1978: Blizzard may have been century's worst 

There have been a lot of bad snowstorms in the century, some worse than others, but if the Blizzard of '78 wasn't the worst of the century, it was among the finalists. Old-timers said that it rivaled the storm of 1918, if it didn't exceed it. It was certainly worst than anything that had hit for many years before, and worse than anything since.

Four days of heavy snow and winds up to 60 mph began late on the night of January 25, 1978 and continued for the next four days.

Hudson, along with most other communities in the area, was isolated for about three days during the storm. "The real drama resulting from the snowstorm will never be fully known," the Post-Gazette story read, "Because it involved so many private citizens whose involvement was done in a sprit of helpfulness was for others in need, and goes unreported."

City workers stayed on the job round the clock keeping streets open and passable, but this wasn't possible on rural roads, where many were isolated or stranded.

In one case, the fire department worked for 4 1/2 hours to move an ill boy from his home on Kelso Road to Thorn Hospital with the aid of snow removal equipment, and finally had to resort to snowmobiles to get him to the hospital.

Fortunately, only one fire broke out, in a mobile home at Shady Lawn Trailer Park; fire equipment was blocked from getting any farther than the edge of town by snowdrifts and abandoned vehicles, but fortunately, a fireman living at the park was able to get the blaze out without assistance.

Firemen and other volunteers in the city and around the area worked long hours getting food and fuel to stranded rural residents. Some dairy farmers were forced to dump milk when milk trucks couldn't get to them.

Hudson Police Chief Larry Towne had nothing but praise for everyone in the public that "pitched in where needed", especially those with snowmobiles.

   When the weather finally cleared, the Hudson area was left with a monumental dig-out of drifts eight to ten feet deep in spots. Just removing the snow from downtown streets took city workers several days. Some rural roads stayed blocked for weeks, and the National Guard was called in with earthmoving equipment to help clear them.

A ROTARY SNOWPLOW cleans up after the blizzard of 1978. The four day storm left so much snow the National Guard had to be called in to help clean it up.