Remembering Beaufort County's white Christmas of 1989
It started to snow Dec. 22, 1989, and didn't stop until three to eight inches of snow coated Beaufort County. The cold weather lingered, leaving the ground coated for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was a fitting end to a year of wild and violent weather.
In March a magnetic storm blew a transformer on one of the main power transmission lines in the HydroQuebec system, which triggered a catastrophic collapse of the entire power grid. Six million people lost electrical power for nine or more hours, primarily in the province of Quebec.
A drought in the northern plains wiped out $1 billion in crops.
Then there was Hurricane Hugo. The Category 4 storm in September devastated the Carolinas with a 20-foot storm surge and severe wind damage, causing $12.1 billion in damage in the Carolinas and killing 57 people in the U.S.
The weather year ended as one might have expected -- with a freak storm that spread white stuff from Wilmington, N.C., to Florida. Power was knocked out on Hilton Head Island and the utility urged people to wait a few minutes to flip on heaters after power was restored to keep the system from overloading. Roads were treacherous and a few bridges closed.
We asked readers to submit photos and stories. It appears few people have forgotten the Lowcountry's white Christmas in 1989, and luckily most of those memories are pleasant.
Here are some of those local memories.
Jeanne and Bob Pearse, Ridgeland
My husband and I were married Dec. 9, 1989, and the ceremony and reception were held on the Adventure boat in the Calibogue Sound. The actual ceremony was to take place on the upper deck, which, of course, didn't happen. December normally has temperatures reaching 80 degrees (experiencing this first-hand for the prior seven years,) and I thought it would be a wonderful way to celebrate with friends and family.
Much to our surprise, the temperatures did not even come close! Needless to say, our guests braved the day by huddling together on a large, metal boat in their winter coats after we scrambled at the last minute to gather space heaters.
We attended a Christmas party during the 1989 storm, and getting around on the island was pretty interesting. Surprisingly, the other party guests all showed up, too, and we had a great time -- 1989 definitely was a memorable year for us as we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year.
Linda Clayton, Hilton Head Island
I call this "How Not to Celebrate Christmas."
Christmas, 1959, Pittsburgh, Pa. My sister and I arrived with our husbands and toddlers to spend the holidays with our parents. On Christmas Eve, as it began to snow, my father left to pick up our younger sister at the airport. He called a while later asking for assistance, so my brother-in-law put on his coat and braved the cold. After 30 minutes and yet another phone call, my husband left to join them. When all four, laughing and full of Christmas cheer, finally walked through the door, they found three sputtering women definitely not full of anything but rage. They had been at Tessaro's Tavern, waiting for the salt trucks to clear the roads.
Christmas 1989 Hilton Head Island. The toddlers of 1959 now had babies of their own. We were all excited to be spending the first Christmas in our new house in Sea Pines. When it began to snow, we raced outside, amazed to see fat flakes falling in the Lowcountry. We bundled up the little ones and let them play in the white stuff. A blazing fire in the fireplace kept our family room cheerful and cozy. It became less cozy when the power went out -- and as the day wore on, definitely colder. We threw logs on the fire and wrapped the kids in quilts.
When my husband said he was going out to find more wood, I honestly believed him. Even when two sons and a son-in-law disappeared, it never occurred to me that history was about to repeat itself. But it did. Perhaps memories of the frosty hostility that greeted him when he returned home 30 years earlier prompted my husband to call. They were at Callahan's watching the football game, he told me cheerfully. But something in my voice made him round up his boys and hustle home. Wise man. And a wonderful white Christmas.
James Davies, Hilton Head Island
I was cross-country skiing on the 12th hole of the Country Club of Hilton Head golf course on the day after the 1989 snowstorm.
My wife tried to get my picture at the top of Mount Hilton Head (28.24 feet above sea level), but slipped and fell on the way up, so no picture.
P.S. My wife's words when she fell were, "I didn't come to Hilton Head for this!"
