BUFFALO, NY (WIVB) – Forty-nine years ago, The Blizzard of 1977 traveled across Western New York, bringing our community to a standstill for days.
Twenty-nine people died in the storm that President Jimmy Carter declared a federal disaster.
On Wednesday, WIVB News 4 heard more from community members about what they remember from the Blizzard of ’77.
“I remember the snow was higher like looking up out of the car, the snow was higher than the car, like maybe two or three feet higher and it was crazy,” Paul Ivancic said.
Ivancic is a 32-year-old News 4 photographer, but he worked as a news carrier for the Courier Express when he was in high school. He said he had 40 customers on weekdays and 100 customers on Sundays, and only lost one day during the Blizzard of ’77.
“One day I didn’t make it because the Courier Express truck couldn’t get through the snow,” said Ivancic. “It was crazy, it was so much snow… and it never stopped.”
We also heard from Bob Chatham from Lancaster, who also worked for Courier Express. He said they had to be escorted by a state trooper to drive through the driving ban, an interesting journey through the City of Buffalo.
“I was pushing the snow with the bumper most of the time. It wasn’t bad as long as the truck was full, once the truck was empty it was a matter of, okay, throw the papers on the paper boys’ box because we weren’t stopping,” said Chatham.
Schools were closed for days.
Senior Eileen Beiter said her high school graduation was pushed back because of the ’77 Blizzard.
“You want to graduate from high school and look forward to college and everything and here you are, you got this blizzard that stops you right,” Beiter said. “I remember that my parents had both been working. My father was a firefighter for the city, he went to work on Thursday which was the day before the blizzard, and I don’t think he came home until the next week.”
The vicinity was buried in snow.
“You were trying to walk because you were sinking in the snow, trying to get to your house and it was so deep,” said Buffalonian Roger Roszulak. “Afterwards, we realized we were walking on cars that had three feet of snow on them and we could touch the powerlines.”
“Things I’ve never seen before, things I’ve never seen since,” Chatham said.
Chatham shared how high lifts and forklifts were used to clear the snow.
“What they used to do is to push the snow to the corners and then they would load them on dump trucks, but one time he wanted to take a scoop of snow and there was a car with it,” he said.
Even with the extreme winter weather, the Blizzard of ’77 did not freeze the City of Good Neighbors from helping each other.
“Seventy-seven was unforgettable, they weren’t good times, but I think… it helped to strengthen the bonds of the community, people helping each other,” said Joyce Martin, a resident of Buffalo.
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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
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