February 1936 brought very harsh winter conditions to the Lake County area. Pictured is a Model T driving down a snowy road on Old U.S. 10 in Chase Township in the 1930s.
Courtesy photo/Chase Township Public LibraryLAKE COUNTY — There's been some pretty fierce storms since the settlement of West Central Michigan, such as the storm of Feb. 2, 1885, which disrupted train service for two weeks and the snow on level ground piled up to 30 inches, but the storm of Feb. 4, 1936, is still talked about to this day.
It was a bad winter, with February 1936 being the coldest February on record in the contiguous U.S., especially in the upper midwest states.
The area experienced bad weather in January, but the system Feb. 4-5 took the icing on the cake. A howling northwest gale and blizzard Tuesday, Feb. 4, blocked roads and railroads in all directions and canceled schools and businesses the next day, according to the Feb. 7, 1936, issue of the Star.
"Beyond a doubt, it was the worst storm encountered here in 15 years," the article read.
Other Midwest states such as the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin also were hit, in addition to Michigan.
The wind was 45 miles-per hour, blowing around a frigid air of 16 below zero, topping off "six solid weeks" of below zero temps. Grand Rapids sent out storm warnings by radio early Tuesday night and advised people not to go out unless absolutely important. The Pere Marquette and Pennsylvania railroad canceled all trains for 24 hours.
Lake County Road Commission plows were out until 2:30 a.m., in case travelers were stuck in the snow, but called it quits until later in the morning. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, all six snow plows were constantly in service, working extra crews. No roads in the county were closed with the exception of the Poor Farm crossing in Chase Township along the old U.S. 10 and Hawkins Road.
It took more than just the plow crews to begin clearing roadways. Shovelers worked through Wednesday until word was received that all the roads in surrounding counties were blocked. Traffic couldn't move, so the plows were at it alone.
Lake County Road Superintendent Claude M. Nichoson called up surrounding counties Wednesday and worked with them to advise traffic through Lake County.
The plows really had a battle on their hands. In Mason County four plows were buried in drifts and abandoned and had to be dug out. Between Scottsville and Ludington, the snow was 10 ft. deep in spots, and the road was filled from bank to bank (with 4-7 feet of snow) with no room to move it. There were similar conditions from Scottville to Manistee.
"Newaygo County gave up the struggle and Osceola, where every effort has been made to keep 131 open, had to admit defeat before morning," the article said.
Luther School, which had students from several different townships attending, had two school buses trapped in Luther on Tuesday night and kids were taken care of by people in town. All school buses were canceled by phone Wednesday. Baldwin schools were open Wednesday, but out-of-town children were not required to attend.
Work was halted all county and state projects, with the men just coming in to answer roll call.
In Reed City, the streets couldn't be kept clear, and a dozen cars were found buried in town Wednesday morning.
With the adverse weather striking during adverse times, the Great Depression, the scenario was all the more difficult. Food trucks were not able to come into Baldwin with bread or meat, but there was no suffering, the article continued.
Fortunately, there had been no fatalities or casualties in the area, but there had been close calls during that bad winter spell.
Harold Bates and Howard Nylen had their five-ton snow plow truck plunge down a 30-foot embankment when blinded by swirling snow, and the plow struck a soft spot on the side of the road, leading the truck off the grade on a road in Pinora Township about 5 miles north of Olivers (Deer Lake Road) on U.S. 10.
The truck turned bottom-side up, and they spent 5 minutes digging out of their crushed cab, but thankfully neither were hurt. They went to a place with the nearest telephone. The weather was 12 below zero, and it was said they would have frozen to death if they didn't escape the cab when they did.
Freddie and Amos Eldred, ages 11 and 9, were missing that week from Monday through Friday, and were thought to have been trapped in the blizzard, when they were not home after school Monday, 5 miles southeast of Baldwin.
Preparations were made to get snow plows and shovelers to search for them. Their father went on skis to their grandmother, Mary Jordan, eight miles away, where he found them. The boy had a frozen ear and foot, and the girl had frozen hands. The blizzard came before they could reach their grandmother's house Monday.
The winter weather was hard on wildlife too, with death to countless birds, even though conservation officers scattered feed in the woods, the drifting snow would bury it, according to the article. Larger birds were fed by driving sharpening skikes through tree stubs and sticking corn cobs on them.
A crusting of snow also was a worry for deer, not being able to dig down to food.
In other antidotes of the 1936 storm, reported in the Star article, county officials responded differently to the storm.
"County Clerk Davis had to use skis to get to work Wednesday morning. Those who saw him state that for an expert he was sadly out of practice."
"County Treasurer George W. Bradford did not work at the courthouse Wednesday. He was comfortable snowed in at Chase."
"Probate Judge Andy Alguire got to work on time Wednesday. He put up his umbrella and sailed to the main street which was plowed."
After struggling with the Feb. 4 storm, by Saturday evening another storm hit, blocking roads and beginning the chilling, wintery nightmare all over again.
The article concluded, "Anyway, this winter should inspire a new crop of liars to preserve the memory of the experts who survived the lumber days."