Shelby Page, Hilton Head Island
At that time we lived in Long Cove. On Saturday morning the snow was everywhere, so I told my wife I'd take pictures, which I did. On Monday after Christmas, I couldn't figure out how to take the film out of the camera, so I took it to the camera shop and the lady said, "Mr. Page, there's no film in this camera," which explains why I can't send you pictures.
Lindy Aragon, Bluffton
Seven-year-old Jesse had mixed feelings about relocating "north" to South Carolina with his parents and older brother in 1989. He had been living in southwest Georgia and was born in Florida. There were the adjustments of a new school, a new home and new friends. Unknown to him were two remarkable weather events that lay ahead. Two weeks after moving to Hilton Head Island, Hurricane Hugo brushed by the island, and the family experienced an unsettling evacuation inland.
In December, Jesse visited Santa at the Shelter Cove Mall and made a request for snow, in addition to the toys that were on his list. Growing up in the southern climate, he had always wished for snow -- just like the snow depicted on his favorite television Christmas shows.
The Friday before Christmas, it became very cold and cloudy. Snowfall began to blanket the island as Jesse was leaving the Main Street movie theater with his brother and some friends. Later that night, he and his father walked to the edge of Spring Lake. Jesse wanted to see if it was frozen and if he could actually walk on it. Magically, it was frozen, and he did briefly walk on the frozen surface of the shallow area under his father's watchful eye. The wind was brisk and the air was frigid, more so than his little denim jacket and bare hands could tolerate. After all, he was a southern boy without a winter wardrobe.
Saturday morning, the family awoke to the beauty of the "Christmas show" snow that Jesse had wished for. The excitement of freshly fallen snow propelled Jesse and his brother out into the Spring Lake neighborhood to play. Jesse was bundled in his BMX racing pants, sweatshirts, the denim jacket, a knitted cap, and socks on his hands for mittens -- an improvised wardrobe for the snow.
As the adults on Hilton Head wrestled with the challenge of driving on icy roads, a huge berm behind the maintenance yard near Spring Lake became a sledding hill for the children. Trash bags and pieces of scrap wood were turned into sleds. Jesse played outside for hours, oblivious to the cold and his wet clothes. Later that night, the family walked through the snowy woods on the bike path to the home of family friends to celebrate Christmas cheer, to warm themselves by the fire, and to recount the events of an extraordinary day.
Jesse's Christmas of 1989, his first on Hilton Head Island, was one that he and all other island residents at that time will never forget. Thank you, Santa, from Jesse.
Shayna Orsen, Hilton Head Island
I was a child, but I do remember the snow storm that hit in '89. We lived in Bridgetown Apartments, and I can recall completely covering the back porch in miniature snowmen. We had just moved back to the island from Oklahoma, where they get 10 feet of snow at times, and I was really upset that I couldn't have a white Christmas. I prayed for days for just a little snow, and my parents just laughed and said it would never happen.
I was really glad someone was listening, even if it wasn't 10 feet of snow. Three inches was good enough for me. When it started snowing, my parents were shocked to say the least. I asked if we were going to get snowed in, like in Oklahoma, and they really doubted it. It made my Christmas extra special that year.
Sandra Lewis Schwab, Bluffton
I was living on Hilton Head and remember it well. I was planning to leave Saturday morning to go to North Carolina for Christmas. Friday night, I was going home and heard the tick, tick of sleet on the windshield but never imagined it would turn into this!
Saturday morning, I called the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office to check on road conditions. Their response was "if you don't have to go anywhere, stay off the road." I asked if the roads were clear and they gave me the same response as the S.C. Highway Patrol and the N.C. Highway Patrol. Needless to say, I stayed put. I think that was the saddest Christmas I ever spent, as I wanted so badly to go home to my family.
The power in my apartment was out when I awoke on Saturday and stayed off until about 8 that night. It was 45 degrees inside. These buildings were just not built to take this kind of weather. Thankfully, I had a friend who allowed me to come stay with her and her family for as long as I needed. They had power and plenty of heat.
