In 78, I was running the South Shore with a 45'er. At noon I was having lunch at the Plaza on Gannet Street in Braintree I was told to bring it home to Seekonk. Not thinking about a blizzard, as Tony said, 4-6 inches they were calling for, I stopped at Ho-Jo's on 24 for coffee. Again, it really wasn't that bad yet. So, along with a few other drivers, we stopped at Friendly's on 44 in Taunton for coffee. When I got back to the terminal, it was really coming down. Backed my trailer into the dock and the dispatcher said to punch out and go home. I had just bought a big ass caddy and started home. Mass 195 West was in good shape. However, in RI it was a mess. I left the terminal in Seekonk at 2 at by a stroke of luck, I got home in Nort Providence, RI at 4 pm. Other Smith's drivers were stuck on 95-195 for three days. Mike, how's that for a Blizzard of 78 tale?
I surely remember the great blizzard of '78! At the time I was living in central Maine and still in elementary school. We got a ton of snow. It was great! Dad worked in Mass. for his brother Frank in Burlington and for DeRosa, Inc. in Woburn and usually came home on the weekends but not that weekend or 2 or 3 more so he could help move snow. A few years later after we moved to Wilmington, Mass. my uncle Leon who lived in Billerica called me up one snowy winter night and asked me to drive his Autocar 10 wheeler to haul snow from Polaroid in Cambridge to the BU bridge and around there. His son Eddie came with me and we had a great time. Wonderful memories. Thanks for this video Mike!
i plowed the blizzard of 78 for kelscot we did sub for town of lexington. started that afternoon never stopped until about 5 or 6 days later. till this day will never forget that storm . i live in conway sc. now but we never forget that time in the loader .
I remember the 78 storm. Only one Meteorologist got it right in predicting the magnitude of the 78 snow storm. He was on Channel 5 (ironically, he was the first to get laid off). All of the other weathermen said that it would be a lot less. I was out of work for a week. Sitting at home. Because I was not allowed to drive from Natick to Watertown. My bobtail FJ-40 75 Toyota Landcruiser was buried up to the roof, going nowhere. 128 was a literal parking lot. Cars were buried up to their roofs. I lived on a dead end road in Natick. Snow plows could not even move the snow. The Natick DPW had to use a front end loader to pick up the snow to move it.
You guys are truly the hero’s. Nobody cares about it but I got nothing but respect for you guys. My uncle used to run a salter and sander in the early 70’s here in southwestern Ontario. He did that for decades when everyone was at home collecting pogie, he was out there busting his ass in the frigid cold. He had his own dump trucks he would run construction and road paving during the warm weather. I used to ride with him every chance I got. I first learned to drive a 80Ford LNT 8000 with a 3208 and a 13spd.. I love my Fords!
@@TheBostonTrucker supposed to say videos, not video as if to say your videos are fantastic. I just finished this one and it was great. Then poor kids are gonna have school now🤣
Winter of 78 was fun for us, I guess it's because we were not out fighting the bear like our parents. We had a gas in the snow. Mike thank you and your compadres for the work that you do. Enjoyed the video. Stay safe my friend. God bless.
We here in Hudson Valley NY got 14 inches Saturday night into Sunday afternoon. Funny how the NYC Weatherman were predicting snow starting @ 2:00 when it actually started around 8:30 pm. Thanks Michael for 'Boston Trucker' video content. We all learn so much how multi talented you are. Peace
I remember those days. I could hear the trucks, loader, days after we finished plowing…I slept, hour here and there, many a night in a loader or dump truck. We didn’t plow roads, just commercial, industrial lots. We had a few hospitals, apartment buildings and churches as well. Thanks for the video.
Mike, I had photos from that storm in 78 at the breakers " in Marshfield and the waves were crashing over the concrete barriers and freezing to it and it grew too 8 or more feet high in the shape of a frozon curled wave into the parking lot at Charlie's clam shack" I was 28 years old 😅
Tony and Teddy remembering the blizzard just nails home the best advice I was ever given “Open your ears, and shut your mouth” as a 32 yr old 1 year into his professional driving career I couldn’t have lucked out any better by finding your videos.I’ve learned a ton of stuff from you, it also doesn’t hurt to get spoiled being able to listen to anything these guys have to say!
