County long-timers have endured some of the worst snowstorms on record – and they're still talking about it.
Snowbound Memories: Tales from the legendary winter of 1947
In December of 1947, snow wasn't just an inconvenience; the sheer magnitude of the snowfall was unprecedented, turning ordinary streets and fields into a frozen wilderness across southern Ontario and northeastern United States.
The snow piled high, reaching levels that challenged the very infrastructure of the County. A vivid recollection came from my father-in-law, who recounted feed being air-dropped to stranded livestock, their survival depending on this unconventional lifeline.
Shown above: Workers load an aircraft on skis to bring supplies into Waupoos.
Imagine a landscape where the snow engulfed even the overhead telephone lines. People carved tunnels through the snowdrifts to reach their outhouses. Roads became impassable, severing connections and transforming the County into an island within an island.
For five days, the County was cut off from the mainland. For three weeks, the outskirts of the County were marooned from the outside world, connections severed by the relentless storm.
As supplies dwindled and urgency mounted, aid arrived in unexpected forms. The skies played host to descending parcels of sustenance with air-drops of food, medical supplies, fuel, and animal feed. Army units helped to battle the elements, carving pathways to reopen the arteries of transportation and rescue the County from its icy embrace.
So when old-timers regale you with stories of arduous treks to school through the snow, know that their words aren't mere whimsical nostalgia; they're woven from the threads of reality.
Winter's Wrath: Tales from the White Death Blizzard of '77
This winter storm left a lasting memory etched into my personal history. We had just settled into our new home in Cressy, around 25 km east of Picton. Our daughter was only a few months old back then. But then, for three consecutive days, our world was buried beneath an unyielding snow siege that gale-force winds had orchestrated. Those dense snowdrifts effectively locked us in. And that's when I received my inaugural lesson in rural wintertime!
Here's how the story of this unforgettable event played out...
January 28 began innocently enough, with a few feet of compacted snow already coating the ground. Roads had been cleared after an earlier snowstorm that same day, and daily routines proceeded as normal. But that lull was simply the calm before the storm. Suddenly, on Friday, the true blizzard descended without warning. Blinding snow, whipped by fierce gusts, rendered roads impassable. Countless folks found themselves marooned at their workplaces, unable to reach home for days on end. Schools were shuttered for over a week as a result.
This blizzard brought the Quinte region (along with significant portions of Ontario and western New York state) to a grinding halt, save for the resilient snowmobiles. Winds soared up to 111 km/h, plunging wind chills to a staggering −51 to −57 °C, resulting in extreme snow drifts. This chilling, bone-chilling gale persisted for two relentless days.
In the wake of the tempest, country roads were smothered under massive snow banks. My husband was navigating his snowmobile to check up on neighbours, securing food, and essential medical supplies. This camaraderie was mirrored throughout the County as neighbours stood by each other, collectively facing the situation.
The local snowplows proved powerless against the stubborn, tightly packed snowdrifts. It took the colossal snowblowers from CFB Trenton to hew pathways through these tenacious mounds. The cleanup operation extended for about three weeks, with local snowplow operators clocking in marathon hours.
While the tempest's impact was felt across a broad area, the Niagara Peninsula and western New York suffered particularly grave consequences. The prevailing westerly winds bore down upon Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, unloading substantial snow accumulations upon these communities. An alarming 2,000 students were trapped in the Niagara region, while 29 casualties were recorded as a grim result of the storm, with many succumbing to heart attacks. Roofs caved under the weight of this colossal snow mantle. Some of the most stubborn snowdrifts clung on until June!
And yet, amidst the chaos, a silver lining emerged. It seems this blizzard had an inadvertent effect of boosting the regional population growth. The extended periods of homebound confinement led to an unusual spike in births at local hospitals the following autumn (a remarkable 18% increase in the Regional Niagara area, Canada.)
Sharing the stories of the White Death Blizzard
Four decades have passed, and yet the memories of that fateful winter of '77 remain as vivid as ever among the long-time locals. Our Facebook community @LoveTheCounty, has been a wonderful platform for sharing these recollections. We received an overwhelming response from over 60 followers who generously shared their stories. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who took the time to contribute their personal accounts. Your stories have added depth and texture to the collective memory of that extraordinary time.
