A Walter truck plowing a road in Windham during the northeaster of 1952. Contributed / Windham Historical Society

In February of 1952, Maine was hit by one of the biggest snowstorms the region has ever seen. Between the 17th and 18th of that month, it is estimated that 25.4 inches of snow fell with drifts piling up as high as 15 feet. On top of the incredible amount of snow that came down, the winds blew wickedly and continually with gusts reaching 65 mph.

People traveling were forced to abandon their cars on roads throughout the state and those lucky enough to be safe and sound in their homes were encouraged to stay put and out of the way of Mother Nature’s wrath.

Children didn’t seem to mind the storm. No school and so much snow they could literally sled out of their second story windows made for fun with stories to last a lifetime. People found themselves shoveling tunnels through the snow rather than their usual pathways, and those fortunate enough to have wood or coal on hand to heat their homes were grateful to have it. Many thanked their lucky stars they had put fruit and vegetables by during the harvest season because in many cases, these were what the family was eating while being confined indoors. Roads were impassable, so the grocery store was out of the question.

Through it all, Mainers showed their resilience and willingness to help each other while the blizzard raged. On the Maine Turnpike where people were forced to leave their cars behind, the Howard Johnson in Kennebunk took them in offering warm coffee and snacks to the many stranded by the elements.

Postal workers were going about delivering mail on horseback or on horse-drawn sleds. Union Station in Portland became a warming center for more than 200 travelers forced to leave their vehicles stranded on Route 1 in Biddeford where a train picked them up and took them to safety. One young grocery store worker who was snowshoeing his way to work made an astounding discovery during his travels when the tip of his snowshoe struck metal and he realized a city bus had been buried beneath the snow.

Haley Pal, a Windham resident and active member of the Windham Historical Society, can be contacted at haleypal@aol.com.

In her book “Northeaster,” Cathie Pelletier describes many such situations that show the grit and spirit of Maine people when faced with a challenge. A young bride determined to meet her sweetheart at the church where they were to be married snowshoed a mile through the storm to get to the church before the groom’s military leave was up. The groom also snowshoed to the church and they were united in marriage under most unusual circumstances.

Elsewhere, residents in one small town organized a “shoveling bee” to enable a local delivery truck to deliver much-needed heating oil to town people. And in Portland, the trusty men in blue assured city residents that no one had been murdered when the wind blew out a department store window and a naked mannequin was catapulted onto the sidewalk.

Here in Windham, we had local heroes of our own. One was young Don Rogers whose father owned a trucking and excavation business in Windham Center. According to a Walter Lunt article that appeared in the “Windham Eagle” in 2022, Rogers recalled plowing “all night and through the next day,” saying it was “the worst storm we ever saw in Windham Center.” One of his favorite memories was when he “freed” Windham Hill residents from the barrier of snow blocking cars from going up and down the hill. When he finally reached the top of Windham Hill in his trusty Walter Snowfighter plow, he was applauded by area residents in snowshoes who had heard the sound of his vehicle steadfastly chugging its way to the rescue.

We haven’t had a storm like this in quite some time, but I would hope that if we did, Windham residents and people throughout the state would again step in to help others in need in any way possible. There may be divisions in our country right now, but I can’t help but believe that if such a disaster struck, we would work in unison. Our party affiliations would melt away. Because after all, we are all still Mainers and Mainers always stick together.