring break! And we have enough "things to do during vaction" to last a whole month. Typical.

We have a gigantic pile of steaming chicken shit and sawdust in our front yard. One of Stan's track kids asked him if he would like a truckload - "Of course!" We didn't know that their truck was a very large dump truck FULL!!! Aren't you jealous, Dad?

Good stuff, too - it's ready to go on the garden now.

Elisabeth hasn't worn her 20 dollar shoes since you gave her those 99 cent slippers!

We'll be down either Saturday afternoon or evening or Sunday morning for Easter. Whenever. Let me know if it makes any difference.

Come visit us if you're bored during your vacation (ha ha). We'll be hangin' around shoveling you know what! (Very editorial "we" - good old "Let's" will have the shovel."

Anna wants to write...

Once about a time there was orange blue yellow green red grey black already. We ate our soup and took a nap. One green painted and one grey and one blue painted their roses. Red red look at me. Blue blue paint our foots. Grey paint your tummy. Green green paint your face. That's all the story.

A real thriller, huh?

Thanks again for all the nice things.

Love Jacque

And the thank you note from yours truly (another thriller, to use my mother's words)...

Boots!

Factory!

Digger!

Slippers!

Shirt!

Chair...

Teddy Bear! And Elisabthe's Teddy Bear!

Thank you

I been playing with the factory.

We have a new babysitter. I love her cuz I like her.

Can I put it in the envelope now?

I don't want to say the rest of it.

We went to the park and slided and swinged.

Love,

And more great fun from the Burkhalter household...

This is last month's I forgot to mail.

Say:

Grandpa first, now Grandma.

Now mailman. There was a mailman. He put the letter in the mailbox and she got it. That's what the mailman says (does). The mailman put it in funny Grandma & Grandpa's mailbox and she got it and brought it into the house and says "Oh, here it is!"

Thank you. I'm gonna say "thank you" for the fuzzy sleeper and they're gonna say "welcome".

Let's talk on the telephone. In'a say thank you for Elisabeth's white shirt.

Bye,

Anna. Elisabeth too.

And Daddy and Mommy.