Return to story

Remembered Christmas tree in Greenland wasn't green at all

November 20, 2008 12:36 am

FROM a uniquely engi- neered Christmas tree in Iceland to hard work keeping horses alive in a blizzard, today I share another round of readers' stories about rough winter weather.

Jay Luther of Stafford County said his most vivid winter memory is from Thule, Greenland, where he was stationed as an Army engineer.

"Although the continent is glacier-covered, snow is scarce and driven by winds at up to 140 miles an hour," he said. "Add to that landscape the harshness of total darkness, because it's only 900 miles from the North Pole."

With no paved roads and houses looking like oversize refrigerators, it became a challenge to decorate with Christmas cheer.

The solution was anything but orthodox.

"First, erect a tall pipe outdoors, steadied with guy wires, then fasten horizontal pipes [branches] every foot or so, at different angles," he said. "Then, hang long strings of colored lights from the top to the ice beneath."

That alone wouldn't get it done.

"Then spray it with water until every metal branch and the trunk are totally covered with ice, generously provided by the mist and minus-35-degree temperatures." he said.

With the lights shining through the ice, it made for his most meaningful Christmas tree ever.

"Even at noon in the total Arctic blackness," he said, "it sent a message to everyone: Christ is born!"

Darlene Gallahan of Spotsylvania County said her toughest winter came with a blizzard in 1994 that put her and her husband through days of extreme efforts to care for 15 or so horses at a farm owned by Jo Ashton on State Route 3 West.

Four of the horses were theirs. To cover their animals' board and make a small profit, the couple cared for all the animals.

"So no matter what the weather, we had to feed them, water them and so on," she said. "As the blizzard and tremendous wind and ice hit us early that morning, we struggled to reach the farm from our home in Leavell's Crossing, leaving home at 4 a.m."

They reached the farm to find its long driveway and fences disappearing under snow drifts up to 10 feet tall.

"We struggled up the driveway to the big barn, alternately digging and falling in the snow to reach the horses," said Gallahan. "They were in stalls, which were covered in snow that had blown through."

The worst news: "The pipes had frozen in the outdoor pumps, so we had to haul water in five-gallon buckets from Ms. Ashton's house with the wind freezing our hands to the handles."

That first day's work got done with the help of several other horse-owners who eventually stopped by.

But with no tractor to clear the snow, the tough slogging was repeated twice a day for almost a week.

"That memory remains as the worst feeling of desperation and fear for the horses and ourselves ever," she said.

Carol Brooks of Spotsylvania County remembers the winter of 1957-58 when hers was a pioneer family in a new community in Vienna.

"We enjoyed a blizzard with snow drifts 6 feet deep and howling winds that would literally blow you away," she said. "To get from one side of the road to the other, we dug tunnels."

Other emergency measures included wearing PJs day and night to stay warm and walking more than a mile to the grocery store when the snow plow made its one pass.

"It was good practice for going to Norway in 1959 for a four-year tour of duty," she said.

Erika Hilliard of Spotsylvania recalls the snow storm in 2003 that left many with sore backs and aching muscles as they freed cars from snow banks.

"Some of the vehicles looked like igloos," she said. "With no cars moving, honking horns or noise in general, it was almost like a ghost town."

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com