Snow Memories from MIT Alums
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As the Boston area is blanketed with more than 80 inches of snow, many MIT alumni shared memories from other major snowstorms while students at the 'tute.
On the Association's Facebook page, Mike Harlan '78 recalled Boston being shut down for a full week. “It's the only time I've ever seen or heard of a snowplow being snowed-in, trapped in three to four feet of snow on all sides,” said Harlan.
Rosemary McNaughton '97 remembers the Tennis Bubble collapsing on April Fool’s Day 1997, the first snow day for MIT since 1978. And Aisha Taylor '00 added, “We thought it was an April Fool's Day joke because MIT closed. There's a snowflake on our Brass Rat because of it.”
Other alumni commented on the challenges of riding a unicycle over snow (Pete LaMaster SM '79), a dramatic drag race on the Mass Ave bridge (Dan Swanson '75), and the joys of seeing a Hawaiian roommate playing in the snow for the first time (John Vencill '64, SM '65).
Have an MIT snow story to add? Share it on our Facebook page or in the comments below.
Comments
Edward Barrall
Tue, 02/17/2015 3:44pm
While getting my PhD. in Analytical Chemistry (1961) there were two memorable snow storms. In 1959 a storm started at about 2 PM so that all the autos were on the road. Six inches fell by 6 PM. The trolly busses on Mass Ave. stalled in place for a day and the entire city looked like a used car lot for a week. The subways were closed since the street cars were stranded on the streets above ground. The second one fell on the first day of Spring in 1960. It was a monster and none of the snow plows worked.
george stimmel
Wed, 02/18/2015 5:59am
The oil trucks worked in West Summerville. I never really saw a snowplow in Cambridge.
george stimmel
Wed, 02/18/2015 5:52am
That just proves that global warming, a record was set in 1960 by a mere 26" snowfall. That record didn't stand didn't last for long.
Hank Valcour 56
Tue, 02/17/2015 2:23pm
I don't remember the year but there was only one time in my 4 years at MIT that classes were cancelled because of snow