March 1, 1978

A job well done by Red Cross

      None of us would want to believe the circumstances of the 1978 blizzard but Johnson County Red Cross executive secretary Pat McDaniel had some reliving to do last week.  Like other service agencies that helped bail out refugees caught in the grip of the worst winter weather in Indiana since 1906, the county Red Cross had some paperwork to complete following their concerted efforts last weekend.  You might say the executive secretary, which had been on the job less than six months, had her baptism in snow.  Though she was stranded at her White River Township residence, Mrs. McDaniel put in many hours taking care of Red Cross business over the telephone.  She retreated to her home after her own vehicle became disabled while she was en route to the Franklin shelter.  Now, she and her assistants are in the process of evaluating those efforts.  On paper and in real life, the project appears to have been successful.  A total of 172 refugees from the winter storm and two dogs found shelter at the two Red Cross facilities.  Most of the “occupants” were motorists who were unable to drive because of the blowing snow, or who were rescued from their stranded autos by law enforcement officials and volunteers in four wheel drives.  There were also Johnson County residents who were rescued from their homes because they were out of food or heat.  Thirty volunteers manned the shelter at the Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin where activities were directed by Cindy Cummings with help from Brad and Mary Lou Norton.

         The shelter at the Bargersville Fire Department was staffed by Bargersville firemen and members of their auxiliary.  Mrs. McDaniel said many of those who stayed at the shelters said they enjoyed the stay, in spite of the circumstances that left them stranded there.  “We had nothing but good reports,” she said.  She praised Ms. Cummings who, she noted, got very little sleep during the ordeal.  Incidentally, Ms. Cummings didn’t even turn away the two canines that were rescued with their owners from a traffic accident even though the volunteer is allergic to dogs.  Getting food to their masses was a major concern of the Red Cross volunteers.  They thanked the Mace and Brown groceries in Franklin and Kroger and Preston-Safeway near Greenwood for allowing the Red Cross to charge food at their stores.  McDonald’s in Franklin donated sandwiches to the Franklin shelter.  Volunteers from the Citizens Radio Emergency Southside Team (CREST) took food to hungry families in the Greenwood area via snowmobiles and four wheelers.  Mrs. McDaniel noted that the CREST volunteers had been paying for the food from their own pockets until they were able to contact the Red Cross, who then paid for the food.  Mrs. McDaniel also thanked Haverstick AMC who brought a four wheeler out to the Franklin shelter to take Ms. Cummings to the grocery.  “Without them, we would have had 100 starving people,” she commented.  A Franklin street department vehicle got the snowbound Ms. Cummings out to open the eastside Franklin shelter.  REACT members helped bring stranded motorists to the location.  Franklin police officials also checked in frequently, Mrs. McDaniel said, as did state police officers, who informed the stranded motorists of road conditions.  Hospitality and odds and ends were supplied by the Grace Methodist church minister, and neighbors supplied blankets and sleeping bags.  Mrs. McDaniel also thanked an unidentified plumber who trudged through the blizzard to repair plumbing in the bathroom at the shelter.

         The Bargersville Fire Department members and their wives found food resources for their refugees, and the proprietor of Red’s tavern made his way to Bargersville to open his restaurant and offer food to those at the shelter.  Umbargers provided eggs for the refugees.  Mrs. McDaniel plans to meet with members of the CREST group and other area agencies to look over the activities and make plans for improvement in case the county ever finds itself once again snowbound.  The Johnson County Red Cross and White River Township Volunteer Fire Department are staging an advanced first aid class at the White River Township Fire Station.  So far, less that a half dozen people have signed up for the class.  Ironically, the probable cause for the low attendance is probably also the best reason why citizens should take the classes.  Mrs. McDaniel noted that “now is when they need first aid.”  She noted that in bad weather like the blizzard when people become stranded the basics of first aid might help someone save the life of a friend, neighbor or loved one.  She said if people could even come for part of the course they might learn something that could help them in an emergency.

         Bill Wire of the White River Township Fire Department pointed out that during the last blizzard the fire department couldn’t possibly have made it on time if there had been a life and death situation.  He said it took firemen who live at Wheel Estates two hours to make the short six mile drive to the fire station during the blizzard on January 26.  Fortunately, there were no life and death situations to contend with.  People interested in a certain subject are urged to attend, too.  There are sessions on child birth, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, accidental poisoning and First Aid for accident victims.  On March 20, Sarah Gantz will present a program on sudden infant death syndrome at the station.  The next two sessions will be on CPR.  John Wheeler of the Red Cross is the instructor.  Future sessions are planned for Franklin and Bargersville.  The classes are free.  There has been much praise from rural county residents for the efforts by the Johnson County Highway Department crews following last week’s blizzard.  One rural White River Township resident noted that a snow plow passed his home at 5:20 a.m. last Thursday.  “I hadn’t expected to see one so soon,” he said.  “I was figuring on being snowed in a long time.”  County road crews put in long hours to open the 571 miles of county roads last week.  From the warmth and safety of a home it is sometimes difficult to understand why the pavement is still snow packed or drifted several hours after a snow storm, but during the blizzard county crews were out working around the clock.  Near Nineveh, county crews spent 24 hours on a massive snowdrift that was blocking State Road 144.  Incidentally, the Johnson County Highway Department is not responsible for clearing state or municipal roadways.

 

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