IN A CITY THAT ONCE SIZZLED for six solid weeks with nonstop three-digit temperatures, it’s hard to imagine Sergeant Preston of the Yukon trudging up the grassy knoll. We may know more about the Texas Rangers than we do the Northwest Moun-ties, but we can still tell a tale or two about blue northers.
In the winter of 1899, the Trinity River made a nifty skating rink for the local newsboys and bootblacks, and a few foolhardy adventurers even rode out onto the ice-coated tributary with horse and buggy. Sanger Bros, was doing a land office business in “storm rubbers” at 50 cents a pair.
In the midst of the snowstorm that whitewashed the city on Feb. 9 of that year, with the tempera ture hovering around zero, pub lic officials barred “loungers and loafers” from the courthouse, according to newspaper ac counts. Sentries were posted to exclude “modey-looking speci mens.” The unfortunates were relegated to the 15-cent mattress es of Main Street flophouses or all-night saloons where patrons could sidle up to a roaring fire for the price of a nickel beer.
On Feb. 12,1899, the temperature in Dallas plunged another 10 degrees, and somewhere between zero and 10below,Dallas discovered its social conscience. County officials opened the cour thouse day and night, and City Hall approved the delivery of 27 loads of wood to the homes of the poor and financial aid for the city’s washerwomen who couldn’t work without the water. On a dis paraging note, some suspected that the surrounding towns were taking advantage of this benevolent spirit by exporting their own transients to our fair city.
On Jan. 15,1917, Dallas experienced a phenomenal event-a motorized traffic jam. The streets of the city, blanketed with seven inches of snow, were littered with “demoralized” drivers. But the more venturesome took advantage of the technological advancements of the day by hitching their toboggans to the backs of Model Ts.
In 1930, the temperature dove to -3 and White Rock Lake froze over. The harsh winter had no noticeable effect, however, on the popularity of illicit beverages in the city; in January, county officials enforcing Prohibition tallied the destruction of 45 quarts of wine, 1,225 quarts of whiskey, and 3,400 other bottles of beer. Some 10,000 automobile radiators fell victim to the Arctic blast and local fire trucks carried kindling to thaw frozen fire plugs.
A Cotton Bowl Quiz
(with no Dicky Maegle questions)
HAVING LOST ITS SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE AFFILIATION, THE Gorton Bowl game may find a few bol] weevils in its future, but its past is strictly Grade A. How well do you know the Dallas classic?
1. Which Dallas Cowboy nemesis never appeared in a Cotton Bowl encounter?
A. Joe Montana
B. Bart Starr
C. Joe Theismann
D. Terry Bradshaw
2. Who was the only person to be named MVP for two different teams?
3. Who was the first person to appear in the New Year’s Day event as both a player and a coach?
A. Hay den Fry
B. Darrell Royal
C. Ed Hatfield
D. Gene Stallings
4. No Cotton Bowl game was played in 1967, True or False?
5. To avoid the nasty weather that preceded the 1968 game, where did the Alabama squad practice?
6.In the 1942 game, Alabama managed only one first down, but still topped Texas A&M, 29-21. True or False?
7. Who was the future Cowboy luminary who rushed 12 times for -47 yards in the 1964 game?
8. The first game played in the 1930 inauguration of the stadium that would become the Cotton Bowl set a new attendance record of 45,000. Who were the participants?
A. SMU/Notre Dame
B. Texas/Oklahoma
C. Texas A&M/Army
D. Sunset/North Dallas
9. Who is the only Dallas mayor to have appeared in the event?
A. Woodall Rogers
B. Starke Taylor
C. Wes Wise
D. Robert Folsom
10. Which non-Southwest Conference team has appeared most often?
ANSWERS: 1. D, 2. MARTIN RUBY FOR TEXAS A&M IN 1942 AND FOR RANDOLPH FIELD IN 1944, 3. C, 4. TRUE (THE ’67 GAME WAS PLAYED ON DEC, 31, 1966.), 5. THE GRAND BALLROOM OF THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, 6. TRUE., 7. ROGER STAUBACH, 8. D, 9. D, 10. NOTER DAME, SEVEN TIMES
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