I recently saw a Facebook feed where the people were wondering how they cleared the snow from downtown Monroe a century ago. I’ve seen many photos of the snow piled high on the square, and just figured they shoveled it by hand. Remember that it was a much slower-paced society at that time. We are going to hear how a large snowstorm affected the county on Monday, February 26, 1912.
It was described as “the worst blizzard to envelop this section of the country since the big snow of 1881.” The snow began falling about midnight and continued throughout the day, with strong northeast winds, which left roads impassable and railroad tracks blocked. Drifts that ranged from five to ten feet tall also made walking in the city almost impossible.
The rural letter carriers did not go out, “preferring to take a day’s deduction rather than attempt the impossibility of getting through.” The city carriers were “crippled considerably.” Hardly any of the rural schools were in session.
Trukenbrod Pharmacy received 27 calls for city hackman, John W. Howe, before 8:00 that morning. Howe made four trips about the city before putting his team away at 9:30, saying he found it impossible to make any headway; his team could go no faster than a walk.
The drifted and impassable roads prevented more than half of the patrons of the Borden’s Condensed Milk Company from delivering the milk from the farms; only those close to the city were able to make the trip. Deliveries were able to be made throughout the day as some patrons cut a road through later in the day. It would have been futile to shovel out the roads any earlier as the wind would drift them full almost as fast as they were cleared.
Few of the local grocers sent their delivery wagons out that morning, with only rush orders being taken care of; those deliveries were made by store employees on foot. Meat markets were making their usual deliveries. People would not have been able to keep as many fruits, vegetables, and meats on hand at that time since they only had iceboxes to preserve the food.
School attendance was fairly low, but city schools were still in session. The high school only had about two-thirds of the students at the morning session. “A large percentage in the grades were absent when the morning session of school was called.” Attendance at the normal school was about the same as the high school. It was expected that students from the country and other towns might not be able to make it back until Wednesday.
There was no school held in Juda because the drifted condition of the country roads kept teachers and students from getting there. Farmers in that vicinity cited places where the snow was higher than the horses’ heads. Some who had started with the pupils turned back before driving any distance. The horses were unable to make headway through the drifted roads.
Even though not as much snow had fallen as they received in January two years prior, “a stronger gale accompanied today’s storm and as a result the drifts are much larger about the city and in the country.”
The trains into Monroe that day, both the Illinois Central and Milwaukee, were late. The passenger train due in Monroe from Freeport was due at 8:05, but didn’t arrive until 10:00. The passenger train from Madison arrived at 11:00. The passenger train from the west on the Milwaukee road arrived in Monroe at 11:17 because it took more than an hour to make the eight miles from Browntown. One train was stalled in the deep cut four miles east of Monroe, near the Tschudy Cheese Factory, for two hours in the afternoon. The coaches were finally separated from the rest of the train and the two engines with all the passengers in the baggage car reached Juda about 2:30. The train that was due in Monroe at noon did not even leave Janesville until 2:00. A snowplow was sent out from Janesville early that morning and passed through Monroe at 6:00. It returned here just before the 3:12 passenger train. Fortunately, there was extremely light traffic on both roads with “few caring to venture out in the blustery weather.”
Many from Monroe had planned to attend the funeral of A. G. Hawley, Civil War Veteran, in Argyle that day. The funeral was postponed a day and the Illinois Central made the same accommodations for Tuesday as had been in place for Monday.
This storm did not only affect the immediate area. “Hundreds of men with shovels attacked the snow covered streets” in Milwaukee that afternoon in an effort to clear a way for downtown traffic. Street car traffic was tied up in Janesville with the tracks being piled high with snow. Janesville did not send out freight trains, only passenger trains.
The newspaper shared a bit of information about the 1881 storm that was mentioned at the beginning of this column. About a foot of snow fell on January 20 and “frequent storms occurred from that time until spring opened up.” Railroad traffic between Monroe and Janesville was tied up for two weeks. A rain fell on February 22. The “rain turned into snow that night and another blizzard visited this section. The hard crust formed on top of the snow allowed teams to go over rail fences which were covered with banks of snow. Railroad was tied up from then on for two weeks.”
This brief description gives us an idea how people in Monroe lived more than a century ago. Walking, horses, and trains were the major modes of transportation. They didn’t have many of the conveniences that we take for granted today.
— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and a local historian. His column will appear periodically on Saturdays in the Times. He can be reached at mfigi48@tds.net or at 608-325-6503.
