![]() ![]() The human and economic cost of the great blizzard of 1947 forced the city to re-examine how it handled snowstorms. "It is too hard to keep people off the streets by normal methods," Polcyn told The Journal. Police Chief John Polcyn blamed the cleanup delays on sightseers, driving around to gawk at the devastation. "Nonessential" driving - basically, anything that wasn't for emergency purposes or public transport - was prohibited. That same day, three days after the heavy snow had started falling, the Common Council declared a state of emergency in the city, approving $110,260 (nearly $1.4 million in today's dollars) to buy more snow removal equipment and gave the city the power to impound vehicles that got in the way of cleanup efforts. A city 'tuckered out'ĭigging out was slow going, in part because of all the cars buried in snowdrifts, in part because the snow was followed by a deep freeze that pushed temperatures below zero - and in part because Milwaukeeans were, as a Journal headline noted on Feb. Meanwhile, the place where he worked, City Hall, had about 50 people sleeping in the lobby, after they couldn't get transportation home. Snowbanks trapped Milwaukee Mayor John Bohn in his home on South 28th Street. The next morning, the motorman went out to find food for them a nearby bakery and drugstore provided coffee and doughnuts. Many of the young dancers stayed, sleeping on chairs and tables before clearing out the following morning.Ī streetcar stuck in the snow at 22nd and Vliet streets was turned into impromptu sleeping quarters for about 25 passengers. When the band was unable to get there, The Journal reported, the house musicians played until 11:30 p.m. About 60 people ended up spending the night there.Īt the Eagles Ballroom, about 300 people had come out to dance to the music of Stan Kenton and his big band. rolled around at Denny Holland's Town House, a bar on Downer Avenue, instead of kicking everyone out, Holland kept the place open and served doughnuts and coffee. Some wound up spending the night in taverns. When 2 a.m. Some of those who couldn't make it home through the snow stayed in their workplace. "Man might crack an atom, but he couldn't break through the billions and billions of atoms in Milwaukee's deep snow. 29) like a whipped puppy," one Journal writer reported, in a Jan. Offices, factories, department stores stopped. View Gallery: Check out photos from the great January 1947 blizzard in Milwaukee Spending the night in taverns, streetcars They are wedged between stranded cars and streetcars all over the city, and we are sending out winch trucks to pull them out."Īt least five deaths in the metro area were blamed on the snowstorm, either from the strain of shoveling or dealing with the snow. 29), but they couldn't do a thing," Nelson said. "We had enough men to take out 80 to 90 of our 112 trucks at 11 o'clock last night (Jan. (At the time, Nelson was marooned in his office, keeping in touch with city crews by phone.) 30, 1947, when the snow had finally stopped. Nelson, Milwaukee's superintendent of street sanitation, told The Milwaukee Journal in a story published in the afternoon paper Jan. "Our plows are lying all over the city," Harry B. The city's plows couldn't get past them either. ![]() Winds of up to 60 mph created snowdrifts reaching 10 feet and higher around the city.Īcross the city, cars were stuck at the curb and in traffic lanes. Milwaukee's streetcar system came to a standstill, unable to get past the cars buried in snow. 30, 1947, Milwaukee was buried under 18.1 inches of snow. Then it started up again during the morning rush hour.īy the end of Jan. The snow stopped after a couple of hours. For generations of Milwaukeeans, it was just "the blizzard."Ī couple of inches of light, fluffy snow fell on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. ![]()
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