Jones & Thompson Staff Battled "The Big Snow of 1950" to Serve a Family in Need (Updated with Bentleyville Snow Photos)

Bentleyville's Main Street during "The Big Snow" of 1950.

This story should be held until November, but I’m too impatient to wait for the 70^th anniversary of the Great Appalachian Storm of 1950.

For three days, this storm paralyzed the region during Thanksgiving week of 1950. Described as an extra-tropical cyclone / Nor’easter, it "moved through the Eastern United States, causing significant winds, heavy rains east of the Appalachians, and blizzard conditions along the western slopes of the mountain chain," according to Wikipedia.

“In all, the storm impacted 22 states, killing 353, injuring over 160, and creating US$66.7 million in damage (1950 dollars.),” the Wikipedia entry states.

The National Weather Service recorded 27.4 inches of snow in Pittsburgh during this period, with a number of locations reporting as much as 30-40 inches of snow, according to wpxi.com.

It’s no wonder this storm is still referred to as “The Big Snow” of 1950.

While researching the history of the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, Inc., I found an article about our predecessors, the Jones and Thompson Funeral Home in Bentleyville. It describes how Kenneth V. Thompson and five attendants, John Goryl, Dominick Sicchitano, Frank Velchin, Stanley Trasatti, and John Kerns refused to let the storm stop them from doing their job.

The storm, which formed on November 24 and dissipated on the 30th, was raging when Mrs. Nancy D. Gamble, who was 89 and in poor health, died at her daughter’s home in Ginger Hill on Saturday, November 25, 1950. It must have taken Mr. Thompson a while to devise a plan, because he and his staff didn’t leave for Ginger Hill until Sunday, November 26. The news account states that the roads were blocked by snow drifts that ranged from two to 10 feet in depth. And, even though they were guided by a bulldozer 

owned by Patsy Boccabello and operated by Walter Wisniewski, it took the crew 15 hours to make the trip.  We aren’t sure which route they took, but if you made the trip today via Pittsburgh Road / Route 917, it’s about 12 miles round trip and it would take you about 20 minutes to go out and back.

What Mr. Thompson and his staff did during that blizzard is amazing. People died of exposure and injuries during that awful storm, yet these brave men were willing to risk their own lives to tend to a family in need. It’s a dedication that still makes us proud today. 

  

This article was written by Randi Marodi of the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home. To learn more about this heroic act and Mrs. Gamble, please read the attached article, which was published on November 28, 1950, in The Daily Republican of Monongahela. 

These photos of Main Street in Bentleyville during the storm were submitted by Vicki Molesky of Bentleyville.

For more information about the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, Inc., visit

www.thompson-marodi.com

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