Besides the snow, there was a sheet of ice below. When I went to leave Queens Grant to go to my friend's, you could hear the crackle of the ice. I never thought I'd see a palmetto tree in real snow.
I remember that time well and never want to see snow this far south again!
Barbara Appel, Hilton Head Island
Imagine our delight in seeing a white Christmas again. Moving to Hilton Head Island after spending most of a lifetime in Massachusetts, it was difficult to get into the Christmas spirit -- except for 1989.
Fred Yelinek, Beaufort
We lived in Pleasant Point Plantation on Riverview Drive. My family still lives in Beaufort but I have retired to a small city on an island in southeast Asia where there has never been snow in history!
Charlie Fraser, Hilton Head Island
My wife, Linda, and I had just moved back to Hilton Head Island in January 1989 and were living in Lawton Woods. Our son, Elliott, was 2, and we had two sisters as neighbors. They came by bright and early on Dec. 23 and asked to take Elliott out and play in the snow. They had a wonderful time, and Linda and I got an opportunity to get ready for Christmas. The previous night we had friends over, and we had built a roaring fire and watched as the snow fell. It was the only white Christmas for me so far.
Rita Dudley King
Who can forget the snowstorm of 1989? Not only was it an extremely rare occurrence but, with all our family home for the holidays, its arrival Dec. 22 made it a truly magical and memorable Christmas. We may have been lucky in that all our children had arrived safely, my holiday preparations were done, we didn't have to get out in it to drive and we didn't have any loss of power. So we just had fun with it. Lots of fun!
First and foremost was to build a giant, six-foot snowman and then take lots of pictures with it. It is odd to look back at these photos and to know that these kids are now married and in their 30s and 40s with children of their own.
In the 20 years since the blizzard of '89 our family has grown from six to 24 with the addition of two daughters-in-law, two sons-in-law and 14 grandchildren.
Diane Reilley, Hilton Head Island
We lived on the golf course in Hilton Head Plantation at the time and had just had our seventh child. Needless to say, we were busy trying to keep everyone occupied. The snow was a wonderful treat. We grabbed all the cold-weather, mismatched gear we could find and headed outdoors. The kids built their first snowman (maybe two feet tall.) I got out the cookie sheets and transformed them into flying saucers. There was a small mound on the golf course surrounding a sand trap that the kids used as their hill, sorry Country Club. Seeing that little mound would make you laugh, but they thought it was amazing.
Judith Hillis, Hilton Head Island
I was a member of the staff of First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island at the time. One of my duties was to prepare the bulletins for the three Christmas Eve services. We printed several thousand but attendance was thin.
Musicians were supposed to come from Savannah to play in the services, but they had to cancel the trip.
It was lovely and peaceful though to see the swirling snow under the lights outside during the service.
Ernest Bryan, Hilton Head Island
We came out to drive around and look at Hilton Head Island, only to find our car refusing to start. We decided it went into shock finding all this snow down here.
Ann Bennett, Beaufort
The Christmas snow of 1989 was a real shocker. We moved to Pleasant Point Plantation on Lady's Island in June and were not dreaming of eight inches of snow for a white Christmas.
Our son and his wife came to visit, and she needed to do last-minute shopping, so off I drove us on snow-covered roads to Beaufort. It was a beautiful sight, and Bay Street looked so festive.
We had a wonderful Christmas, one I will never forget. Since then, we have seen many magnificent snowfalls, but none more memorable than the snow of the century in beautiful Beaufort by the Sea.
Carolyn Foster, Hilton Head Island
It was our first year on Hilton Head Island, moving from New York. My parents came from Bradenton, Fla., in 10 hours instead of the usual six to spend Christmas with us. It was the first time we ever missed Christmas Eve services. There was no way you could get to church, and they were canceled.
