One of Baltimore's most unforgettable winter weather episodes brought the city to its knees with a total accumulation of 4 inches of snow and no ice. Several weeks ago, I recalled that incident, headlined "the worst jam in history," using this paper's news accounts. Here are some better versions, in the words of those who trekked home that Friday afternoon on Dec. 14, 1951:
From former Sun sports writer Jim Henneman:
"As a junior in high school, I left the old Calvert Hall, Cathedral and Mulberry, at mid-afternoon, headed for our varsity basketball game that had not been postponed.
"A streetcar I boarded at Park Avenue and Mulberry went less than half a block in an hour. Some people got off and returned with hot coffee. I abandoned that trip, and a couple of us proceeded to begin a walk home to Ednor Gardens behind Memorial Stadium. En route we stopped at the old Poly High School on North Ave. to watch the end of a JV game before continuing the journey.
"There was no movement on the streets - virtually every intersection was blocked by cars that were either stuck or blocked by others. Even by the early evening hours, only shortly after rush hour, many vehicles were simply abandoned in the middle of the streets. Vehicle movement was impossible. I remember how bizarre it was to see so many people walking past empty buses and deserted cars.
"While I remember that the storm wasn't particularly violent, none of us had foul-weather gear but we made the trip without difficulty."
From Sydney King: "I was a director at WBAL-TV and on Friday afternoons I was occupied rehearsing live commercials for a program called Mystery Marquee, which aired on Sunday evenings. Always present was the representative of the New York ad agency whose client sponsored this weekly show. His name was Phil Mathias and he happened to be the son-in-law of Oscar Hammerstein [of Broadway musical fame].
"It was my custom to drive Phil to Penn Station to catch a train back to New York when our rehearsals were finished, and on that fateful day we set out from the WBAL studios at 2610 North Charles for the short drive down to the train station. .... Charles Street was southbound in those days.
"It was pure chaos and the cause was immediately clear. Drivers completely blocked every intersection. Nobody could move in any direction. There was no civility whatsoever and the culprits suffered along with everyone else.
"After I finally dropped my passenger off, I was obliged to continue south on Charles Street all the way to Lexington before I could make a turn and work my way back to the station. The round trip took me more than three hours. The one good thing that came out of this ridiculous mess was a new law that made it illegal for drivers to block an intersection. Amazingly, that seemed to do the trick."
From Diane Lyons: "In 1951, I was a freshman at the Institute of Notre Dame. I lived in Halethorpe and normally took the bus and streetcar. We were dismissed at 2:19 p.m., the beginning of last class. I must have taken a No. 15 streetcar and made my way to Howard Street where I looked for a bus home. All the buses were crammed. I walked north of Hutzler's to the Hess shoe store and finally squeezed in the back door of a bus. Then began the long journey to Halethorpe, the end of the No. 12 bus line. I finally got a seat. My feet were freezing! The big problem was the Wilkens Ave. hill (over the railroad) beyond St. Agnes Hospital. The bus could not manage that climb. When we finally got to my bus stop and I walked a few more blocks home, it was 10 p.m. I will never forget that journey!"
Bob Janssen consulted his 1951 diary and writes: "After work, I stopped on Baltimore Street to buy a pair of overshoes. Then I started walking out the route of the No. 19 streetcar. Then I stopped in a drug store at Harford and Abbottson to rest. There streets were full of comical slipping autos. ... I stopped again to rest at the Montebello carbarn ... hitched a ride with a man going to Bel Air who had chains on his tires. Reached home, Joppa Road, at 7:45 p.m., not too bad, considering."