Everyone has a story of driving a car in the middle of a snowstorm, but can you imagine attempting to negotiate the snow in horse and buggy days?

On Feb. 15, 1896, the now out-of-print Westminster newspaper, American Sentinel, carried a snow-related horror story involving "Thomas Martin, who was hauling grain to this place and was returning home, stopped at the post office for his mail, leaving his team standing.

"He was talking to some person when some snow fell from the roof of Mr. T. H. Eckenrode's house, frightening the horses. ...

"He endeavored to check them, but the rein ... broke, throwing him under the wheels of the wagon, which passed over his body, breaking three of his ribs and puncturing one of his lungs."

Of course, this was in the days long before the local volunteer fire departments provided emergency medical services.

"Mr. Martin was at once taken into the drug store of Mr. John McKellip, and a physician immediately called to him."

In another snow story of the decade, on this day in 1899, Carroll County was still reeling from a blizzard that remains one of the top 10 worst storms in our area. The defunct Democratic Advocate published an article about the storm on Feb. 18, 1899:

"Heavy Snow Storm -- Railroads and Public Roads Blockaded -- Westminster Cut Off from Outside Communication -- Deepest Snow for Many Years."

Local historian Joe Getty refers to the winter mayhem as "The Great Arctic Outbreak: The Blizzard of 1899," and observes that the 1899 storm "was similar to our recent storm, because it consisted of two separate storms within a close time frame.

"The first round occurred on Feb. 5 through (Feb.) 8 with over 1 foot of accumulation."

The second wallop happened when "a ferocious four-day storm that began on Saturday, Feb. 11 and continued through Tuesday morning, Feb. 14. ...

"Approximately 25 inches of snow fell on top of the prior foot of snow in the 1899 storm to reach a total accumulation of over 3 feet. The blustery northwest wind pushed the snow into drifts of 8 to 12 feet," according to both Getty and the newspaper account.

To add to the misery, temperatures were in the record-setting sub-zero range; from 12 below zero on Feb. 9; then 20 below zero on Feb. 10, and "from 14 to 27 below" zero on Feb. 11.

Egads. Twenty-seven degrees below zero, blizzard-force winds and snowdrifts up to 12 feet deep?

The paper did report that during the four days of continuous snow and blizzard-force winds beginning Feb. 11, "the cold moderat(ed) somewhat, but the mercury still hover(ed) from about zero to 15 above."

Well, thank goodness for small favors.

As for the situation we're facing in 2010, let me just say: Spring can come anytime now.

When he is not muttering about his hatred of winter, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.

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