For a Waltham boy who lived the blizzard by shoveling with my friend Chryel West and making $$ Bank this episode was awesome bro.Great job Mike, AC and as Micky Olivo used to call him ''Ted Ah". Oh the memories , Charlie Manero ,Eldin Hemphill from Bear Hill ,as a young buck ridin shotgun with cousin Fred Dubie I was introduced to the who's who in our home town.Great episode Mike , thank you. Unit 6 , Unit 7 and the general which would get wrecked.👍🙏🇺🇸
I looked at pictures on line of the blizzard of 78. Pretty crazy. Cars were stuck on the interstate 5 days later! I won't complain when I'm shoveling 2" this year. Just when the plow truck covers my driveway after clearing it.
Wow great video Iam the same age as the two fellers in the donut shop very interesting. I have lived in west central Montana all my life the blizzard of 78
I was nine but my dad and uncle plowed around Boston for a week as they said. He did not come home for the first 4 days and it took the city of Somerville 5 days to send a big 4.5 yard loader down our street to clear a lane. We lost the week of school and the week after was February vacation 😃
The storm of 78 was when i saw & heard a lot of the beast salvage yards holds now, truck drivers was coming from every where, i saw a 977 cat front end loader moving snow in roxbury
In '78 I was stationed on the DD-876 in Portland. Originally from Montreal area so I know what sloppy snow is like. Had to walk to school on the drifts.
I spent 2 weeks on active duty. with the 101st Engineers of the Massachusetts National Guard. We used our heavy equipment to help clear out cities and towns all over eastern Massachusetts
I wasn't even born yet but my father was living in sutton MA and he told me stories of how the snow was so deep at there front door they had to dig a ramp to get out and go dig out there snowmobiles he was 15 at the time and him and my uncle were riding the snowmobiles all around town till the roads were cleared they were some of the only people out riding up and down some of the main streets he said it was fun but took days before everything opened back up they burned wood so they were okay as far as heat and food now that i run loader and have a class A i wouldn't mind a storm like that all take that $$$ in the loader for days and probably snow removal sign me up!
Hey Mike if you take rubbing alcohol and a micro fiber towel and clean all your windows with it you'll get a streak free view with out using your wipers. It looks cold though 🥶I was 9 in 78 pushing my Tonka plow around the yard. happy trails buddy
The Blizzard of 78, I floated a loader. Allis Chalmers 644 from Ottawa Ontario Canada to a town near Boston MA. I do not remember the name of the community. There was also about a dozen dump trucks also from Ottawa, we worked around that town for a week. The town provided us with motel rooms and meals. It was a great time for us,we were very well treated.
I was lucky in 78 never went further north than metro ny But I did a lot of Boston area in 2015 with all the snow farms and you could barely get around the city streets with a condo pulling a 53 don’t wanna do that anymore now I see snow ❄️ I don’t go 😅
We moved to Massachusetts in the fall of 96, and our neighbor across the street had 10 foot 2 X 2’s painted orange along the edge of his driveway. I asked why the sticks were so tall, and he said they had 110 inches of snow the previous winter. I went into the house and said to my wife that we were getting in the car to go buy a snowthrower. We did and I did not use that darn machine at all during the winter of 96/97. Tom
Why dont you guys run Monrow underbody scraper blades? Thats what we use in Michigan, you can take care of at least 10''of snow with them. Also you should run with your engine fan on manual while caring a front plow.
Slightly confused as to why you guys are plowing/ sanding municipal streets? Perhaps Cardillo contracts out to certain municipalities? Here in NY State local towns/ villages/ and also the State DOT takes care of things. Great show Mike!!
Oh, ok...well that explains things! Means more work for all you contractor companies up there! Thanks for the answer, and as I said great content Mike!@@TheBostonTrucker
