Blizzard of 93: Former Times-News employees talk about their historic coverage

This week 31 years ago, the Hendersonville Times-News, which had been in existence since 1871, missed a day of publication for the first time ever — but it couldn't be helped.

The Storm of the Century, which came to be known as the Blizzard of '93, hit the Times-News coverage area (Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties) on March 13, 1993, and the results of the massive storm were devastating. As much as 18 inches of snow was reported in parts of Henderson and Transylvania counties, according to a 1993 Times-News article written by former reporter Benny Smith.

Smith said in the article the snow began falling just after sunset on March 13 and that it continued all through March 14 and into the morning hours of March 15. The Times-News crew back then had to resort to a combined March 14 and March 15 edition due to a power outage at the office, which back then was located on Four Seasons Boulevard across from the Blue Ridge Mall.

Many of the former staff members remember what a challenge it was to provide readers with the most updated information on the storm and to get the paper out. The Times-News didn't have a website in 1993 — just something most readers will remember called "InfoLine," which reporters updated daily over the phone. The staff didn't have the luxury of the internet or social media.

It's now getting closer to spring, which is just now less than a week away. That begs the question ... could a big snow event happen this year before warm weather is here to stay? Doug Outlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina, said chances are slim.

"I was in Athens, Georgia, in the superstorm of '93. We had 3 inches of snow in one hour, and that was it. It was one of just two times I had ever seen a thunder snow. There were lightning strikes, and the snow came down hard for an hour," he said. "Now as far the possibility of anything like that happening before this winter is over is very unlikely, looking at the long-range forecast."

The Blizzard of '93 was a milestone event in the Times-News staff's journalism careers. Below are comments for some of the former employees who were a part of the historic coverage. We start with photographer Rusty Jones, who was out on the streets, capturing photos he knew would be saved forever, including one of a man on a sled being pulled by dogs on Main Street.

Rusty Jones, photographer

It was shocking to wake up that morning and see so much snow. We had waited the previous evening until the copy editing was done and there wasn't an above-average snowfall yet. When I woke the next day I couldn't even see my Honda Civic above the snow.

About 9 a.m. Joy Franklin, then editor, called and said she was on the way to pick me up. We had to be sure and get the next day's paper complete. This was a big deal obviously for the community, and she wanted to make sure we provided as much coverage as possible. She picked me and Benny Smith up, and we would stop on the way to the newsroom to grab a photo when we could. I remember hopping out of that truck into the coldest winds I had ever experienced. It took less than five minutes to freeze up the camera and I wasn't far behind.

I remember the photo of the man with his dogs on Main Street. It was so cold that my Nikon F3 would slow the shutter and then lock up. I would put it under the dryer in the darkroom to thaw it back out. When we saw traffic coming down Four Season Boulevard, I would head out into what we could see of the street and grab a few images, hopefully not freezing until I could get back inside.

I'm not sure how (the paper) got completed ... just great teamwork. Everyone just hopped in and got it done. I can't say enough about how well that newsroom ran. Every day the group there really cared about the community and rose above any challenges.

Joy Franklin, editor

My husband Bob and I had just bought a new Ford F-150, so we had a vehicle that would travel in the snow. The newspaper in those days, it was print, and you had to get the newspaper out every day. Of course we didn't, though, because we didn't have any power to run the press.

We went and picked up enough people who lived in town that we could get the paper out. We got the stories done, the interviews done, the pictures taken, but we couldn't get the paper out because we didn't have power. When we did eventually print it, it was a combined edition.

We ended up transporting the plates for the pages to Spartanburg the next day to get the paper printed.

Harrison Metzger, news reporter

I was working in our Brevard bureau at the time, and I remember Benny and I putting that initial article together on Friday night. We worked by phone and modem, with him in Hendersonville and me in Brevard. I remember it starting to snow as I drove home from the Brevard office that evening.

The next day, Saturday, March 13, the snow fell at a rate of inches per hour all day. Although the weather service had initially issued the blizzard warning for the northern mountains, the blizzard was region wide. The snow was a foot and a half deep across the French Broad River valley and much deeper in the higher mountains. I remember sitting in my house in Mills River and watching the snow blowing sideways in near whiteout conditions outside. Being a native of Georgia, it was the first and only blizzard I had ever seen.

I know emergency responders had a hard time reaching some people who lived back in isolated areas, and I know neighbors looked out for each other and pulled together. Many people lost electricity and it got bitterly cold after the snow stopped. We were extremely fortunate to not lose power at our house.

Amy McGraw, news reporter

I was thinking the other day about the blizzard, writing stories on notebook paper here at home and then reading it over the phone to someone in the newsroom. That was after I got home that day. I got into the paper that morning but had to leave. My mom and stepdad at the time came and got me in his pickup truck. I didn’t think we were gonna make it home.

Jennie Giles, news reporter

The Blizzard of '93 was a mess of course, but compared to other snow and ice events that I have gone through since childhood, it was not anywhere near the worst. What made it unusual was when it occurred, so late in the season when no one was prepared or expecting it.

For some reason I was considered essential enough that Joy (Franklin) and Licia (Gaut-Correll) picked me up and brought me back home. Joy and Licia had vehicles that moved well in the snow. Roads were scraped fairly quickly. I only remember them having to pick me up and bring me home for a couple of days.

Dan Sullivan, sports reporter

It was the only time we missed a publication date in my time working there. There was no local sports to do stories on, other than cancellations. It was all wire stories for our sports sections. I think we all reported in once we could travel. Nobody could get there the first day of the storm. I remember there were huge distribution challenges. It was hard for the carriers to even get the newspapers in the racks, much less home delivery.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Blizzard of 93: Times-News employees recall the challenges of storm