Health & Fitness
Tank Tales: A Blizzard, A Train And A Party
Enjoying the fine weather? Consider that 124 years ago this week a train was held up in Vernon Depot for 3 days by drifting snow. How did they spend the time? Why they partied, of course.
We’ve been enjoying an unseasonably mild winter, but this is New England. On last Sunday, March 11, 124 years the snow began to fall ...
The Blizzard of 1888, the granddaddy of nor'easters, left a lasting impression on Connecticut. It wasn't just the 50 inches of snow many areas received, but the 60 mile per hour gale-force winds that piled the snow into enormous drifts.
Vernon was not spared from the storm.
The storm began on Sunday, March 11, and raged through Tuesday night. It immobilized most of the Northeast. Remember that in 1888 travel was by horse-drawn vehicle or by train. Horse-drawn sleighs were used to carry away excess snow from city streets - no plows, trucks, blowers or payloaders.
Travel from city to city was most comfortable and fastest by train. With the snow, many trains were stalled in rural areas with passengers afraid to venture out, except perhaps to a nearby farm for supplies. One such train on the New England Railroad, coming from Boston to Hartford with 53 passengers, got as far as Vernon Depot when it came to an immovable snow drift.
Virtually every train in those days seemed to have on it a vaudeville group or opera company willing to entertain. As today, people were resilient and made the best of their circumstances, so with little else to do in Vernon, they partied for two days. As Vernon Depot was part of the village of Dobsonville there were plenty of nearby people to support those on the train. They christened the depot the "Vernon Hotel."
One reveler created a "Bill of Air" with which to entertain passengers. It was a bit of choreography, including such dishes as "Alligators stuffed with clam shells" and "Crabs picked off with boxing gloves."
Wednesday dawned clear and mild bringing people outside. The train was finally freed and reached Hartford at 11 p.m. on Wednesday. It took many more days for the state to dig out and for business to return to normal, but it was nearly spring and even this would melt soon. This is one group that will remember a visit to Vernon.
The next time you walk the Rail Trail at Vernon Depot picture four foot drifts, a train stuck in the snow, and a raging party. These were your great-great grandparents, survivors all.
Tank Tales are from The Tankerhoosen website at www.tankerhoosen.info. Visit the site for information and stories related to Vernon’s Tankerhoosen Valley.
