There's no doubt that Iowa is having a harsh winter --- the reading was minus-9 when I awoke and about two feet of snow covers the ground. But if it's any consolation, January and February of 1936 were worse, so bad that they're legendary.
The average state-wide temperature that winter was 12.6 degrees and the average statewide snowfall, 42.9 inches. In parts of northwest Iowa, temperatures remained below zero for 35 days running. The whole business began with a major snowstorm --- more severe in the south than north --- on Jan. 16 and just got worse.
Iowa was coal-powered at the time and the mines and miners struggled to keep up with demand. Union miners, now guaranteed weekends off, agreed to work Saturdays. Some farm families were isolated by blocked roads for up to seven weeks.
Here are a few stories from the front page of The Chariton Leader of Feb. 11, 1936, that give an idea of conditions in the south of Iowa:
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BLIZZARD PUTS SNOW BLANKET AT 23 INCHES
Another Storm Reported on Way from Northwest as Mercury Climbs to Zero Reading
RURAL ROADS BLOCKED
Hay, Grain Supplies Being Depleted on Many Farms
Lucas county today was shaking off the effects of one of the most bitter storms in recent years and looking apprehensively to the northwest for another.
A blizzard which swept Iowa Saturday put the local snow blanket up to the 23-inch mark and sent the mercury 20 and more below zero Saturday and Sunday.
It had warmed slightly today (Tuesday), with a reading of zero reported by C.C. Burr, official statistician, at noon.
Another wave of extreme cold, accompanied by snow, was reported headed this way from the northwest today. It might or might not die before reaching this section, Mr. Burr said. The outlook, he declared, is for continued cold, however.
Rural roads throughout the county are blocked. Principal attention since the blizzard has been given to those roads which lead to mines.
Most farmers who live off main highways have reached town only by walking. The roads can be determined in some places only by their relationship to tops of fence posts.
Lucas county now has had 22 consecutive days of sub-zero weather.
Only one case of serious freezing has been reported during the period. Neither have there been any great losses of livestock, although supplies of hay are running short or have disappeared on a number of farms.
Transportation was returning to normal on highways and railroads through here today.
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BLOCKED ROAD STOPS ACTION AT ONE SHAFT
No Actual Suffering From Shortage of Coal Is Reported for Chariton
EGG SUPPLY DEPLETED
Dairymen Maintain Delivery of Milk Despite Road Conditions
Chariton is experiencing a "shovel to furnace coal situation."
While no actual suffering from a shortage of fuel has been reported, many residents have experienced anxious hours watching their supplies fall off in the face of information from dealers that neither amounts nor time of delivery for coal could be definitely promised.
Chariton fuel firms have managed to have at least one car of coal on hand during most of the past week. They have distributed their supplies in emergency allotments in order to answer as many requests as possible.
Some truckers managed to break through the snow to and from mines Monday afternoon and today. Fuel was pouring into many basements throughout the city after dark Monday.
The Central Iowa Fuel Company's No. 5 mine was idle Monday and today because of a snow-blocked road. Two crews of WPA workers were shoveling at the drifts today and it is believed that the road will be open to permit operation of the shaft Wednesday.
The company's No. 4 mine was in operation today and so was the Rock Island Improvement Co. Mine No. 3, which also was idle Monday. The railroad track leading to No. 3 was not cleared until late Monday and a snow plow was stranded in one of the heavy drifts during the afternoon, it was reported.
Unlike some other cities, Chariton is not experiencing a shortage of milk. Dairymen have been delayed in making deliveries, but have managed to make their rounds. There is, however, a shortage of eggs. One grocer said there have been no eggs received for two days.
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15 MEN MAROONED AT CENTRAL IOWA PIT ON SATURDAY
175 Miners Abandon Cars, Spend Six Hours in Reaching Home
Several employees of the Central Iowa Fuel Co. were marooned at No. 5 mine from Saturday until Monday.
