Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-03-20
BIC SNOW BLOCKADE
Wausau, In Its History Never
Experienced Time Like
Last Week.
No Trains Over the st. Paul
Road and Only a Few Over
the Northwestern.
Unlucky Was the Man Travelling and
Away From HOme-NOthing to do
But Grin and Bear il.

Away From HOme-NOthing to do
But Grin and Bear it.
March 18th will long be remem-
bered by those in this section of
Uncle Sans domain. A damp, heavy
snow fell during the afternoon and as
the day progressed the wind increased
from the northeast until it was almost
a gale. In the evening the snow fall
increased and became, at times, just
driving sheet of snow. 1t stalled the
street cars between here and Roth
schild. The st. Paul train was held
up by drifts between here and Grand
Rapids and it did not reach Wausau
that n1ghts nor the balance of the week
and the train from the north man
aged to reach Wausau on Wednesday
morning but there was nothing doing
after that until Monday.
The wind blew a gale all Tuesday
night and as fast as crews could get
the snow shoveled out of the cuts they
would fill right up again. Freight and
passenger trains, locomotives and snow
plows were showed in, packed in, and
frozen in so tight that about the only
thing that could be done was to dig
them out, which was a very slow pro-
cess.
Large crews of men were put to
work but the highswind offset all their
efforts. The snow fall was not so
great, as less than foot fell, but it
was heavy and susceptible of being
carried by a strong wind and it drift
ed and became almost as solid as a
stone wall
Tuesday night the street cars could
not be run on schedule time, and men
living in Wausau had to walk most of
the way from Rothschild. The same
conditions existed the balance of the
week. The wind kept up it's work
| Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sat-
urday varying from playful gusts to a
perfect gale, which picked up the snow
and deposited it in the cuts and de-
lpressions. The Wisconsin Valley Elec-
trio company had a crew busy all the
time clearing it's tracks, but could not
run to Rothschild with any regularity
and had to stop entirely at times and
many had to walk from the paper mills
| to their homes in Wausau.
The roads into the country were
farmers in the city on Wednesday and
very few on Thursday.
The storm was one which covered
the entire country between the Rocky
| and Allegheny mountains. Where it
was sleet, and this all over the lower
country, there was a great loss
of property; poles and wires being
weighed down with ice and blown
down by the wind, and communication
cut off. Up in northern Wisconsin
there was very little sleet, but the
snow was heavy and the violent wind
made it the worst storm for tying up
traffic had here for years.
There was more or less snow all
the week and. on Friday and Friday
night about six inches fell.
Notes
1t was some storm, "believe me-"
Every street car as it went up Third
street, was picture, in snow.
On Wednesday and Thursday five
engines and crews were working be-
tween here and Grand Rapids.
On Wednesday evening no trains
were running and all available en-
gines were at work down in the snow
drift country.
1t was thought the storms the past
month were bad, but the officials of
both roads running into Wausau say
that the storm on Tuesday night, was
| by all odds, the worst one for block
aiding roads ever known in Wisconsin.
Travelling statesmen and numerous
other guests at the different hotels in
| the city were crowded and had full
sway there, on account of delayed
trains in all directions during the
storms and all seemed to enjoy the sit
uation philosophically.
Wausau is not the only place that
has suffered from the snow blockade.
| The Northwestern, on its main line,
north to Amigo, Crandon, Bessemer,
and other places, was unable, only by
the hardest work, to keep going and
get one train through day. 1t was
the same on the 500 and all other
roads in the north.
| ]. B. Goerling returned home Fri
| day morning from a business trip to
Duluth during the recent severe snow
storm and states that twenty-one inch
es of snow fell on the level in twen-
| ty-four hours in that city. The en-
tire northern country is surfeited with
an immense body of snow, which will
probably be long time in disappear
ing.
John Van Hecke, lawyer, John
Brandt, county clerk of Lincoln county
and R. B. Runke, postmaster, all Of
Merrill, were stranded in this city
Friday, caused by being unable to re-
turn home by rail, hired team to
take them to their destination in the
afternoon of that bliZZardy day and
iarrived at their own firesides after
about a two and a half hours drive.
Fred Devoe of the Marathon Granite
Co., in his humanely spirit, secured a
crew of men and three teams after
the big storm on Tuesday night, and
removed the deep snow drifts on
/ North Sixth street, making that thor
oughfare passable to and from st.
Mary's hospital and is hereby deserv-
edly accorded a vote of thanks by the
general public.
Many members of the Marathon
County Order of the Experiment Sta
ton from the county were unable to
attend the meeting at the court house
Friday, because of that days fierce
snow storm. About twenty-five. how
ever. attended when there should have
been at least seventy-fve or more.
Those who did attend heroically
braved the elements and snow drifts
and were wen repaid for their pres
ence and are deserving of commenda-
ton.
. Louis Dessert and daughter, Miss
Blanche, were in Mosinee last Tues
day, the day of the big snow storm.
land as there were no trains running
] -