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I can remember getting a day or two off due to cold every few years, all the way back to the 1960s. I grew up in Michigan. I'll have to look up the year -- 1968? -- but it seems like we had a -50 chill factor with some howling winds on January that gave us whiteout conditions for several days.
It never happens where I grew up (much further north). We had one closed campus day in the mid-1990s where I went to school in Minnesota, and it made the news because it was the first time in 30 years.
It's pretty new. I started kindergarten in 1965 (Northern New Jersey) and I cannot remember school ever closing for "cold weather" without snow.
And I never heard of "2 hour delay" until I had kids and they started school. Today all the schools in my county (Pocono Mountains, PA) have a 2-hour delay due to cold weather. It was +3F at my house this morning.
During one of the Energy Crises (late 70's, I think) I recall hearing of New York City schools closing for a week "to save on heating costs". But that's not the same as closing because cold weather is dangerous.
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
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Originally Posted by jtab4994
It's pretty new. I started kindergarten in 1965 (Northern New Jersey) and I cannot remember school ever closing for "cold weather" without snow.
And I never heard of "2 hour delay" until I had kids and they started school. Today all the schools in my county (Pocono Mountains, PA) have a 2-hour delay due to cold weather. It was +3F at my house this morning.
During one of the Energy Crises (late 70's, I think) I recall hearing of New York City schools closing for a week "to save on heating costs". But that's not the same as closing because cold weather is dangerous.
I don't remember closing for cold in Michigan EVER...I graduated in 1978 and we had the Great Blizzard that year and have memories of pushing my car out of knee high drifts trying to get home from school We probably got one day off....last year in Michigan they were closing BEFORE the projected snow ever hit..the media had everyone scared about BREAD and MILK and how bad it as going to be and then it never did materialize....they used to be pretty stingy with days off in the 60s and 70s...it was a rare treat school was closed.... They have these 2 hr delays in Tennessee too..never heard that till we moved down here either...
In Ohio during the '78 blizzard, we had so much time off from school that we ended up attending until the end of June, and as I recall, the state waived a few days for us.
I don't remember closing for cold in Michigan EVER...I graduated in 1978 and we had the Great Blizzard that year and have memories of pushing my car out of knee high drifts trying to get home from school We probably got one day off....last year in Michigan they were closing BEFORE the projected snow ever hit..the media had everyone scared about BREAD and MILK and how bad it as going to be and then it never did materialize....they used to be pretty stingy with days off in the 60s and 70s...it was a rare treat school was closed.... They have these 2 hr delays in Tennessee too..never heard that till we moved down here either...
Seriously, people's memories don't hold up to the facts - western Michigan schools all closed during the blizzard. It may have been a county by county or district by district decision though.
Local schools were closed for more than a week and the roofs of four local businesses – Meijer’s Thrifty Acres, Muskegon Hardware & Supply Co., American Store Equipment and Nichols Paper Co. – collapsed under the weight of the near record snowfall.
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Statewide, the storm claimed 19 lives, stranded 15,000 travelers and cut power to 400,000 homes.
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All schools and government bodies in Muskegon, Oceana and Ottawa counties were reported closed this morning.
Seriously, people's memories don't hold up to the facts - western Michigan schools all closed during the blizzard. It may have been a county by county or district by district decision though.
Thank you. I do remember the schools closing for many, many days during that time period. Every year after, school kids across the Midwest would pray for another winter like the one of '78.
The schools where I lived closed for the day. They sent all the parents an e-mail. Evidently buses wouldn't start so they canceled school (originally we were two hours delayed due to ice).
Here's the e-mail they sent
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The decision to change from a two hour delayed opening to an all day closing for schools was made today because, as our bus drivers reported to work, it was evident that many of our buses would not start in this morning’s cold weather. We did not want students waiting in this cold for buses that may be running late because engines wouldn’t start. In addition, the refreeze of snow and ice on residential streets and sidewalks also made walking and travel treacherous. We understand the change to an all day closing creates problems for many, particularly our SACC families, but we believe this decision is best for our students. Thank you for your support and understanding.
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