The snow was so deep …
Steve C: I walked into Cherry Valley from Cove Beach on day 5. I used the hydro lines at eye level to guide me. Ran out of smokes. Dave Leavitt’s store was open. The snowplow driver had been stuck there for 2 days.
Penny W: I was working and living on “the hill”. While walking into work one night I tripped over something, looked down and it was the street sign. The snow banks were to the second story of houses.
Carol R: My brother and sister in law had to get out of their house from the top window of their house, the snow covered their door.
Doug B: Wow! Remember that one well. Had to crawl out a bathroom window for a few mornings to shovel our outside door out so we could get outside.
Wolf B: We were living in Bloomfield. Monday when it stopped we had snow up to the second storey windows. Neighbour Ben Prinzen rescued us with his tractor blower.
Alene T: Remember it well. Lots of snow days during that storm. CFB Trenton coming down to plow the roads. Strangers being stranded and ended up at our door. Neighbours with snowmobiles checking on us. Remember going out and the snow was so high it buried the pick-up, all that was visible was the very top of the cab. Dad not allowing us out to go to the barn until he plowed a trail.
Bev H: Let the dog out for a pee and the wind was so strong the dog blew over. LOL !
Terry E: I remember winter of 77 very well .... specifically the first day of spring .... had to go to the hospital, in labour, on the back of a skidoo, to deliver an hour later, the most beautiful girl in the world.
Lori F: We were living in Bayside and my mom picked my brother and I up early and then we went to get my dad from work at CFB Trenton. By the time we got there, the base closed down and wouldn’t let us leave. We spent the night in the Officers VIP room!
Wolf B: We lived in Bloomfield at the time. Started on Friday and ended on Monday. We took in 2 friends who could not get home to Sheba’s Island. Humongous drift on County Rd 12.
Bev H: Took me two days to get home from work. Got rescued by snowmobile.
Wolf B: I also remember that a woman living east of County Rd 12 went into labour. She and her husband set out for the hospital by snowmobile and only got as far as the retirement home near Isaiah Tubbs and gave birth there.
Tony G: I remember it well. Will never forget learning that Gavin Christie had been hurt when a car hit him while he was trying to free up his car from a snow drift at Lake-on-the-Mountain. Poor guy, he suffered for a day or two before a grader could get to where he was to clear a way for the ambulance to take him to the hospital.
Bev S: I remember heading for my 3 o'clock shift at Kentwood Nursing Home early. It was a 48 bed nursing home in Picton, Ontario. The OPP closed off all exits leading out of Picton. The day shift did not make it in the next day. Normally there would be the 5 staff. Jean A. lived in town on Amelia street. We had 2 other staff who lived in town so Wayne snowmobiled in one staff and took one back to his place to sleep.
Barb V : We lived on Danforth Road in Hillier and our parents went to town to get groceries and were stuck there for 2 days..they stayed at friends and myself and 2 sisters had to go across the road to grandma and grandpas..we couldn’t see a thing…was off school for 2 weeks!!
Michelle D: We lived in the Outlet Road on Log Cabin Point Road, we were snowed in for days. I think it might have been over a week. Not a lot of groceries for a family of six. We could barely open the front door after a few days. It was a very scary situation. My mom to this day, does not let her fridge or freezer become empty. We have pictures where the snow banks are as high as the hydro lines and we are standing on top of them.
Gloria S: My parents were living in Picton, I came for a visit and stayed for four extra days. Roads closed ! Wish I had taken pictures, but we were too busy shovelling snow, and trying to keep the fires going. An experience not to be forgotten. I can still see the very large snowbanks from the plows when they finally got through on Hwy 49.
Terry S: It was three or four days before the Trenton snow blowers opened the crossroads. Of course, the cows didn`t stop producing milk and the truck was finally able to pick up our milk on the fourth day. Good thing, as I had only an inch of room in the bulk tank!
