Springtime?s blooming snow

LIMA — Don't be fooled by the warmer temperatures and the chirping birds. Even in springtime, snow can fall. Just ask the folks that lived in 1883 and endured a 16-inch snow on May 21 of that year. It's the stuff of which legends are made. In fact, as blizzards today are measured against that of 1978, the snow of May 21, 1883, became the yardstick by which late-spring arrivals were measured.Folks were shocked. They had already begun planting flowers as well as crops. They had traded their heavy winter clothing for lighter spring garb, and thought the cold stuff behind them.All indications pointed to an early spring that year. In fact, the local paper reported that it had never known “the leaves, blossoms and vegetables to come forward with such speed as that which has characterized the warm weather the past few days. Buds have been swelling up fit to bust for many days, yet cold wind and snow prevented them from coming forth, but when Old Sol greeted them with a warm embrace, they all burst into joyous beauty and today leaves, flowers and green fields meet the eye and cheer the heart.”Unfortunately, those cheerful hearts lasted just over a week.At 8 a.m. on May 21, the rain that had begun falling during the night changed to snow. The wet snow weighted down the fruit trees, snapping limbs. Likewise, the crops in the fields that had begun to sprout were deemed a total loss.The local newspaper wrote that “people were rudely awakened from their pleasant dream that spring had nearly come by the sudden change in temperature from warm to chilly cold, and by a heavy snowstorm.”As the Lima Gazette recounted the storm just two days later, “early in the morning the falling rain commenced to change to sleet, and by 8 o’clock snow was falling as rapidly as at any time last winter. It was none of your little squalls that came up suddenly and stopped in the same way, but the ‘beautiful’ just kept it up from morning till night, and way on towards midnight, until at least a good 12 inches had fallen, and many people claim that 6 inches on top of that would not be too high an estimate. In most places, the snow melted about as fast as it fell, but where it had a good chance it piled up in drifts until it was difficult for a grown person to make his way through the drifts.”The paper editorialized that “never in the history of this county was such a snow storm known so late in the season, and the old fellows who have weather stories to tell on all occasions have shut up shop and gone out of business.”As the storm was pounding the area, the paper reported that “horse cars gave up the struggle and all 15 telephones in the city were out of commission.” Damage also included “shade trees blown down, chimneys demolished and one house in south Lima had its roof blown off.” Further damage was reported at the new Erich Hotel in Lima and the Kieth Hotel in Spencerville.Fortunately, the warm spring temperatures helped melt the snow quickly. Of course, that made for a giant mud puddle on Lima’s unpaved streets. The warm winds continued and by May 26, the newspaper encouraged residents to “bring out your straw hat and linen duster. By this time next week it may be necessary to return them again in favor of the overcoat and sealskin cap. The weather seems to be rather variable this year.”In June 1883, the local paper lamented that “the first summer month has arrived and we have as yet had almost no spring.”And for years after that, people remembered the year with no spring. In fact, the 1931 newspaper said that “older residents will breathe more easily when they have crossed May 21 from the calendar.”In comparison, many could laugh at the later cold snaps that came along. In 1923 a light snow covered the springtime ground, and the local paper reported that people were keeping a “stiff upper lip as they look at the snow.” One man commented on the short summer; another was looking for a buyer for his favorite casting rod; the police chief thought his boys could more easily run down streetcar bandits; and another wondered where he would spend the winter.All agreed it was typical springtime Ohio weather. And, all agreed it was not as bad as the legendary springtime snow of 1883.