YESTERYEAR: Winter of 1917-1918

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Winter of 1917-1918

This view of Southeast Second Street was photographed from Main Street, across the street from the Strouse & Bros. store, in the early months of 1918. The men and women are employees of the Evansville Courier, which was located around the corner at 125-127 Main. That winter was one of the most frigid and brutal ever recorded in the Ohio Valley up until that time. In Evansville, a total of nearly 68 inches of snow fell, forcing schools and businesses to close. Transportation became nearly impossible, and when the Ohio River froze, the ice was so hard that pedestrians and wagons could cross over to the other side. A thaw finally set in, and by mid-February, steamboats – still an important mode of transportation – were finally able to leave the city for the first time in two months.

2 COMMENTS

  1. The guy in the fedora is carrying a suspicious package. Roll the snowshoed robot to check it out.

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