It is interesting how people did help each other during that winter. Grew up in an area that also had some pretty brutal windstorm snows in the winter. There are quite a few stories about the same care for neighbors and strangers stranded on the road.
I remember this winter quite well.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/summaries_and_publications/winter_storms.html
Quoted from article,
" Jan 10-12, 1975, perhaps one of the worst blizzards and strongest storms. Closed most roads in the state, some for 11 days, 20 ft drifts. One to two feet of snow, train stuck at Willmar, 15,000 head of livestock lost. Many low barometric pressure records set (28.55 at Duluth), winds to 80 mph, storm intensified over the state, 14 people died in blizzard, and 21 more from heart attacks.
Mar 23-24, and Mar 26-29, 1975 blizzards in northern MN. 100 mph winds, 20 ft waves on Lake Superior damaged shoreline properties, zero visibility near Duluth, which received 1 ft of snow from each storm."
We had to put up temporary cattle fences on top of the snow that winter. The drifts were so hard that market ready cattle could walk on them. We had cowpies in the trees 20' off the ground in the spring. The snow was heavy during the spring melt. All branches below cowpie level were stripped off the trees. It pushed the regular fence posts into the ground. We had to go out in the spring to pull wood post/cable fencing out of the ground.
The wind during the January storm was brutal. Had to herd the cattle against the wind into barns because they kept going downwind away from barn protection. Eyelids kept freezing shut from snow melting on eyelashes every time we went outside. We didn't have power for quite some time that winter. We did have an old kerosene stove that we hauled to the house. It would heat one room a bit like the video comments. It took forever to milk the cows without power. Did some milking with vacuum for pulsators running off the intake on an old Farmall tractor. Later in the storm all the milking was by hand because the tractor was buried under the snow.
We did have some fun when the storm was done. It was easy to haul the sleds to the top of the barn and slide down the nice long drifts. Snow forts dug into the snow were solid like buildings. Some were dug with separate rooms.
I don't know how people would deal with storms like that today. They close schools now before it even starts to snow. People angst about how tough it is to handle minor snowfalls without any significant wind.
BTW, never noticed that about the doors in the UP before. It makes sense.
