Retro Blizzard of ’96 Among RFH Friends

Weathering a real storm in 1996 with RFH grad Steph DeSesa.
Weathering a real storm in 1996 with RFH grad Steph DeSesa.

It’s that classic rescue story worth repeating …

Our Retro Pic of the Day takes us back to a blizzard that was true to its word.

What was dubbed The Blizzard of ’96 hit the Rumson-Fair Haven area with full force in early January of 1996. This one lived up to its promise to render everyone in the area immobile.

A state of emergency was issued as the snow piled on and New Jersey was truly shut down this time. The state of emergency happened to take hold in the middle of the funeral of this editor’s mom.

As people were trying to make it off the roads and home or somewhere cozy in time, one RFH grad’s car got stuck at the bottom of a hilly street in Rumson. That RFH grad was Stephanie DeSesa — my best bud from second grade and all through the years.

Steph was making her way from the interrupted service at the funeral home to a mutual friend’s house. She got stuck, had to leave the car and trudge up the hill on Bellevue in Rumson, little Yorkie Sergio in tow, to get reinforcements and, yes, shelter.

What friends saw when they opened their door was priceless — a frozen, snow capped Steph, sense of humor still intact. Steph was a funny woman. Sadly, we lost her at 50 in 2011.

This picture says it all about weathering a real storm, literally chilling out and having fun. My car spun out on the street where I lived, so I never made it there for the best of that blizzard. They were the lucky ones.

Happy blizzard of great memories! The milk and bread don’t matter as much as you think. Remember humor, the good times and keep them thriving and weathering the bad times.

Stay safe for what’s predicted this weekend, all.

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