The Worst Winter Day in April… Ever!

Old Nelson Home, Oysterville 1875 – By Pat Akehurst

Probably the worst winter in Oysterville’s history began the night of January 1, 1875.  That night, the weather turned sharply cold, and the thermometer hovered at zero.  When morning dawned, parts of the bay were sheets of solid ice, with the oysters embedded within it  As the tide moved in and then out, the oyster-laden ice simply floated out to sea, totally wiping out many beds.  The freezing weather continued for eight long days and nights.

Yesterday morning, as Nyel and I started off for Seattle at 4:30 a.m. for an appointment with Cardiologist Extraordinaire, “Dr. Trusted,” I have to confess that I didn’t give that historic January winter a thought.  And why would I?  It was April, for Heaven’s sakes!  April 12th, to be exact, and more than three weeks into Springtime 2022.  Nearly 150 years after than historic weather event here in Pacific County.

I did note that it was cold in Oysterville — very cold for April.  But still, I was more than a  little surprised when we arrived in South Bend in the midst of what looked like a blizzard.  The road was covered.  The trees were covered.  The windshield wipers were clotting up.  And to make matters worse, it was still dark.  Very, very dark.  At 6:00 a.m. in April, for Heaven’s sake!

I white knuckled it through Raymond and up through the already washed-out and not-yet-repaired road to Montesano.  OMG!  And still it snowed.  And hailed.  And sleeted.  It was slippery underfoot as I dashed into the restroom at the Montesano Quick Stop.

And so it continued… all the way to Olympia.  Did the traffic slow down at all???  Not that you’d notice…  But we didn’t see any accidents or mishaps and we arrived at the UW Medical Center for Nyel’s appointment with ten minutes to spare.  We asked hard questions about the prognosis for Nyel’s future…  The answers were hard, too.

All in all, it was good to get back home yesterday afternoon.  Dorothy was right, you know.  There is no place like home.  Especially if it’s Oysterville!  And even if it’s wintery here in April.

2 Responses to “The Worst Winter Day in April… Ever!”

  1. Deborah Wells says:

    We are still having crazy weather for spring – but love it when the sun does decide to come out! Debbie

  2. Anne Nixon says:

    What a trip, Sydney! And you said the answers from the doctor were “hard too.” Is Nyel getting better? I do hope so, for he’s a dear! Give him a big hug for me. Hope your weather has improved a lot.
    Love, Anne

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