New book recalls the ‘Big Snow Storm of 1922’

DE PERE – In the recently-released third volume of DePere of Yesteryear, Mary Kay Milquet recalls the storm of February 1922 as “some of the worst in the memories of the oldest residents” where rain, sleet, snow, ice, thunder and lightning paralyzed the area for days.

“If you were old enough to hold a shovel in 1922, you would have been outside removing snow from the walks and roads. During the second week of February 1922, one of the winter’s most prolonged and severe cold snaps enveloped De Pere. A foot of snow blanketed the area on Saturday the 12th, followed by a week of sub-zero temperatures,” she wrote.

“The temperatures warmed a bit, and that Saturday and Sunday, rain mixed with sleet fell, accompanied by thunder and lightning. As the temperature dropped late Sunday, the rain turned to snow, still mixed with sleet, and was again accompanied by thunder and lightning. The snow continued to fall throughout the week; it was considered the worst blizzard ever by Wednesday.

“Road traffic in the area came to a standstill. A streetcar on North Broadway was stopped dead when lightning struck the wire and destroyed the motor.”

Milquet said that the freezing rain left a thick layer on roads and tracks bringing traffic to a standstill and poles and trees snapped under the weight and wind speed.

Volume III follows two already released books of the same name covering De Pere history and also features 24 short stories of early De Pere and the family genealogies of John Arndt, Samuel Baldwin, William Bates, Ellery Clark, John Creviere, John Dousman, John Gittins, Paul Halline, Daniel Hickey, John Heyrman, John Johann, Carl Kubitz, John Kuypers, Joseph Lawton, Lewis Minich, John Nevins, Charles Proctor, Pembroke Proctor, Alfred Remington, Peter Roffers, John M. Smits, John A. Speaker, George F. Steele, Edward Vande Casteele and Herbert I. Wheeler.

The books also includes information on at least 20 known newspapers attributed to De Pere including five in the Dutch language, an in-depth story of De Pere’s cigar makers and 1879 De Pere Mayor E. C. Clark, who moved to De Pere from Winnebago County and was “elected mayor unanimously by all 296 voters.”

For Volume I, Mary Kay (Whitbeck) Milquet and Dan Milquet spent years researching the individuals, families and businesses that helped shape early De Pere.

In Volumes II and III, Mary Kay continues to highlight early De Pere history and families.

For more on Milquet’s books, visit savingyesteryear.com.