At the time I was living in a Veterans
Housing Project in East Meadow,NY with my Wife and my nine month
old daughter. We had been planning on visiting my parents in Newark
over the Christmas Holidays when the snow began to fall. My Wife
suggested that we wait and see how much would accumulate. The weather
bureau had been predicting flurries, so we waited for the flurries
to end. Well as you know the flurries continued until we had twenty
six inches of the whit stuff. We were Snow bound, thank goodness
we did not lose power so that we had lights and heat. Fortunately
the Volunteer members of the East Meadow Fire Department delivered
Milk and Bread to the project, so that children and others were
provided for. Thank God for those Volunteers.
The Town had little snow removal equipment and it took some time
to make the streets passable. Our parking lot was covered with the
stuff, in places it had drifted to four and five feet making it
impossible to move. It took myself and other vets three days to
clear the area, that we could use our autos.
After three days it was feasible to travel on some thoroughfares.
Northern State Parkway was open, but many of the entrances and exits
were blocked. On the street that I worked the exit off the Parkway
was not open, it was necessary to make a detour to Jericho Turnpike.
From there I was forced to trudge four blocks through knee deep
snow to make it to the place that were I was employed.
I'll remember that "White Christmas" December 1947 for
a long, long time.
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