Harold Spencer, Hilton Head Island
I now live back home in New York state. We lived 20 years on Hilton Head Island. I worked at the Island Club, Sea Brook and Sea Pines Plantation.
Betty Hintz, Bluffton
Ahh, the snow of ' 89, I remember it well. My husband and I were driving toward Savannah from the Atlanta airport, where we had dropped our younger son who was flying to France for the holidays when funny spots began to appear on the windshield. We hadn't seen snow in years. Our younger daughter, from the Philadelphia area, was arriving that night, and our older daughter was arriving from upstate New York the following day. The airport in Savannah turned out to be closed, so we headed home, viewing all the cars in the ditch along the road to our home in Bluffton. A message on the answering machine told us our Philly daughter was safely ensconced in a motel near the airport, so off to bed we went.
The next morning, we received a phone call from the New York daughter from the airport in Raleigh; the Savannah airport was closed, no rooms were available anywhere in the Raleigh area, what should she do? My husband told her to try to get on a flight to Atlanta and then come on to Savannah. She phoned back 10 minutes later to report that a friend, Betsy, who had traveled with her from Albany and was going to Melbourne, Fla., was also stranded as that airport had just closed. They were given the same advice; head for Atlanta.
In the meantime, the Philly daughter had phoned in the morning, she too being told to fly to Atlanta. Later in the day, she reported in that she was in Atlanta and had been given a room at a Courtyard motel. When New York daughter phoned to say they were in Atlanta but there were no rooms available, her father told her that her sister had a room at the Courtyard. Imagine younger daughter's surprise when answering a knock at the door she opened it to find her sister and her sister's best friend!
The next morning was mournful. We had invited 15 people in for a Christmas Eve buffet, the power was off, I couldn't bake and it was cold. Even a red fox in our back garden looked dismayed as he surveyed the snow. We had no idea when the girls would arrive but when they phoned, the report was that Betsy managed to get a flight to Melbourne but Savannah was still closed. When asked where they could get to in South Carolina, "Columbia" was the answer. So we ended up picking them up there. Power was finally restored, most everyone made it to our party (although younger daughter had to wear older daughter's clothes as her suitcase didn't make it) and we ended up having a very fun, merry Christmas after all.
Shirley DeHond, Bluffton
I had recently retired, arriving at Rose Hill Plantation shortly after Hurricane Hugo had blown through. Our community was just starting to grow.
As a northerner coming to a semi-tropical climate, the few inches of snow was pretty, certainly not daunting, until I discovered I had frozen water pipes. It seems construction had water lines exposed in the service area. Half a lifetime with property in New England and New York and never a frozen line. Water for early morning coffee was scooped up snow from the backyard.
I turned over a push broom to clear out the drive, calling it my southern snow shovel, and yes, I did build a Santa snowman.
The lagoon at the 13th holes was frozen over.
I know the old (shudder!) Savannah bridge was closed, as was the Hilton Head bridge at one point.
I seem to recall a Savannah IV news clip showing a dump truck with its bed at a 45-degree angle and a worker tossing out shovels full of red Georgia clay on the main streets.
Joyce Pervier, Bluffton
I remember it as a magical few days. We had moved here from Pennsylvania in 1984 and the only time I ever really felt homesick was at the Christmas holidays. This was my reward! The church we attend (in the historic downtown of Savannah) had canceled Christmas Eve services and rescheduled for Christmas Day at 4 p.m. It was a full house.
The day had been sunny, so there was a lot of melting, but by the time we came out at 5:30, the melted snow had turned to ice!
Lots of fender benders. The minister's wife skidded into a fire hydrant. On our way over to Savannah, a lot of cars on U.S. 278 and 170 were in the ditch -- abandoned because they just couldn't cope with the snow.
Since that time, there have been occasions of snow flurries, but never another blanket of this five inches of white stuff.
