Blizzard of 1942: My Memories of Edmonton's Worst Snowstorm, by Nan Morrison

Date: 1942

Around eight o'clock, on the second night following the heavy snow storm, we heard a loud noise outside in the dark. It was a massive grader, ploughing out the snow on the road in front of out home on 110 Avenue. Edmonton simply did not have graders like this! The grader belonged to the Americans who were in Edmonton for the building of the Alaska Highway. 110 Ave. was a paved road extension of Ada Blvd. - from the Cromdale 112 Ave. South road area to 61st street area, in the Highlands and from there, dirt roads into Beverly. We later found out the only reason we were fortunate in getting 110 Ave. snowploughed, was the urgent need for the University Hospital to receive their daily coal deliveries from the Coal Mines in Beverly to heat the hospital. Ada Blvd. and 110 Ave. was the regular route for the delivery of the coal. At that time, 112 Ave. from 76 St. east to 61 St., was gravel, with a single street car track in the middle. Thus the reason of daily using the paved Ada Blvd. road beyond 76 St. to the Beverly Coal Mines.

Mr. and Mrs. Granstrom operated the Virginia Park Greenhouses at the corner of 110 Ave. and 75A Street. Their greenhouses were also heated from coal. After the heavy snowfall, Mr. Granstrom singly handed shovelled the cinder lane from 110 Ave. to 112 Ave. - wide enough to get a truck in - for his coal delivery. He never anticipated having the kindness of the American's snowplough to plough out 110 Ave. His shovelling was all in vain, as, after 110 Ave. was snowploughed out, - he had a route for coal to be delivered to his coal shute!