Morreale 1
Nick Morreale
English 15
Dr. Froelich
1/24/09
Surviving 1978
Have you ever wondered what happened in 1978? What were people our age doing at
that time? What events affected the world and left lasting impressions on people? Some
people had their survival skills put to the test while others endangered their own lives to save
others. An entertainment center’s roof collapses only hours after having been filled with
thousands of people enjoying a basketball game. Fortunately the building was empty and
tragedy was avoided. High School seniors were spending their weekends in bars, drinking with
friends and listening to music, whether it a live show or a juke box. One of the best teams in
NHL history makes its way to the top. They have the chance to take home the trophy once
again when put up against the New York Rangers for an intense hockey showdown. For the
North East of The U.S. 1978 was a major year, beginning with tragedy and devastation, ending
with new laws for the young adults and victory for the Canadians.
An event that changed the lives of people forever was the Nor’easter of 1978 that
pummeled New England. Meteorologists in New England had developed reputation of being
inaccurate so the public didn’t take the storm as seriously as they should. Instead of preparing
for bad weather most people went to work and school, treating it like just another snow storm.
The storm’s great power was made obvious by its Hurricane-like winds that reached speeds of
up to 75 mph. The storm also had an eye in the center, like a Hurricane. The blizzard began on
Morreale 2
February 5th and continued for days with reports of over 40 inches of snowfall in some areas.
Many people didn’t make it home from work and were stranded in their cars on highways. The
snow was accumulating at a rate of 3 inches every hour which would lead to the evacuation of
roads by cross country skiers and snowmobilers.
The blizzard took an estimated 99 lives and consumed over 3000 cars and trucks on Rt.
128 in Massachusetts. President Carter brought in the National Guard to help clean up parts of
Rhode Island and the coast of Massachusetts; specific locations declared Federal Disaster Areas
by President Carter. On February 7, 1978 the stormed finally ceased its attack. Thousands of
people were left homeless and had their lives devastated. Families were torn apart, people and
homes were lost, leaving many lives changed forever from that great blizzard of 78’.
Even after the snow stopped falling and it seemed as if New England would be sparred,
the blizzard’s aftermath caused the Hartford Civic Center’s roof to collapse just hours after five
thousand basketball fans had left after the game. Luckily for many people the collapse of the
roof waited until the building was empty to destroy the center. The Hartford Civic Center was
designed for sports entertainment such as basketball and ice hockey. It was also used for
concerts and as a convention center that held such events as car shows and such. The Hartford
Civic Center Coliseum was completed in 1973 in Hartford, Connecticut when the roof was
completed. Prior to its completion a subcontractor ran into a problem when fitting the steel
frame supports. The project manager told the subcontractor to deal with the problem or take
the responsibility for the delayed construction. Instead of fixing the problem to ensure safety
and reliability, the subcontractor cut corners to make the steel panels fit so construction could
Morreale 3
continue. A citizen noticed a large downward deflection in the roof and notified but nothing
was done … “The next year, a citizen expressed concern to the engineers regarding the large
downward deflection he noticed in the arena roof, which he believed to be unsafe. The
engineers and the contractor once again assured the city that everything was fine. (Martin and
Delatte) Years later in January of 1978, the roof collapsed due to the Blizzard in New England.
A three-member team was left to investigate the collapse and they found that the layers of the
roof had been overloaded by a major percentage that the roof could not sustain. Designers and
engineers that relied on computers to make the correct calculations realized that they can’t rely
on technology completely.
With keeping on topic of winter, the 1978 Stanley Cup Finals was a great matchup. It
was between the Montreal Canadians and the New York Rangers. Both teams made it to the
finals after both of these teams beat very skilled teams in the playoffs. The Rangers made it to
the finals after beating a very tough cross town rival the New York Islanders in a 4-2 series that
didn’t leave the city. As for the Canadians, they took on the Boston Bruins, and the series went
to a final game seven where the Canadians took the victory to finish the series 4-3.
When Montreal and New York took the ice for the Stanley Cup, some of the greatest
hockey was played. Both of these teams have had numerous appearances in the playoffs and
have always been known for their tough players and high goal scoring. During all five games of
the Stanley Cup Finals, the winning team scored four goals or more per game. Although the
Rangers took the early lead after the first game held in New York, the Canadians took a
commanding lead and finalized the series by winning the next four games. The Canadians took
home the cup for the third year in a row, and would also win in the following year. The
Morreale 4
Canadians are one of the few teams that won four straight Stanley Cup Finals, and to this day
holds most of the leagues records for most games won and most titles held. Some sports
figures today even think that out of the ten best Stanley Cup finals, the Canadians hold seven of
the ten. That is quite an accomplishment, and the team is still going strong today with a 24-146 record on the year.
