Snow of 1931 – article by Karen Cuccinello
1931 Snow Storm
March 7th and 8th, 1931 the worst snow storm of the year visited Stamford and vicinity. The Town of Gilboa snow plow was able to keep the road between Grand Gorge and Stamford open but the road from Harpersfield to Stamford was filled full. The Harpersfield snow plow broke an axle on Thorpe Hill by Odell Lake Rd. Many farmers who live on the side roads were unable to bring milk to the creamery. The NY Greyhound bus came through to Stamford on time but the Oneonta-Kingston bus came only as far as Harpersfield from Oneonta and could not get through so returned to Oneonta.
Dr. Joseph F. Duell had to leave his car in front of Andrew Pederson’s home on Moxley St. in Jefferson, and continue by team to the farm house of John B. Allen to attend to a sick child. On his way back the team could not continue up the hill, so the team returned home and the doctor continued to his cases afoot. When Dr. Duell got back to his snowbound automobile the shovel wielding real men of Moxley St.. assisted by Lakin Joslin’s team, got his car out.
From the Manorkill correspondent- The three mile stretch of county road from the mountain top over the county line is completely blocked . Highway Superintendent Shirley Richmond called out the Prattsville snow plow with a very capable force of 12 men to assist in opening the roads.
The front page of the March 26th Mirror-Recorder states Hundreds Take Snow Pictures- Traffic on Summit Highway was Heavy. There must have been at least 75 automobiles from Stamford up on the Summit Rd., on the afternoon of Sunday March 22nd, viewing the huge drifts. There were several lanes where one-way traffic was necessary and through these cuts came strings of automobiles, a dozen at a time. Occasionally a line of cars coming from each direction would meet head-on, then while the matter of whose duty it was to back out was determined, many would climb up the steep sides of the cut to get pictures of the traffic line with tops of the cars 10-12 feet below. The concrete highway from Stamford to Jefferson is for the most part clear of snow but as one nears Summit, however, the snow begins to pile up.
If you live anywhere outside the Summit area and you think you have had considerable snow, well you just “ain’t seen nothin”. There will be snow banks in Summit next August.
This article consists of excepts from the March 12, 19 and 26 Stamford Mirror-Recorder which the Stamford Village Library History room has in hard copy.