The year 1949 was ushered in with more snow storms

Pages of History The year 1948 ended with another blizzard on December 28. While the snow wasn’t as heavy as it had been during some of the previous storms, wind-driven snow again blocked streets, highways, and country roads. North of Randolph, a group of 31 men shoveled snow for six hours in an effort to open six miles of road to get a sick man to a doctor. Some of the drifts were as high as the top of a car. Even though the band was snowbound near Hartington, the Laurel firemen’s New Year’s Eve Ball went on as scheduled in the City Auditorium. Revelers welcomed the new year dancing to recorded music played over Pete Stewart’s public address system. On Monday, Jan. 3, 1949, a Burlington work train pushing a snowplow and carrying a crew of 34 men was sent from Sioux City to clear the tracks to the two steam locomotives that had derailed while trying to break through a huge drift six miles east of O’Neill. But the rescue train ran into another ice and snow storm near Page.

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