Ann Jacoby, Hilton Head Island
Ahh, Christmas 1989. I was in 6th grade at HE McCracken Middle School. We were all set to travel to my grandmother's for the Christmas holiday when, magically, snow started to fall on our beautiful little island. I had lived here for three years and had been missing the snow and my days of sledding. We still had the red sled stuffed in the attic because we just couldn't bear to think of no more snow. Much to our surprise, it came in handy that holiday. We canceled our trip for fear of driving over the bridge in the snow. There had been no plans of a holiday meal at our house, so we ate grilled cheese for Christmas dinner. Then we set out on a great adventure of finding a hill to sled down (not the easiest feat when you live on the coast!).
But alas, we found the perfect spot in the back of Hilton Head Plantation on the corner of Royal James. Several other families had similar thoughts of a fun day in the snow. We were all bundled up enjoying the rare occurrence when we noticed a family next to us using their garbage can lid as a sled. We started to chat, and I offered their youngest daughter a ride on my actual sled. Next thing I know, we're watching her dad run into a tree on his makeshift sled! It was one of the best Christmas memories I have. Who would think Santa would really deliver snow to the beach? But the best gift was yet to come.
That other family laughing and enjoying their garbage can rides came to have a very special place in my life. Eleven years after that special Christmas day, I married their oldest son and we now have two beautiful children of our own. How magical it would be to share a snow-filled Christmas day with them. I know I'm asking Santa for a little more snow this year and thanking him for the miracle of love.
Deborah Wiles, Beaufort
Shortly after it began to snow, my daughter, Morgan Shelton, age 5, and I headed to the train station in Yemassee to pick up my mom and stepfather, who were coming from Miami. At this point, I wasn't too worried about driving in the snow even though I never did it before. While we waited for the train, Morgan and I entertained ourselves with Christmas carols, thoughts of Santa Claus, and the dream of a white Christmas -- something neither of us had ever seen. After waiting for what seemed like a very long time I began to get a little nervous. The train was late, the snow was coming down hard, and the heater in my car didn't seem to be working right.
The train finally arrived. My mom was very happy to see us but was definitely not prepared for the cold weather. When you live in Miami, any temperature below 60 degrees is freezing. With the car packed with luggage and presents we headed back to Beaufort. It didn't take long to realize that there was something seriously wrong with the car, the heater was not working at all and the lights were going dim. With nowhere to stop on Old Sheldon Church Road we kept driving. Thank goodness there wasn't any traffic as I could barely see the road. Once we turned on to U.S. 21 things went from bad to worse. The car began to slow down, giving us just enough time to get over before it stopped. By this time Morgan is getting cranky and my mom is sure we are going to freeze to death.
It wasn't long after we stopped that two men (or guardian angels) came to our rescue. They immediately unloaded our car into their van and brought us safely home. We were all very thankful, but they would not take anything in return. They truly demonstrated the spirit of Christmas.
Jean Tanner, Bluffton
I remember my aunt ate Christmas dinner with us, and later that day our son, P.J., had to drive her to the airport in Savannah and the roads were so bad it was the first and only time our 1988 Jeep had to be put in four-wheel drive. That kind of weather is definitely not what we Lowcountry folks are use to driving in! I took videos of the dirt road across from our home and the tree were bent over with ice and snow. It was so quiet and serene because there was no traffic on the highway. It was almost eerie , but really beautiful.
Joanne Stanley, St. Helena Island
Carl Stanley took out his granddaughter, Maegan Owens, who was 6 months old, to experience the snow at Fripp Plantation on St. Helena.
It was my first white Christmas. I had seen snow in Beaufort in 1973, but it was not at Christmas.
Caroline Olden, Hilton Head Island
I rented a store on South Forest Beach Drive for my Swan House Antiques Gallery. I had been in business just a few months. I knew it was going to be cold, so I turned up the heat before I left for the weekend, but the electricity went out. The pipes to the water heater burst in attic and the store was filled with water.
I have lived on the island since 1986, moving from Atlanta.
This story was originally published December 23, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Remembering Beaufort County's white Christmas of 1989."