The Children's Blizzard, David Laskin

The dis-oriented author lives in the Midwest. Recently, we experienced a blizzard that left my family without electricity for two days. My wife had just finished David Laskin's The Children's Blizzard. After our little blizzard, I just had to read it.

The Blizzard of 1888 took everyone by surprise. Some areas experienced temperature drops of 40 degrees in a few hours. The snow and winds combined to reduce visibility to zero. Worst of all, the blizzard rolled through the region on a day that started out with mild weather. It is called the Children's Blizzard because so many of its victims were children. When the weather turned bad many teachers sent their charges home early. Since the day had been mild, most had no headgear and  only light coats. For many, it was a recipe for death.

When my family and I lost power, we could stand only one night. By the second day, we vacated the house (which still had a gas fireplace, running water, a hot food and was 60 degrees) and took refuge in a luxury hotel.

On that fateful day in 1888 — there were no such options.

Laskin tells the tale of the blizzard from several points of view. We hear from the men of the Army Signal Corps who were responsible for predicting the weather. But on a more personal basis, Laskin tells the stories of the individuals, scattered throughout the Midwest who lived through or died in the blizzard.

It is a heart-wrenching tale of the hearty Scandinavian immigrants who settled the region. The stories include children who froze to death clutching and protecting their younger siblings. Teachers, some still teenagers, had to make life and death decisions, stay in their damaged schools or attempt to take their pupils to safety under impossible conditions.

Hardly a family in the region was untouched by the event. In comparison, the little blizzard that left us without power for two days is hardly deserving of the name.

The Children's Blizzard gets 5 of 5 dis-oriented smileys

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