Karen Kilgariff

And actually very needed once, and I'm sure it probably came up later, once people heard the stories of what happened to the kids that did go home by themselves or even in groups. Right. So Minnie's plan now is to walk her students to her house, which is about a half a mile away. It doesn't sound that far, but in the middle of a blizzard, it would have been painfully long.

And actually very needed once, and I'm sure it probably came up later, once people heard the stories of what happened to the kids that did go home by themselves or even in groups. Right. So Minnie's plan now is to walk her students to her house, which is about a half a mile away. It doesn't sound that far, but in the middle of a blizzard, it would have been painfully long.

And they're whiteout conditions, so it's hard for them to see any more than like a foot or so in front of them. If any child takes even just a few steps away from the group, they could be blinded by the snow, turned around, and then just lost.

And they're whiteout conditions, so it's hard for them to see any more than like a foot or so in front of them. If any child takes even just a few steps away from the group, they could be blinded by the snow, turned around, and then just lost.

On top of that, the snowflakes in this storm are extremely fine and icy. So as they land on the children's faces, they're just freezing their eyelids shut. Oh, man. And Minnie's. Minnie's as well. Also, the sheer amount of these flakes in the air causes the snow to get stuck in their throats. It makes it hard to breathe. Survivors liken it to breathing in large amounts of flour or sand. Hmm.

On top of that, the snowflakes in this storm are extremely fine and icy. So as they land on the children's faces, they're just freezing their eyelids shut. Oh, man. And Minnie's. Minnie's as well. Also, the sheer amount of these flakes in the air causes the snow to get stuck in their throats. It makes it hard to breathe. Survivors liken it to breathing in large amounts of flour or sand. Hmm.

And David Laskin notes that experts have compared it to, quote, the smoke and ash rolling through the canyons of lower Manhattan after the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11th.

And David Laskin notes that experts have compared it to, quote, the smoke and ash rolling through the canyons of lower Manhattan after the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11th.

Right. Like completely blinds you, but then also like seals your eyes shut with ice. Like you're just going against. But you can't take a deep breath without the snow coming into your mouth.

Right. Like completely blinds you, but then also like seals your eyes shut with ice. Like you're just going against. But you can't take a deep breath without the snow coming into your mouth.

They also make their way through shirt collars, pants, waistbands, even shoes. So the children are drenched, freezing, constantly slipping and falling as they walk. The wind is battering them. It's actually painful. And Minnie will later say, quote, I've never felt such a wind. It blew the snow so hard that the flakes stung your face like arrows.

They also make their way through shirt collars, pants, waistbands, even shoes. So the children are drenched, freezing, constantly slipping and falling as they walk. The wind is battering them. It's actually painful. And Minnie will later say, quote, I've never felt such a wind. It blew the snow so hard that the flakes stung your face like arrows.

All you could see ahead of you was a blinding, blowing sheet of snow. Okay. So there are several well-known and very tragic stories that came out of this storm. For example, across the state in Seward, Nebraska, an 11-year-old girl named Lena Vebecky is dismissed from school. And as she walks home in this storm, she becomes disoriented.

All you could see ahead of you was a blinding, blowing sheet of snow. Okay. So there are several well-known and very tragic stories that came out of this storm. For example, across the state in Seward, Nebraska, an 11-year-old girl named Lena Vebecky is dismissed from school. And as she walks home in this storm, she becomes disoriented.

She will wake up hours later still outside, frozen to the ground. But Lena heroically musters the strength. She breaks herself free and she manages to crawl back to her own house even though she can't feel her legs. What the fuck? And in the end, Lena survives. She just loses one of her feet to frostbite. Wow. But she saves herself. Yeah. She's frozen to the ground. That's insane.

She will wake up hours later still outside, frozen to the ground. But Lena heroically musters the strength. She breaks herself free and she manages to crawl back to her own house even though she can't feel her legs. What the fuck? And in the end, Lena survives. She just loses one of her feet to frostbite. Wow. But she saves herself. Yeah. She's frozen to the ground. That's insane.

Wakes up and it's like, we're doing this. We're getting home.

Wakes up and it's like, we're doing this. We're getting home.

Up in Holt County, Nebraska, there's a 19-year-old teacher named Etta Shattuck. She gets caught in the storm while heading home after picking up her paycheck and As the temperature nosedives, she becomes snowblind. She seeks refuge in a haystack, and she is forced to shelter there for 78 hours before finally being found. Oh, my God.

Up in Holt County, Nebraska, there's a 19-year-old teacher named Etta Shattuck. She gets caught in the storm while heading home after picking up her paycheck and As the temperature nosedives, she becomes snowblind. She seeks refuge in a haystack, and she is forced to shelter there for 78 hours before finally being found. Oh, my God.