Franklin County, Nebraska

For Another Day

Editor’s note: The following is an article written by Anna B. Strain of South Bend, IN.

The Blizzard of 1886 in Franklin County

“At the time I am writing about my folks lived in Bloomington. Some of the older ones may remember the Sawyer family. My parents are buried in the Bloomington cemetery.

“I was ten-years-old at the time of the Blizzard and can remember it well.

“A few years ago I got a letter from Bloomington, wanting me to write what I could remember of that awful storm. I am in Indiana now and as it is storming today as hard as it did that year, I am writing about it.

My Story

“I was going to school at the time of the blizzard of 1886, it had been nice all that morning, mother had company. She was only a block and one half from her home and had left her windows open. When it commenced to snow, she said, ‘Isn’t it snowing easy?’ Mother replied, ‘it may be a blizzard before night.’ She got home in time to close her house when the blizzard struck.

“The children were at school when it struck. Father came after me and took another girl home, as she lived not far from us.

“All the children from that school got home alright but some of the country children didn’t fair so good. One school north of town was snowed in for three days and night. When the teacher saw the storm coming she had one of the boys go outside and get the ax and coal shovel and bring them in the schoolhouse. She made the children stop eating, as they didn’t know how long they would have to be there. The cut a hole in the side of the schoolhouse to get the coal, the box had been filled the day before. There were 27 children with several small ones attending school. She divided the food so all the little ones had some, but the older ones and the teacher went without. At night they took their coats and made pallets around the stove for the little ones. The older boys sat up and kept the fire going. Classes went on in the daytime as usual of heroines of old to keep their minds off the storm. She kept them there for three days. The first person brought food and clothing for them all. School was then closed until the snow was gone. The teacher was about worn out. She wouldn’t accept any extra money for what she had done, said it was her duty.

“Another case was of a widow woman in the same county. She had six children at home, none old enough to work out. She would go 18 miles to work in order to keep them. The day the storm came, the three older children took care of the stock and got in wood to keep the fires going. The oldest boy, 18, got the cows in. He thought he had them all, but one was missing, so he went back after it and froze both feet and an arm. If it hadn’t been for the clothesline, we would have never made it to the house. Their mother didn’t get home for several days. The oldest boy was taken to a hospital 30 miles from home, where they had to amputate both legs and an arm to save his life.

“Stock of all kinds were frozen all over that part of the state. Thousands of dollars were lost. I have seen several blizzards since but none quite as bad as that one.

The ice comes looming from the north, the very sunbeams freeze.

Rena Donovan, For Another Day.

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