Sharon G: We were snowed in so bad we were dumping milk out because the milk truck couldn’t pick up.
Kristine C: I was stuck in town. And until we ran out of food, I worked at the Little Red Diner! My Dad was dumping his milk because the bulk truck couldn’t get through. It just kept snowing!!
Dave G: Had a blower mounted on the front of a new White Field Boss, didn’t get a lot of sleep that week. We were lucky with our bulk milk because a milk truck was stranded at the Black River cheese factory so I cleared a path to our milk house and parked the truck there so we had a place to put the milk.
Betty C: My dad was stuck at work in Trenton for a week. My mom was alone home with my little sister and me. She had to milk the cows, the water froze up in the barn. She carried water into the barn for the cows.
Showing the road in front of the Hassenbach dairy farm at South Bay. Photo thanks to Kristine Hassenbach Canaday.
It was a long school break.
Darren B: We built the biggest snow forts and tunnels ever and off school for days. Best winter ever.
Diane K: 7 snow days and to walk around the block we all had to hold hands or we would have gotten lost!
Sean C.: I remember coming home from Cherry Valley at noon from Athol Central School. 2 to 3 days later mom and dad's house was buried under snow, had 1 window to look out, and lost hydro a few times. Cummings store was just down the road, and luckily mom and dad had 2 freezers of food, so we did ok. Lots of board games and cards, with kerosene lamps for lighting. We survived, all is good.
Andrew B: Seven school days off in a row, I remember the strong winds and not being able to see across the street in Picton on Queen street. I shoveled and shoveled. I even made a kinda room under the huge snow hill I made at the end of our driveway. We played card games and countless games of Risk and Battle Ship. My dad was away in Florida.
Joanne G: Best part no school for 7 days!!! LOL
Snow plow drivers worked overtime ...
Barbara G: OMG we didn’t see Dad for 3 weeks, he slept at the county buildings in a cot; Mom was certainly impressed with his paycheque! It took two graders and two Michigan loaders to plow out the road through Grimmon woods to the cross road and they didn’t even bother plowing it ’til a month or so later — no one lived up there in those days.
Sharon G: My dad plowed snow for Athol township. He was gone for days. We’d get a phone call saying he stopped somewhere for a rest and food. A whole week off school is what I remember.
Alice H: My twin sister and I played Monopoly for days and my mom made the best of it as our dad was also a snow plower for Hillier Township and was gone forever. CFB Trenton plowed us out.
Bill V: I remember seeing the huge snowblower from CFB Trenton, it could shoot snow up over top of a single-story house. Saw it on Hwy 33 west of Picton. The biggest snowblower I’ve ever seen.
Kelly J: I remember the huge snow plough from Trenton Air Base stopping to ask if he was at Long Point yet. He wasn’t even close…
Holly S: The army made it through the back roads and dug us out. My Mom started making them all coffee and sandwiches at 4:30 in the morning. I just remember my Dad shaking all of their hands and all of these army boys coming up the driveway to eat.
Pamela C: My dad was out in his snowmobile helping the elderly neighbours, doing small necessity grocery runs for them.
Betty H: My children could not get out of here for near a week, we had got out to go to Florida, not even dreaming our children would get stuck. But, God bless them, they managed just fine and at that time Fennells store was here, and Milt and Mary would let them get whatever groceries they needed.
Janice P: I agreed to stay at PE Heights to ensure residents got their meals throughout the storm.
Bev H: Took me two days to get home from work. Got rescued by snowmobile. I think it was Donny Walmsley that came over to help Sammy make it to their place where he stayed until I got home next day. What a storm and what good neighbours they were.
Linda W: We lived on Royal Road in Milford. Snowed in for a week. Lots of milk though from farmer next door. Snow machines delivered the essentials.
Carolin B: Amazing in situations like this. Everybody pulls together, community spirit and humans realize how powerful mother nature can be.
Sid W: I missed this one (I was in Toronto) and I only arrived in the County in 1985. But I am thoroughly enjoying the reminiscences of hardy County folks and their community spirit of helping each other. Lovely stories!