They didn’t close the schools January 12, 1888. Hundreds died in the “Childrens’ Blizzard”.
Good catch.
*125 years ago, deadly ‘Children’s Blizzard’ blasted Minnesota*
“Climate historians are quick to note that the “Children’s Blizzard” — so named because many of the victims were schoolkids trying to make it home — was not the most extreme blizzard ever to strike Minnesota. But 125 years later, it remains the most deadly, due to a tragic swirl of circumstances.”
(snip)
“The children
The most shocking and widely reported deaths were of the schoolchildren. Ten-year-old Johnny Walsh of Avoca, Minn., froze to death trying to find his house. Six children of James Baker froze to death while trying to make it home from school near Chester township, Minnesota. They were found with their arms entwining each other in the snow.
Compiling a solid count of the dead remains difficult 125 years later not only because of spotty records and missing rural newspapers, but also because many settlers’ bodies weren’t found for days or even months.”
(snip)
The loss of human and animal life reverberated in Minnesota for years after the storm. Many survivors wore the physical scars.
“For years afterward, at gatherings of any size in Dakota or Nebraska, there would always be people walking on wooden legs or holding fingerless hands behind their backs or hiding missing ears under hats,” wrote Laskin in “The Children’s Blizzard.”
Yup.
And in 1888 they would have informed the public that school was closed how?