Cleveland's Blizzard of '78: Heroic trucker, Supermarket sweethearts - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 12:49 AM

Here's an awesome story that I heard on my local news and I found the story on their website, too!

CLEVELAND -- Two Northeast Ohio families will never forget the Blizzard of '78, for completely different reasons.

The family of truck driver Jim Truly looks back at the blizzard's 30th anniversary this weekend with mixed emotions.

Truly survived six days in the blizzard, trapped in the cab of his truck under a 30 foot snowdrift that was nearly half a mile long.

"They didn't think that, you know, he could have survived that long," recalls his widow, Carol. Jim Truly died of natural causes eight years after the blizzard.

"It was terrible, it was just terrible," she says sadly, taking a pause while paging through the yellowed newsclippings of her husband's amazing survival story. "I wish he was still here today."

Jim Truly was hauling steel from Cleveland to Mansfield when the blizzard hit. He had pulled over to help another driver then decided to wait until the heavy snow passed. It never did.

"It was a difficult time for him, a difficult time for the family," says Truly's daughter Susan Pogue, who was a teenager at the time of the Blizzard of '78. She remembers the day well, and wonders how her dad survived in a dark, freezing truck for so many days.

"Either he had some oxygen trapped underneath there, which is hard to believe, or he had some real good guardian angels blowing air in there for him," Pogue figures.

The family can't forget Jim's homecoming to their house on Denison Avenue on Cleveland's West Side. "I know when he came in the door and greeted all of us and we were crying and everything," Carol Truly remembers, "and then he said 'I need a bath!'"

Carol recalls that the rescued trucker asked for applesauce and hot soup. He had survived the blizzard by eating snow and smoking cigarettes.

"When he got hungry he rolled down the window," Carol explains. "He did a lot of praying and a lot of thinking and thought about all of us."

Truly's daughter says her dad slept a lot in the truck and probably didn't realize how much time had passed because he had left his watch at home. It needed a battery.

"Every time he woke up he was just trying to use the CB radio, trying the CB. He rolled the window down, tried to push with his hand and couldn't get through."

Truly's rescue came when someone in the area heard him banging on the inside of his cab with the lead pipe he kept on the floor of the truck. His family says retelling the story of his heroic survival keeps Jim Truly alive in people's memories.

John and Ginni Tuggle of Uniontown, Ohio can't ever forget the Blizzard of '78. She was a cashier at an Akron area IGA Supermarket. He was the manager.

"I called her in to work because I thought she was one person who would get there," remembers John, who wanted to keep the store open in the terrible weather for people who needed essentials.

Ginni answered the call and trudged to the supermarket through the raging blizzard.

"The funny thing is I didn't like him when I first met him," says Ginni. "I really didn't care for this guy but I went in and worked the day of the blizzard."

"We worked together side by side all day long, and we got to know each other," Ginni says.

John Tuggle says there was a reason he called Ginni. "I have to admit she had caught my eye previous to that. And so when it (the blizzard) happened, she was one of the ones I purposely called."

"I arranged that she would be working in close association with me. Had it all planned. Not the weather obviously, but it worked well," smiles John.

It must have worked, as Ginni testifies: "We got married in September and in October I found out I was pregnant."

The Blizzard of '78 had sparked a romance that has lasted 30 years and four children, and still brings quick smiles to the faces of John and Ginni.

"Well it was really cold outside that day," Ginni laughs, "but it was really warm inside that IGA."

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=82079

http://www.wkyc.com/news/gallery/Pho...?storyid=82078

http://www.wkyc.com/news/gallery/Pho...?storyid=81431

Nighthawk76 · 01-26-2008, 12:51 AM

The story about the "Supermarket Sweethearts" is really sweet.

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 12:57 AM

They were so cute on the news together, too.

If you click on the article link, you can read other stories of that day. I had a blast reading them!

The 30th anniversary of that blizzard is tomorrow.

My parents had been married for a little over three years then. My dad's job was about a 45 minute drive away from the apartment they were living at the time - under normal circumstances. He described the drive on the interstate like driving in a cave. There were drifts as high as 15 feet high on either side of the road!!

Nighthawk76 · 01-26-2008, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

They were so cute on the news together, too.

If you click on the article link, you can read other stories of that day. I had a blast reading them!

The 30th anniversary of that blizzard is tomorrow.

My parents had been married for a little over three years then. My dad's job was about a 45 minute drive away from the apartment they were living at the time - under normal circumstances. He described the drive on the interstate like driving in a cave. There were drifts as high as 15 feet high on either side of the road!!

Your mom and dad were married in 1975? Mine were married in 1974. We had quite a bit of snow that year too. My dad told me that it took him something like five hours to drive home from work during the blizzard.

We were living in the city at the time.

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy for Blair

Your mom and dad were married in 1975? Mine were married in 1974. We had quite a bit of snow that year too. My dad told me that it took him something like five hours to drive home from work during the blizzard.

We were living in the city at the time.

My parents were married October 12, 1974.

My mom says she'll never forget how the sky got black as pitch at around 11 am the day of the blizzard.

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 01:25 AM

I enjoyed seeing the footage of that day - seeing the current cars of the day and people shoveling snow wearing plaid bell-bottoms.

Nighthawk76 · 01-26-2008, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I enjoyed seeing the footage of that day - seeing the current cars of the day and people shoveling snow wearing plaid bell-bottoms.

The 70's were a fun decade though. Well, some of the 70's were anyway. Vietnam, Watergate and the energy crisis were certainly not fun.

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy for Blair

The 70's were a fun decade though. Well, some of the 70's were anyway. Vietnam, Watergate and the energy crisis were certainly not fun.

The 1970s sure had some of the best sitcoms ever, too!!

Cactus Jack · 01-26-2008, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

The 1970s sure had some of the best sitcoms ever, too!!