The 175 miners who worked at the pit Saturday escaped being trapped there by walking from the shaft to Williamson. Chariton men who left the mine at 3 p.m. did not reach their homes until six hours later (once in Williamson, railroad tracks were clear into Chariton for the miners who lived here).
About 15 men, bosses and office workers spent Saturday night at the mine. Several of them walked to Williamson Sunday while others remained until Monday.
Frozen faces and hands were experienced by the miners who made their way through the peak of Saturday's blizzard to Williamson. They started in cars but were forced to continue the journey on foot when about a mile from the shaft. One aged man collapsed during the three-mile trek to town and had to be carried, it was reported. Most of the men wrapped towels around their faces to lessen the bite of the bitter gale.
Those who remained at the shaft Saturday night had plenty of food and kept warm in the company office, it was said. Members of their group who made their way to Williamson Sunday said most of the cars in the caravan abandoned by the miners had two or three flat tires.
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HELP PLOW
A snow plow was taking second place in a battle with drifts two miles north of Chariton on Highway 14 Sunday morning. Drifts for three-fourths of a mile were so high that the plow wore out a set of chains attempting to hack through them.
Clearing the road was essential, since it leads to one of Chariton's coal sources, Mine No. 4 of the Central Iowa Fuel Co.
Youths from the Chariton CCC camp answered an emergency call for aid. One hundred and twenty of them attacked the drifts with shovels and in three hours the plow was able to continue work.
When the highway was open, the CCC workers went on to the mine where they loaded their trucks with coal. the camp fuel supply was almost depleted at the time. No casualties from the subo-zero weather were reported.
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One of the most harrowing trips during that weekend blizzard had been made by Lt. Marian G. Ferguson, his wife, Ruth, and their two-month-old daughter, Suzanna, a six-hour marathon from Corydon to Chariton.
Marian Ferguson had arrived in Lucas County two years earlier as commander of the CCC Camp in east Chariton. He met Ruth Van Dyke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Van Dyke, and they were married during February of 1935 and moved into one of the new apartments over the Ritz Theater. During June of 1935, the Fergusons were transferred to Hampton, where he opened a new CCC camp, and then to the Clarion camp, where he was stationed that winter.
During early February, 1936, the Fergusons had made a quick trip to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to introduce their two-month-old daughter, Suzanna, to her paternal grandparents. While there, an emergency message resched Lt. Ferguson, telling him that fuel and food supplies at the Clarion CCC camp were nearly exhausted and that he needed to return as soon as possible.
So that was the reason why this young family was out in the storm --- Lt. Ferguson had planned to drop his wife and daughter off at her parents' home in Chariton, then make his way north to Clarion. The trip went fairly well until they reached Corydon. Here's part of the account from the Feb. 11 Leader describing events of the next six hours:
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Leaving spring-like Arkansas at 1 p.m. Saturday, (the Fergusons) did not reach Chariton until 8 a.m. Sunday. Amost a third of the 19 hours they spent trying to cover the 18 miles between Chariton and Corydon.
Arriving in Corydon about 2 a.m. Sunday, they found the shortest route, Highway 14, impassable. So they drove to Humeston, also in Wayne county, hoping to find Highway 65 to Lucas open. It wasn't.
Again they drove to Corydon. There still were no plows operating. The mad see-saw continued as the trio made its second journey to Humeston. Fate seemed to smile on them as a snow plow was journeying out on Highway 65. They followed, but only for two miles, as the plow turned back again. Hoping to find a route through Leon, they again went toward Corydon. The road to Leon was blocked.
Mr. Ferguson then enlarged his field, driving to Centerville, in Appanoose county. There they fell in behind a plow headed toward Albia and followed it all the way to the Monroe County seat. Arriving there, they learned from the operator that he should have stopped at the Appanoose-Monroe county line but had continued in order that the Fergusons might not be marooned.
They turned their car into a snow plow for the trip from Albia to Chariton. Frequently the lieutenant had to push as Mrs. Ferguson drove.
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