BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Forty-nine years ago, the 1977 Blizzard devastated Western New York, bringing our communities to a standstill for days.
President Jimmy Carter declared the storm a federal disaster, killing 29 people.
On Wednesday, WIVB News 4 heard more from community members about their memories of the Blizzard of ’77.
“I remember the snow was higher than the car, like looking out of the car, the snow was higher than the car, like two or three feet higher, which was crazy,” Paul Ivancic said.
Ivancic is a News 4 photographer with 32 years of experience, but was a Courier Express news correspondent in high school. He said he had 40 customers on weekdays and 100 on Sundays, and only missed one day during the blizzard of ’77.
“One day I didn’t make it because the delivery truck couldn’t get through the snow,” Ivancic said. “It’s crazy, it’s snowing so hard … and it never stops.”
We also heard from Bob Chatham of Lancaster, who also worked for the express company. He said they had to be escorted by state troopers to pass the driving ban, which was a fun trip through the city of Buffalo.
“Most of the time I was pushing snow with my bumper. As long as the truck was full, it was fine, once the truck was empty it was a matter of, well, throwing the paper on the paper boy’s box because we didn’t stop,” Chatham said.
Schools were closed for several days.
Senior Eileen Beiter said her high school graduation was delayed because of the Blizzard of ’77.
“You want to graduate from high school and look forward to college and everything, and then you get this snowstorm that stops you in your tracks,” Baiter said. “I remember both my parents were working. My dad is a city firefighter, and he went to work on Thursday, the day before the storm hit, and I didn’t think he would get home until next week.”
Residential areas were buried under snowdrifts.
“You’re just trying to walk because you’re sinking in the snow and you’re just trying to get home, but the snow is too deep,” said Buffalo native Roger Roszurak. “Then we realized we were walking on top of the car with three feet of snow and we could hit the power lines.”
“It’s something I’ve never seen before, something I’ve never seen since,” Chatham said.
Chatham shared how to use aerial lifts and forklifts to clear snow.
“What they would do is push the snow into the corners and load it into dump trucks, but one time he wanted to get a scoop of snow and there was a vehicle carrying it,” he said.
Even with extreme winter weather, the Blizzard of ’77 didn’t stop the City of Neighbors from helping each other.
“Seventy-seven is unforgettable, it’s not a great time, but I think … it helps strengthen community ties and people help each other,” said Buffalo resident Joyce Martin.
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Hope Winter is a journalist and multimedia journalist who has been with the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
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