The Superior Express -

Friday marks the middle of April and the time for Good Friday services. By now I expected there would be leaves on the trees, green grass and my winter clothes stowed away. Earlier I didn’t expect to wear my insulated coveralls to the Easter Sunrise Service but those plans are changing. Should the coveralls be needed, I’ve check the closet and know exactly where to find them.

While the grass is starting to green and tiny leaves are looking our from the trees, the National Weather Service includes snow in the weekend forecast.

This spring’s weather is not what we hoped for but it is not unprecedented.

In 1873, what is considered to be the worst storm in Nebraska history struck this area. It is thought the storm set a record that has never been broken for the most lives lost as a percentage of the state’s population.

Thankfully there weren’t many people living in these parts. Nuckolls County was established two years earlier and it was two years before the establishment of Superior.

In 1948, Mrs. Ed Tennant wrote about the Easter Blizzard of 1873 and her story was printed in the Commercial Advertiser, a newspaper published at Red Cloud.

Easter Sunday, 1875, apparently began much like Tuesday of this week. It was warm, clear and bright but about sundown wet snow flakes began to fall and the wind came up. Soon a real blizzard was in process. Unlike this year, the previous winter had been a severe one and the new settlers were stressed and short on food.

They were encouraged when an early spring arrived and the country turned green. A blizzard was not expected.

Most of the settlers were living in dugouts. At that time there were only five above ground homes in Red Cloud. Silas Garber had built a stone store building. Next door, George Taylor had used logs to build a hotel. Homesteaders were scattered about along the streams, all living in makeshift shelters of some kind.

The storm struck in early evening and continued for days. For the most part, shelters had not yet been constructed for the settlers’ livestock and many of the animals died.

W. W. Richardson lived one mile west of Red Cloud and employed several men to herd his cattle. One of his hired hands was William Fenn. Fenn lived on Indian Creek with his wife and child. On the day of the blizzard, Mr. Fenn was trying to drive some cattle to a corral but the animals would not face the storm. Instead they drifted with the wind. Fenn came to a neighbor’s dugout and sought shelter there for several days. When the storm moved on, he went home but found no family.

The prairie was searched and Mrs. Fenn and child were found frozen to death. She likely had gone in search of her husband.

Alice Tennant said about the storm, “It was a beautiful Easter Sunday and so we decided to visit our neighbors, the Tinkers. They lived in a dugout along Timber Creek.

“We spent the day with the Tinkers but when it began to storm, we decided to stay over night. The next day there was a short lull in the storm and we hurried home. We were so glad we did because we had to stay in our dugout until Thursday.”

The Hummel homestead was on the south side of the Republican River near Penney Creek. The Hummels were in the process of building a log house, 14x28 feet in size with a sod roof. Construction was far enough along the Hummel family was living in the house when the storm struck.

George Hummel recalled, “Brother Fred had gone over on Buffalo Creek to see his girl and had to stay three days.” George didn’t know what happened while his brother was staying in the girl’s home but he noted, his brother never went back to see her again.

Such was not the case on Beaver Creek, north of Guide Rock. On the day of the blizzard, John Farmer went to visit Miss Rose Monia. Because of the storm, he had to stay a few days. He must have enjoyed his stay for they eventually married.

While we are not expecting an Easter blizzard this week, snow is apparently a possibility. A heavy wet snow would be an ideal way to speed the recovery of pastures and fields scorched by the wildfires. We are praying for rain, but rain falling on the bare land has the potential to create more erosion problems than would snow.

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It may have before but I don’t remember snow falling on an Easter Sunday. I remember an Easter Sunday Windsurfing adventure on Lovewell Lake in late March. After this cool spring, I don’t plan such an adventure with or without snow this year.

I also remember an Easter Sunday photography assignment to take pictures of a sunrise service. It rained a bunch and the road to the sunrise location was not improved. I made my way over the muddy roads only to arrive at the designated location where I learned the service had been cancelled.

That was in the days before my marriage to Rita. Returning from the cancelled photo shoot, I stopped at a church that had held a sunrise service inside and joined others attending the breakfast in the church hall. There the older men pointed out a young single woman who was helping in the kitchen. They suggested she would make a good wife. She may have but I had a mind of my own and picked someone else. I may have liked their choice but I am pleased with the choice I made.

The guys made such an issue over who was working in the kitchen, I concluded it was a place where she seldom worked.