Mark

Coventry, Rhode Island

We had a large, white Samoyed dog that loved the snow. Lady would jump around and tunnel about in it... she had brain damage I think. After the storm we let her out and couldn't find her for a few hours. Then I saw steam coming out of the snow and upon further investigation, I could see her little black snout.

The Blizzard shut us big time in Coventry. The road was not cleared until late Thursday afternoon, by this huge front loader from the National Guard. I remember there was a driving ban in effect that whole week. We fetched our weekly groceries at the local IGA across from the Anthony Mill. We pulled a sled with a box on it. The store was about three-quarters of a mile from our home. They only let in ten people at a time, and when three people came out, they let another three people in. They had no bread or milk, and no dough to make bread. All they had left was potato hamburger buns, and we got the last package. We also found some powdered milk. The groceries that were available were very weird. I remember one night we all had dry Froot Loops for supper. Crestwood Liquors was open all week and we took the sled there too. Later on, after Jimmy Carter declared a national disaster area, we all were eligible for food stamps. We stood in line for three hours to get forty dollars worth of food stamps... big bucks back then.

Originally posted in the alt.rhode_island newsgroup, February 6, 2003.