The Hill is bundled up on account of extreme cold this week, making many students ache for the days of lush green lawns and classes held in the sunshine. While winter in Ohio may feel like a slog, a dive into the archives confirms that the College has seen — and survived — its fair share of frigid, snowy seasons. Complete with blizzards and rowdy snowball fights, here are some memorable incidents from winter’s past.

On Jan. 25, 1978, a blizzard referred to on the front page of the Feb. 2 issue of the Collegian as “the most intense in the history of the Midwest” battered Kenyon with multiple feet of snow and hurricane-force winds. Classes were canceled for four days, “the first time this has happened at Kenyon in recent years,” the Collegian reported. As many as 20 trees and several power lines were knocked down, resulting in power outages across Knox County and Ohio more broadly. Employees in Peirce Dining Hall were unable to travel to work, creating a tricky situation for student manager Kevyn Hawke ’78. Hawke received a 6 a.m. phone call informing him that he would be responsible for preparing breakfast. Aided by his friends, Hawke ended up preparing over 11 meals for the Kenyon community — to the relief of cold, hungry students everywhere. 

While the 1978 blizzard was certainly one of the more dramatic winter weather events the College has seen, it was not the first blizzard to bring the Hill to a standstill. 10 years earlier in 1968, the Village of Gambier found its snow-removal equipment (which included bulldozers) buried under approximately two feet of snow. A Jan. 25 issue of the Collegian quoted one local resident as remarking “they’ve got them old tractors — can’t do much of anything.” In spite of its equipment difficulties, though, the Village managed to dig itself out without having to cancel classes.

As Thanksgiving break came to a close in December 1974, some students found themselves stranded by what the Collegian referred to as an “icy rain” that eventually turned into twelve inches of snow “that closed or blocked almost all interstate routes.” Students made their way back to the Hill “sporadically” after spending many hours traveling in grueling conditions. Bill McCown ’78, then in his first year, told the Collegian of his 35-hour drive from Washington, D.C., “traffic would move for five minutes and then stop for a half hour. After being snowed in at a service area on the turnpike I flew a pair of underwear from the car antenna, in surrender to the elements.” Greg Shell ’78 had similar difficulties returning to campus, hitching a ride in the back of a welding truck with friend Fritz Glasser ’78: “Our companions were welding masks, acetylene tanks, and other welding paraphernalia,” he said. “Being the scholars that we are, we risked our lives to reach Kenyon.”

In 1994, the College (now an old pro at weathering harsh winters — pun intended) marked the “coldest temperatures in more than a decade,” according to a Jan. 27 issue of the Collegian. Elsewhere in Knox County, temperatures got as low as minus 36 degrees (a fate we’re luckily avoiding this week), but on campus, the only major disruption was the postponement of several sporting events. Later that same week, temperatures rose into the 30s and 40s — downright balmy compared to the previous days!

Of course, we couldn’t have snowfall on a college campus without a good old-fashioned snowball fight. In 2001, a particularly rowdy evening of festivities ended with a standoff between students and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in six arrests. A 2021 Collegian feature detailed this historic night, writing that Campus Safety officers broke up an unregistered party in the New Apartments shortly after midnight on the weekend of Jan. 27. Rather than turn in for the night, the dispersed party-goers started hurling snowballs at each other — and at College property, including windows. As more and more students joined in the debaucherous fun, Campus Safety contacted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office for assistance. The sight of law enforcement made the snowball fight get even more fierce, and one student was arrested for disorderly conduct. Angered at the apprehension of their classmate, students rushed toward the officers, who eventually used pepper spray in an attempt to contain the crowd. Five more arrests, another round of pepper spray, and one student’s broken hand followed the initial chaos, which did not fully dissipate until 2:30 a.m. 

While we aren’t anticipating quite so much pandemonium this winter, Kenyon’s previous winter experiences reassure us that one thing is for certain: Spring will come around eventually. In the meantime, tie those scarves a little tighter and cross your fingers for a snow day!