CORNED BEEF CHILI

With the snow falling today and hearing dire predictions of a "blizzard" I am reminded that I have lived through two REAL blizzards. During the Blizzard of 1950, we lived on Myers Road, back in a lane about a quarter mile from the road. My father couldn't get home and had to stay at work. My brothers and I were happy because we were out of school and we had a TV! And then the electricity went off. We didn't care because everything was still fun!

The snow was as high as the fence posts and the boys were digging tunnels, making snow-women and having snowball fights. That was the time a brother dared me to put my tongue on a metal railing! Each time I've seen "The Christmas Story" I think back about how I was dared to put my tongue on the railing. Mother rushed out with hot water and relieved it!

Because of where we lived, we were snowbound for a week!

Of course Mother had to worry about feeding six kids. Thankfully she was very creative. She had run out of fresh meat but she had Spam and canned corned beef to use. We'd had vegetable soup, bean soup, and potato soup--food that "goes a long way"! One day as we sat down for dinner she had prepared Corned Beef Chili; it was like chili but with canned corned beef instead of ground beef. I thought it was wonderful!

For years, when Mother, my brothers and I would reminisce about the blizzard we would always exclaim about the corned beef chili. One day in the 1970s I came home from work and Mother said she'd invited all the family for a special meal--CORNED BEEF CHILI. I sat down with great anticipation. This was possibly the WORST thing I have ever tasted. I ordered pizza for everyone! Norman said, "I always told you it was awful!"

One time we were visiting my brother Bode in Florida and we had a discussion of whether the Blizzard was in 1949 or 1950; Bode and Mother said one year and I said another. It's interesting to see which events help us reach our conclusions. My basis was what grade I was in at school at the time. [We have a saying in our family that if one of us doesn't know something then ONE of us undoubtedly will.]

I said, "I'll settle this--I'll call the other brothers!" Bode, already offended that I would dare to doubt him, said that they wouldn't remember any better than I did! I called Norman and he said, "1950--don't you remember the Blizzard Bowl?" I called Neil and he said, "1950, because that's when we got the TV." I called Kenny and he said, "It was 1950 because it was the weekend of the Ohio State-Michigan game--who could forget that?" Duke said, "Hell, I was three years old, I don't remember anything!"

I gloated, "See--I'm right!" He answered, "You expect me to believe ALL of you?" "Four to one--you must believe us!" He said "I'll go with Duke's answer!"

When I got home I went to the library to get copies of coverage of the blizzard to send to him. Did I fail to mention that we are all bad sports and we all like to gloat?

To see the short video and news report of the Blizzard of 1950, click here.