Monika, SEINFELD wanst in the 70s

But yeah ditto, they ahd awesome shows

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMuppetFromtheFutu

Monika, SEINFELD wanst in the 70s

But yeah ditto, they ahd awesome shows

I said SOME of the greatest sitcoms, not all, Jack.

Cactus Jack · 01-26-2008, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I said SOME of the greatest sitcoms, not all, Jack.

I know, and I agreed

Happy Days, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, All in the Family, etc....

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 02:42 PM

My dad didn't come back for hours that day as he worked quite a ways away. My mom, on the other hand, worked just down the road from their apartment. She told me she was worried sick until he finally arrived home safely.

Nighthawk76 · 01-26-2008, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

My dad didn't come back for hours that day as he worked quite a ways away. My mom, on the other hand, worked just down the road from their apartment. She told me she was worried sick until he finally arrived home safely.

The snow was so bad on the street that our apartment was located on, that my dad had to park his car in the Jewel parking lot a block away and walk home.

catlover79 · 01-26-2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy for Blair

The snow was so bad on the street that our apartment was located on, that my dad had to park his car in the Jewel parking lot a block away and walk home.

Ahh, the fun of living in the Midwest in the winter.

Nighthawk76 · 01-26-2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Ahh, the fun of living in the Midwest in the winter.

01-26-2008, 12:49 AM	#1
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Cleveland's Blizzard of '78: Heroic trucker, Supermarket sweethearts Here's an awesome story that I heard on my local news and I found the story on their website, too! CLEVELAND -- Two Northeast Ohio families will never forget the Blizzard of '78, for completely different reasons. The family of truck driver Jim Truly looks back at the blizzard's 30th anniversary this weekend with mixed emotions. Truly survived six days in the blizzard, trapped in the cab of his truck under a 30 foot snowdrift that was nearly half a mile long. "They didn't think that, you know, he could have survived that long," recalls his widow, Carol. Jim Truly died of natural causes eight years after the blizzard. "It was terrible, it was just terrible," she says sadly, taking a pause while paging through the yellowed newsclippings of her husband's amazing survival story. "I wish he was still here today." Jim Truly was hauling steel from Cleveland to Mansfield when the blizzard hit. He had pulled over to help another driver then decided to wait until the heavy snow passed. It never did. "It was a difficult time for him, a difficult time for the family," says Truly's daughter Susan Pogue, who was a teenager at the time of the Blizzard of '78. She remembers the day well, and wonders how her dad survived in a dark, freezing truck for so many days. "Either he had some oxygen trapped underneath there, which is hard to believe, or he had some real good guardian angels blowing air in there for him," Pogue figures. The family can't forget Jim's homecoming to their house on Denison Avenue on Cleveland's West Side. "I know when he came in the door and greeted all of us and we were crying and everything," Carol Truly remembers, "and then he said 'I need a bath!'" Carol recalls that the rescued trucker asked for applesauce and hot soup. He had survived the blizzard by eating snow and smoking cigarettes. "When he got hungry he rolled down the window," Carol explains. "He did a lot of praying and a lot of thinking and thought about all of us." Truly's daughter says her dad slept a lot in the truck and probably didn't realize how much time had passed because he had left his watch at home. It needed a battery. "Every time he woke up he was just trying to use the CB radio, trying the CB. He rolled the window down, tried to push with his hand and couldn't get through." Truly's rescue came when someone in the area heard him banging on the inside of his cab with the lead pipe he kept on the floor of the truck. His family says retelling the story of his heroic survival keeps Jim Truly alive in people's memories. John and Ginni Tuggle of Uniontown, Ohio can't ever forget the Blizzard of '78. She was a cashier at an Akron area IGA Supermarket. He was the manager. "I called her in to work because I thought she was one person who would get there," remembers John, who wanted to keep the store open in the terrible weather for people who needed essentials. Ginni answered the call and trudged to the supermarket through the raging blizzard. "The funny thing is I didn't like him when I first met him," says Ginni. "I really didn't care for this guy but I went in and worked the day of the blizzard." "We worked together side by side all day long, and we got to know each other," Ginni says. John Tuggle says there was a reason he called Ginni. "I have to admit she had caught my eye previous to that. And so when it (the blizzard) happened, she was one of the ones I purposely called." "I arranged that she would be working in close association with me. Had it all planned. Not the weather obviously, but it worked well," smiles John. It must have worked, as Ginni testifies: "We got married in September and in October I found out I was pregnant." The Blizzard of '78 had sparked a romance that has lasted 30 years and four children, and still brings quick smiles to the faces of John and Ginni. "Well it was really cold outside that day," Ginni laughs, "but it was really warm inside that IGA." http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=82079 http://www.wkyc.com/news/gallery/Pho...?storyid=82078 http://www.wkyc.com/news/gallery/Pho...?storyid=81431
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01-26-2008, 12:51 AM	#2
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	The story about the "Supermarket Sweethearts" is really sweet.

01-26-2008, 12:57 AM	#3
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	They were so cute on the news together, too. If you click on the article link, you can read other stories of that day. I had a blast reading them! The 30th anniversary of that blizzard is tomorrow. My parents had been married for a little over three years then. My dad's job was about a 45 minute drive away from the apartment they were living at the time - under normal circumstances. He described the drive on the interstate like driving in a cave. There were drifts as high as 15 feet high on either side of the road!!

01-26-2008, 01:25 AM	#6
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I enjoyed seeing the footage of that day - seeing the current cars of the day and people shoveling snow wearing plaid bell-bottoms.

01-26-2008, 02:42 PM	#12
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	My dad didn't come back for hours that day as he worked quite a ways away. My mom, on the other hand, worked just down the road from their apartment. She told me she was worried sick until he finally arrived home safely.