Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Holyoke, Colo. native author Stephen L. Wood is set to hold a book reading and signing of his work Blizzard of ’77 this Saturday, March 2 at the Sidney Pubic Library.
The reading and signing will go from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and his work features some local Cheyenne County residents within its pages.
Wood’s book is a collection of stories gathered through three years of research on those impacted by both the 1949 and 1977 blizzards that hit the Great Plains.
He has also included archived local newspaper accounts as well as personal accounts from rescue workers.
Wood said that his book encompasses personal testimony from survivors in Sidney, Kimball, Pine Bluffs, Wyo., Bushnell, Potter, Bridgeport, Lisco, Oshkosh, Lewellen, Lodgepole, Chappell and east to North Platte and north to the S.D. state line. He said that these stories only tell of a few towns that were hit in the five-state area the blizzard blanketed.
Wood said that he was inspired to write about the devastation caused by the blizzards when all of his relatives in the area were stuck in both snowstorms.
“The Wood family tree runs deep in Northeastern Colorado, Western Nebraska and the Panhandle,” said Wood.
The author said that it wasn’t until he and his wife Jan started researching that they came to understand the magnitude of the Great Plains Blizzard of 1977.
The 24 deaths caused by the blizzard are revealed in the tale and are told by rescuers that were too late to save the perished, said the author.
The book contains 48 firsthand accounts of those caught in the blizzard that haven’t been previously printed, as well as excerpts from neighbors and another approximate 200 personal interviews about the snowstorm.
Wood said that although no accurate count of the storms total damage has been recorded to this day, the book still covers a vast array of the chaos caused.
Within the book’s pages is discussed how power was out for over six weeks because of the destruction of thousands of power poles. Also the loss of an estimated one hundred thousand livestock and stories of the rescued who spent up to 3 days buried in their vehicles are explained.
“Communication was all but nonexistent. Most every story by today’s standards would be heralded as heroic and TV documentaries made,” said Wood. “Don’t expect any sugar coating of these accounts they are what they were.”
Wood said that he would be the first to admit that he is not a polished writer, however readers can connect with his book to understand a historical view of the devastation that was the Great Plains Blizzard.
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