18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, February 27, 1914: Was badly disappointed today. All week had been enjoying the anticipation of going to a sleighing party this evening, but the reality will never be realized as the thing fell through.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma, I’m so sorry. You were so excited when you got a “bid to a party” last week-end.
Did you cry? I can remember how I cried for hours when a date fell through when I was a teen. It hurts!
What happened? My first thought was that the weather was too warm, and that the snow had melted.
But, I’m not sure—the 27th was a relatively warm day, but there still was snow on the ground.
I found the weather station data for February, 1914 for Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Williamsport is about 20 miles from McEwensville.
On February 27, the high temperature was 46 degrees—but there was still 12 inches of snow on the ground. Williamsport is a little further north than McEwensville, and in a more mountainous area, so the snow cover may have been a little less at McEwensville—but it still seems like there would have been enough for a sleigh ride
Maybe something else happened. . . but what?
If you would like to find old weather station data for other cities and dates, see the following previous post: