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Times Remembered

Thanksgiving trip turns into adventure

A blizzard interrupts a family's drive to celebrate with relatives, but it doesn't bury the holiday spirit.

By JEANETTE CLEGG
Published November 29, 2005

	[Times photo: Scott Keeler]
	Jeanette Clegg of Largo remembers a November in 1969 when a blizzard put the brakes on a family trip.

Light snow began falling in Ohio late that Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving in 1969.

It was our turn to spend the holiday with Uncle Blaine's family in New Jersey, and we were bringing the turkey for dinner. As soon as my husband, Glenn, got home from work, we loaded the car along with our three young children and headed east on Route 80. We felt that we would soon drive away from the snowfall. But, in fact, we were driving into a nor'easter.

As it grew dark midway into the mountains of Pennsylvania, the snow became blinding - we were in a full-blown blizzard!

The windshield wipers hardly cleared a view of the road, and it appeared we were the only car still moving. We decided to take the next exit, wherever that was. Fortunately, we didn't have to go far and exited in Danville, Pa.

We found a motel, but there were no vacancies. The manager called ahead to the Pine Barn Inn, which had two one-bed rooms available. We took both, thankful to be out of the storm. During the night, power was lost because of the heavy snow on the lines. It was extremely cold in the rooms and we piled on the extra blankets and snuggled closer together.

At daybreak, my husband ventured out to see our surroundings. He reported back that there was a restaurant at the inn just up the hill from our annex and breakfast was being cooked over Sterno. We dressed hurriedly and scrounged up plastic bags for our feet so we could trudge through the three feet of snow between us and the inn.

We joined the other storm victims at the breakfast buffet, some of whom had been traveling east like us and others going west. The dinning room was rustic, with a roaring fire in the stone fireplace at one end of the room. There were no strangers in the crowd as we shared our common experiences. It was almost pleasant.

Power was restored later that day, and we were able to call Uncle Blaine and tell him where we were. Needless to say, they wouldn't be having our turkey for Thanksgiving.

They were not the only ones without turkey for Thanksgiving. The townspeople, who had dinner reservations at the inn, could not get through the unplowed roads. Talk about being in the right place at the right time: The innkeeper was able to prepare some of the turkeys for the captive guests and we enjoyed the traditional dinner and trimmings.

By Friday, the snowplows made their way to the inn and advised everyone that the roads were cleared south to the turnpike.

After going about five miles from the inn, we remembered our turkey that we left behind in their refrigerator and returned to retrieve it.

As we made our way to the turnpike, the snow was piled higher than the roof of our car on either side of the road. Arriving in New Jersey, however, there was not a flake of snow to be seen. To the contrary, we passed golf courses where foursomes were enjoying a sunny afternoon's outing.

It was hard for Uncle Blaine and family to believe that we were held up in a blizzard. The newspapers confirmed it though with pictures of motorists on Route 80 being rescued by snowmobiles.

We celebrated Thanksgiving again on Saturday and were twice as thankful for all our blessings.

- Jeanette Clegg, who is a retired secretarial professional, is the grandmother of nine; she also volunteers at Starkey Elementary School. She is the authorof the self-published children's book about Seminole Wind, The Eaglet That Fell to Earth.

[Last modified November 23, 2005, 13:54:06]