Think this has been a tough winter? Compared to the winter of 1971 this one has been the proverbial slice of cake.
The city and counties already had 150 inches (380 centimeters) of snow since Dec. 1 when a blizzard whipped by gale-force winds blew in during the overnight hours of March 4 dumping 24 inches (61 centimeters) of snow over several hours.
By early morning the city and counties were at a standstill as plows unable to cope were taken off the streets and roads or abandoned.
Nobody could remember the last time the city’s downtown business section had been closed by a snowstorm. And not just for one day, but two.
Rural communities overnight became isolated ghost towns buried in a sea of snow.
In all, 500 transports and dozens of cars were abandoned on Highway 401 between Morrisburg and the Quebec border after they stalled in five-foot drifts. Snowmobiles were used to rescue stranded drivers and passengers.
Mrs. Earl Brownell had the occupants of nine cars stranded on the Avonmore Road as unexpected guests.
In Morrisburg, the local legion branch became a shelter for 70 people brought from the 401 on convoys of snowmobiles organized by the OPP, 40 of them Montreal high school students travelling by school bus. Dozens more stranded motorists and truckers were put up at motels and in private homes.
Every hotel room in Cornwall was taken by stranded truckers and motorists
It took five days of digging out for the city and district to return to normal, as normal as things could be after one of the worst blizzards to hit the region in memory. Several rural schools were closed for seven days.
Heavy-duty tow trucks were brought in from other parts of Eastern Ontario to assist in the massive Highway 401 clean-up.
With plows of limited use in the city snow-clearing operations, seven bulldozers were employed for two days to lead the way in the largest snow-clearing operation in Cornwall’s history.
Even before the storm hit, the city had blown through its $170,000 snow-removal budget for the year. The storm clean-up was expected to add another $50,000 to the budget deficit.
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The day before the big storm, a breakfast-hour blaze which ripped through a large three-storey frame rooming house at Fourth and Augustus streets (northwest corner) became the city’s deadliest fire since the Rossmore Hotel blaze on April 29, 1909 which claimed 12 lives, four from the same family.
The March 3, 1971 fire which broke out around 7 a.m. left five female residents dead, one an 18-year-old married just a month earlier. Several other residents managed to escape the blaze reported to the fire station 200 yards down the street just as shifts were changing.
Four bodies were removed from the building. A fifth resident died in hospital. One of the residents who escaped the fire was rescued from her second-floor room by firefighters using a ladder.
Fire Chief Lucien Carriere said the four bodies taken from the house were found near their beds. All four he said were overcome by the thick smoke and had no chance to escape. The fire was believed to have started near the front entrance.
It was the city’s largest accidental loss of life since November 1963 when four teen-agers were killed in a car-train collision at a rail crossing on Brookdale Avenue. This was before the overpass was built.
ALSO THIS WEEK IN 1971 – Stormont MPP Fern Guindon was named Ontario tourism minister. … The Jade Garden Restaurant, 25 Second St. E., was celebrating its 22nd anniversary. … CJSS employees Mahlon Clark (chief engineer) and Lyal Nixon (sales supervisor) were honoured for 26 years of service. … Mayor Nick Kaneb said job creation was his priority. However, the city’s high unemployment rate would be the veteran politician’s downfall in the December mayoral election, when he lost to Ed Lumley. … Ald. Roy Brunet called for the creation of a bylaw enforcement officer to inspect city dwellings for unlicensed basement apartments and rooming houses. … At the Kinsmen Music Festival, Louise-Andree Baril, 13, and Joel Derouin, 14, were lauded by the adjudicator for their piano duet which was given a score of 90. … Simon Fraser Centennial Library presented its annual report that showed while membership increased to 32,426 (up 3,322) book circulation dipped to 370,431 from 390,559. … Guy Lafleur was held pointless as Cornwall Royals upset the Quebec Remparts 5-1 at the Water Street Arena. Rookie Blair MacDonald had two goals with Mike Ruest, Gerry Teeple and Mike Boisvenue adding one apiece. The Royals crashed to earth three days later in Quebec City with the Remparts thumping them 15-1. Lafleur scored six goals. … Cornwall Minor Hockey Association atoms defeated Vanier 6-4 with Barry Roundpoint and Ray Bourdon notching two apiece. Georges Levere and Blake Denneny each had one goal.
TRIVIA ANSWER The Lafayette Hotel became the Aardvark. The original name of the hotel was the Runions Carleton.
TRIVIA The Lloyd George Hotel at Pitt and Water streets was named after: 1) A former mayor and his business partner who bought the hotel, 2) Former prime minister of Great Britain, 3) A local doctor who had his office in the hotel, 4) A Canadian prime minister, 5) A Canadian First World War hero.
FACTS’N’FIGURES Cornwall’s busiest arterial routes are Brookdale (14th street to Sara), Marleau (McConnell-Lochiel) and Ninth (Pitt-McConnell). The daily average is 15,000-plus vehicles.
SPORTS STUFF The feeling among Toronto media types is that if the Leafs don’t go past the first round, Mike Babcock is gone and Joel Quenneville is in. Meanwhile, if Columbus doesn’t make the playoffs, John Tortorella is toast. And, Marc Crawford will be part of the Senators’ rebuild.
ONE FINAL THING “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” – Gen. George S. Patton.
