by Molly Owen | Mar 3, 2014 | Blog, Ruth A. Casie
This has been a difficult snowy winter in the north east. My husband has used the snow blower more this winter than he has in a total of the last ten years. In researching a topic for today, I found this list on the History site and wanted to share it with you. For full disclosure, this is directly from their site. The picture, however, is the Japanese maple in front of our house.
Snow on Sagamore Ave
March 11-14, 1888
More than 120 winters have come and gone since the so-called “Great White Hurricane,” but this whopper of a storm still lives in infamy. After a stretch of rainy but unseasonably mild weather, temperatures plunged and vicious winds kicked up, blanketing the East Coast in snow and creating drifts up to 50 feet high. The storm immobilized New York, Boston and other major cities, blocking roads and wiping out telephone, telegraph and rail service for several days. When the skies finally cleared, fires and flooding inflicted millions of dollars of damage. The disaster resulted in more than 400 deaths, including 200 in New York City alone. In the decade that followed, partly in response to the 1888 storm and the massive gridlock it wrought, New York and Boston broke ground on the country’s first underground subway systems.
January 27-28, 1922
The Knickerbocker Storm battered the upper South and middle Atlantic United States for two days, dumping a record-breaking 28 inches of snow on Washington, D.C. But by the evening of January 28, the storm was winding down, and several hundred people ventured out to catch a showing of the silent film “Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford” at the Knickerbocker Theatre, the capital’s largest and most modern movie house. During the intermission, the theater’s flat roof gave way under the weight of the wet snow, and concrete, bricks and metal rained down onto the audience. One of the deadliest in Washington’s history, the disaster claimed 98 lives and gave the storm its name.
by Molly Owen | Jun 19, 2013 | Anna Kathryn Lanier, Blog
by Anna Kathryn Lanier
For this week’s The Friday Record, I’m turning once again to Michael Powell’s book CURIOUS EVENTS IN HISTORY. It’s a fascinating little book with dozens of interesting historical facts. On page 36, Powell has an chapter on Edward IV’s Magic Vision.
Edward IV
Now here’s my disclaimer….I don’t know much of the War of the Roses, but here’s a brief history to set things up:
Edward’s father, Richard, Third Duke of York. and his brother, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, had been killed in the Battle of Wakefield, leaving Edward as the head of the House of York and fighting for the throne of England in the War of the Roses. Margaret of Anjou was the wife of Henry VI and mother to the man who would be king (unfortunately, the son died in the battle of Twekesbury at some point in the war). Owen Tudor, Earl of Pembroke was the leader of the Lancastrians. (more…)
by Molly Owen | Nov 3, 2012 | Blog, Ruth A. Casie
Cori & Chris 10-28-12
We started a year ago with high energy and the storm began to build leading up to the grand event. Our daughter’s wedding was a week ago Sunday.
Monday it was a storm of another kind. Monday we worried about friends and family getting home and being safe. I’m happy to report that all our guests have finally gotten home and the newlyweds have finally left on their honeymoon. Paul and I have moved into the newlywed’s home since they have power-we don’t.
Hurricane Sandy 10-29-12
Sandy was a devastating storm but there have been others. I found a report from Forbes about the five worst hurricanes in the United States.
The hurricane that hit the northeastern United States this week is going to cause problems for weeks and possibly months. But how does Hurricane Sandy compare to the worst storms in American history?
Forbes has put together a list of 10 of the most devastating storms of all time. While non-scientific, the list merely shows the sheer scope of the impact major storms have had.
Here’s a look at five of the worst storms:
- 1900 — Galveston: This storm altered the course of Texas history. After suffering 6,000 deaths and more than $100 billion in damages, Houston would replace Galveston as the major port in Texas.
- 1960 — Florida Keys: This storm hit the keys, then went through central Florida before heading to the Atlantic only to turn and impact North Carolina as well.
- 1969 — New Orleans: This September 1969 storm will never be fully measured as it’s strength destroyed the instruments used to track it.
- 1992 — Miami: Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida, killing 26 people and damaging more than 100,000 homes.
- 2005 — New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and breached the levees that protected the city. 1,800 people died, and the storm did $145 billion in damages.
