Post looks back at killer heat wave in 1980.... (St. Louis, Mehlville: condo, house)

[MUTGR]

Look Back: Killer heat, 1980 | Buy historic photos & newspaper pages | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I was 13 and don't really remember it, but if the link works, those pictures are very interesting. I was really struck by the pictures of the un-airconditioned wards at the old City Hospital. How miserable would that have been? My family didn't have air-conditioning until 1978, but I can't imagine recovering in a hospital without air conditioning.

Also, the charts showing the number of deaths are really striking and a reminder how dangerous a heat wave can be in STL.

[aragx6]

Heat kills more than any other natural disaster -- more than tornados and lightning strikes and floods and hurricanes. It's serious business -- everyone stay safe!

[aragx6]

And very interesting photos. Thanks for posting!

[MUTGR]

No problem. A little trip down memory lane for some of us. Makes 1980 seem a like a long time ago, which I guess it was!

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

No problem. A little trip down memory lane for some of us. Makes 1980 seem a like a long time ago, which I guess it was!

I remember that well, I had just graduated HS, our air went out, it took almost 2 weeks to fix.
I lived at my aunts pool during the day, it was truly dreadful.

[Go4Gold]

I remember that heat wave well. I remember seeing a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking. Boy was it hot.

[madcapmagishion]

We moved to St Louis in the Spring of 1980, when I was assigned to the Army Personnel Records Center out on Page Ave. Why there I have no clue as my previous assignment was at Ft Polk La. as an Infantry Platoon Leader. But being a good little 1st Lt. I gladly accepted my assignment and reported to St Louis. My wife meanwhile was employed by Western Electric as a purchased product inspector working with Southern Bell, she was able to get a transfer to Southwestern Bell and worked downtown St Louis in a tall black building just north of the Arch. So for the last 3 years we had been living in Louisiana where the temperatures averaged about 103* during the summer days and 90* during the spring and fall and maybe dropped all the way down to 80* in the winter months. So we never really noticed the "Heat Wave." In fact what surprised us more than the heat ever did was just how cold Mo. can get. I had seen snow and ice while attending West Point but my wife had never ever seen it. We had both grown up in Florida "The Sunshine State" (another reason the heat didn't bother us). In fact when I got orders to St Louis we took a week off and drove up there to look for a place to live and scope it out, we stayed at a Holiday Inn down on I-55 in Mehlville I think. It was a beautiful February day about 60* and sunny so that night we drove up to the Hill section of St Louis, and had a great Italian dinner then went home and straight to bed as we were getting up early to go house searching the next morning. OMG it snowed overnight my wife wouldn't leave the room she was just amazed.(she had never seen snow) So I go out by myself hop in the car and drive up 270(did not see another car all day) to a place called Creve Coeur to look at some condo complexes where I had made some appointments for the day. Went to the first place no one there , went to the next place on the list the same, no one there. Went to the last place not expecting anyone because of the snow and someone was there and showed me the condo I brought my wide back the next day and we bought one. The condo's were called WestPort Crossing. We loved living there for the next 2 years, then we moved to Germany. (my wife was used to snow by now, thank God as I was stationed down in the Bavarian Alps...LOL)

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

We moved to St Louis in the Spring of 1980, when I was assigned to the Army Personnel Records Center out on Page Ave. Why there I have no clue as my previous assignment was at Ft Polk La. as an Infantry Platoon Leader. But being a good little 1st Lt. I gladly accepted my assignment and reported to St Louis. My wife meanwhile was employed by Western Electric as a purchased product inspector working with Southern Bell, she was able to get a transfer to Southwestern Bell and worked downtown St Louis in a tall black building just north of the Arch. So for the last 3 years we had been living in Louisiana where the temperatures averaged about 103* during the summer days and 90* during the spring and fall and maybe dropped all the way down to 80* in the winter months. So we never really noticed the "Heat Wave." In fact what surprised us more than the heat ever did was just how cold Mo. can get. I had seen snow and ice while attending West Point but my wife had never ever seen it. We had both grown up in Florida "The Sunshine State" (another reason the heat didn't bother us). In fact when I got orders to St Louis we took a week off and drove up there to look for a place to live and scope it out, we stayed at a Holiday Inn down on I-55 in Mehlville I think. It was a beautiful February day about 60* and sunny so that night we drove up to the Hill section of St Louis, and had a great Italian dinner then went home and straight to bed as we were getting up early to go house searching the next morning. OMG it snowed overnight my wife wouldn't leave the room she was just amazed.(she had never seen snow) So I go out by myself hop in the car and drive up 270(did not see another car all day) to a place called Creve Coeur to look at some condo complexes where I had made some appointments for the day. Went to the first place no one there , went to the next place on the list the same, no one there. Went to the last place not expecting anyone because of the snow and someone was there and showed me the condo I brought my wide back the next day and we bought one. The condo's were called WestPort Crossing. We loved living there for the next 2 years, then we moved to Germany. (my wife was used to snow by now, thank God as I was stationed down in the Bavarian Alps...LOL)

Interesting stories, thanks for sharing. Yeah, I try not to complain much about the heat here. I really can't stand the cold.

[stlcitygirl]

This gives me a new appreciation for my Mother, who would have been pregnant with me at this time, yikes!

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by stlcitygirl

This gives me a new appreciation for my Mother, who would have been pregnant with me at this time, yikes!

That is my nightmare, lol! My aunt had my cousin in late August so she was super pregnant during the worst of summer, but she just hung out in the St. Albans Country Club pool all summer, so it's hard to feel too badly for her!