OK. Time for my snow story.
It was a Sunday sometime in the middle 1960's. Sign on time 6am
Monday for me.
I was still living at my parents home at "Tobacco House Farm",
near the very end of Spicer's Mill Road. The snow started sometime
in late afternoon Sunday and started to pile up; by 7pm our drive
was impassable and I knew I'd never be able to drive to work.
So, about 8pm I started walking and walked up to Route 20 hoping
maybe to catch a ride in to Orange, but the snow was so deep no
cars ever came along, and either plows weren't working or they
were out on Route 15. So I ended up walking all the way to town
and then down Montevista to the radio station and I guess it was
about midnight. No sleeping bag, no nothing, so I crawled up on a
desk and finally went to sleep.
Now here's the good part. Around 3am (I know because I looked at
the clock) the phone rang and woke me up Guess what the caller
wanted! "Is there going to be any school today?" I can't repeat
what I said in answer. Anyway, I dropped the phone on the floor
and tried to go back to sleep. I did get signed on at 6, but
shortly after that the power went off all over town and almost
everywhere in the area. My folks were out of power for 7 days with
their fireplace all they had for heating and cooking. If I
remember correctly I slept for several nights at a friends' home
(Hugh Darnell) on Piedmont street because it was impossible to get
home.
Another Monday morning when I was scheduled to sign on I was stuck
on a train heading south between Washington DC and Manassas. (Yes,
the trains did stop in Orange at that time) It was 10pm and the
snow was too deep to go on; no telegraph, no phones, just screwed.
When I didn't show up, Arch evidently called John Cregg; he was on
the air when I finally got to the station at 11am
Snow stories are a lot more fun now than when they happened!
Bill Little
1960-1986
On 7/30/2019 6:00 AM, Phil Audibert via
Groups.Io wrote:
And now I have a snow story...
On a few rare occasions I had to open up. On this particular
morning, we had a major snowfall the night before. The roads
had been plowed, but there was a thin layer of snow/ice on them.
It was pitch black dark outside.
As I came over the crest of the hill at Somerset, driving my
light Datsun 2WD pickup, just as I started to descend a freight
train came barreling through. I slammed on my brakes and went
into a terrifying skid right towards the speeding train. I
twisted the steering wheel one direction and then the next and
at the last moment spun backwards into the ditch right by the
crossing arm...hopeless stuck, but safe!
The train barreled past, and when the crossing arms lifted
there was a guy in a Jeep who crossed the tracks, hooked a chain
onto my front bumper, and pulled me out. I continued on to the
radio station and opened up on time. But, I aged a couple of
years in 20 seconds that morning.
Phil Audibert
