The great St. Patrick’s Day blizzard of 1965

By Marlys Hagstrom of Hutchinson

Mom in front of our house on Dupont Avenue in Hector after the street was plowed out taking pictures of our home after the St. Patrick’s Day blizzard of 1965. Contributed photo

Winters in Minnesota can be unpredictable. Not a lot of snow had fallen in the early months of the winter of 1964-1965, but as winter turned the corner in 1965, a series of snowstorms blanketed our area leading to about 45-55 inches of snow on the ground.

The forecast for March 17 called for light snow, but an average of 12 inches fell within 24 hours. During those early March storms, snow fell repeatedly, marked with rising drifts and wind. Snow started that morning after we were all in school in Hector but as the day went on, it snowed heavier and the wind picked up. By then the school would not let any buses take any of the country kids home due to no visibility. Each farm family had a town home/family designated to go to if they could not go home so everyone was accounted for. I was a freshman in high school then. My friend, Bonnie (Frank) Eckerman and her younger sister came to our home to wait out the storm.

As the day progressed, the snow stopped but the wind continued to blow into the next day, March 18. Winds were clocked at 30-75 mph. Snow blew so hard we really couldn’t see what was happening outside our front window.

On March 19, the sky cleared and we went out to see rock hard snow that formed into enormous drifts we could walk on. Behind our home, the snow drifted over my mom’s clothes lines. Later, when the snow melted, one of the iron cross bars was bent from the snow load. Our Studebaker that sat in the driveway next to our house was completely buried. We couldn’t open the front door and had to use the side kitchen door to get out. Most people didn’t have snowblowers then so all the neighbors took to shoveling out each house on the block.

Across Highway 4  from the west side our house, the snow drift went from our home, across the highway, and onto the roof of the then Doris (Franzeen) Johnson house. The snow was so heavy against the front door, it shorted out the doorbell. Behind us, two doors down, one of the town’s barbers, Tom Clancy, had his car parked in front of his house. The neighbors had to dig down with shovels to even find the top of his car! Snow drifts blocked Hwy 4 from the railroad tracks to the north end of town. The drift there was over 20 feet tall. The state had to send in a rotary plow from the north to finally open the highway.

Because of the lower-than-average snow early in the winter, the frost drove deep into the ground. In April, Minnesota got 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain. Temperatures in the later days of March and early April averaged 40-45 degrees. Melting snow had nowhere to go so rivers, ditches, and streams started flooding. Fields looked like lakes and areas of country roads were impassable. In Hector, the field by the old mill ran over Highway 4 and flooded two blocks. No houses had been built there yet, thankfully, but water flooded basements nearby and created quite a mess. The Crow River in Hutchinson rose and covered the main street bridge.

Those of us who experienced this blizzard will never forget it. Few storms since then have equaled its extreme harsh conditions and aftermath. The St. Patty’s Day blizzard will always be remembered.