Also, if you were a senior in 1978 you most likely were legal to consume and purchase
alcohol. The drinking age was 18 across the country until this year when many states begin to
raise their drinking age, while others remained. The concern of adults and parents was that
high school students were being exposed to alcohol right around the time when they began
driving a vehicle. Being that the drinking age was 18, high school students were able to enjoy
drinking with their friends legally. With being a senior in high school means having a good time
with your friends is the most important thing and being responsible may be completely
forgotten. The argument is this: Does setting a higher drinking age actually decrease the
amount of drinking and driving accidents or not? They thought if they rose the drinking age
they would prevent young adults from dying at the hands of alcohol and being behind the
wheel.
There was much controversy over the drinking age and whether it should be kept at 18
or raised to 21. Personally I believe the drinking age should be lowered back to 18 for a few
reasons. In an interview between two doctors discussing lowering the drinking age, Dr. Hanson
describes an opinion I believe in. He states, “Although the legal purchase age is 21, a majority
of young people under this age consume alcohol, and too many of them do so in an
Morreale 5
irresponsible manner . . . drinking is seen by these youth as an enticing “forbidden fruit,” a
“badge of rebellion against authority,” and a symbol of adulthood.” Basically, since alcohol and
minors has been made into such a major deal, it makes it very desirable to young teens which
can lead to abuse. Alcohol education and lowering of the drinking age can bring about smarter
choice by teens and young adults who wish to drink. No matter what the drinking age is,
people will always be irresponsible with alcohol and driving regardless of age. The United
States is the only country in the world to have the drinking age at 21. It is unfair since at 18
years old in the U.S., males have to register for the Army Reserves without choice. Dr. Hanson
asserts that, “On the other hand, our current prohibition directed against the consumption of
alcohol by young people (who can marry, serve in the military, vote, enter into legal contracts,
and shoulder adult responsibilities) is clearly not working . . . abandon this failed and
demeaning folly and replace it with a proven, realistic, and successful approach to reduce
drinking problems.” With all this controversy over the drinking age it seems that it should be
lowered to 18. If an 18 year old can be shipped off to a foreign country to fight he should be
more than able to have a drink if they please. Drinking and driving will always be an issue with
people in our country, of all ages, the only way to save lives is to educate the young to make
smart decisions in life.
The year of 1978 was filled with tragedy, excitement, and natural disasters. Instead of
our representative state of New York taking home the cup, the Canadians are victorious once
again. A handful of states across the country decided to rise their drinking age to 21, while
others are still 18 years old to legally drink. The controversy over the drinking age brings about
many discussions as to whether or not it should remain 18 and what benefits would it have if it
Morreale 6
were raised. The first month of the year experiences one of the greatest blizzards of all time,
devastating New England and destroying people’s homes and lives. 1978 is a year of mixed
emotions and many events that impact the country greatly.
Morreale 7
Works Cited
"1978–79 NHL season -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 25 Jan. 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978-79_NHL_season>.
“Blizzard of 1978 - 30 Years." National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters. 25 Jan.
2009.
<http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/papers/blizzard78_30yrs/Bliz78NWS_files/frame.htm>.
Hanson, Professor David J. "The Drinking Age Should Be Lowered." Interview with Dr. Ruth Engs. Alcohol
: Problems and Solutions. 1997. 27 Jan. 2009
<http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/YouthIssues/1053520190.html>.
Martin, Rachel, and Norbert J. Delatte. Another Look at Hartford Civic Center Coliseum Collapse.
Hartford Civic Center Collapse. Feb. 2001. University of Alabama at Birmingham Research
Experiences. 26 Jan. 2005
<http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=JPCFEV0000150000010
00031000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal>.
National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters. 24 Jan. 2009
<http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/papers/blizzard78/mainblizzardof78.htm>.
Vigue, Doreen L. "The Blizzard of '78." The Boston Globe [Boston] 6 Feb. 1998. High Beam Research. 26
Jan. 2009 <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8472208.html>.
Morreale 8
Works Consulted
American Decades 1970 - 1979." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 8: 19701979. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 10 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. CIC Penn State
University. 22 Jan. 2009
<http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentSet=EBKS&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&
prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3468302561&eisbn=1-4144-11162&source=gale&userGroupName=psucic&version=1.0>.
"Hartford Civic Center Arena Collapse." Redirection to New School of Engineering Site. 25 Jan. 2009
<http://www.eng.uab.edu/cee/faculty/ndelatte/case_studies_project/Hartford%20Civic%20Cen
ter/hartford.htm#collapse>.