WHEATLAND — Jan. 1, 1949, was a crisp and sunny winter day. The next day, virtually by surprise, the worst blizzard in the human history of this area began to blast the prairie and lasted off and on for almost two months.
Ask anyone in the county who was alive at that time and they can tell some extraordinary stories about their blizzard experiences.
The Platte County Public Library and Platte County Historical Society will present a program Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at the library featuring James Fuller, author of the book “The Wyoming Blizzard of 1949: Surviving the Storm.”

After Fuller became interested and started researching the story of the blizzard, he put together Wyoming PBS documentary “Storm of the Century: Blizzard of ’49,” which earned him national recognition and can be viewed on You Tube. For this program, Fuller used primary sources and interviewed many Wyoming residents about their memories of the blizzard.
Many rural families were stranded for weeks, and thousands of cattle, other livestock and wildlife were horridly impacted by the storm.
Recently Fuller used his wealth of research to complete his book, which will be on sale after his program.
Platte County Historical Society is resuming its regular schedule of monthly meetings, usually held the last Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Platte County Public Library in Wheatland. All programs are free and open to the public.