So, did you hear about the snow we got this week?

The storm of 2010 will claim its place in the record books, but for many North Hills residents, it has prompted memories of major snowstorms gone by, most notably those that arrived Thanksgiving weekend in 1950 and on March 13-14, 1993.

Snow began to fall on the day after Thanksgiving, 1950, and didn't quit until 27.4 inches later. In 1993, a later winter blizzard blew in 23.8 inches of snow.

George Klinzing of Richland remembered the storm of 1950 well: His brother, Jack, was getting married. "The snow had just started and he was able to get married. They even got to their honeymoon, which was up north," he said.

His family lived in Hampton and the day after the wedding, they were snowed in. "I remember skiing to the local store to get supplies," he said, "They just didn't have the equipment to clear the roads like we do now."

He also helped to dig out his neighbors, including a dairy farmer.

June Klinzing lived in Swissvale at the time and was pressed into duty at the department store where she worked. "They asked me to come in because I could walk there," she said. Although she wanted to stay home, her father made her go. "They needed someone to sell boots and gloves. We were a mill town and people needed them," she said.

She remembered the 1993 snow storm well. "George had a broken leg so he couldn't help shovel. We had to get our grandsons to dig us out," she said.

"There are easier ways to get out of shoveling," Mr. Klinzing joked. They also had help this weekend. Mr. Klinzing started with a tractor plow, but it just wasn't big enough to do the job.

It was also a wedding that June Anderson of Hampton remembered about the 1950 storm. A teen living in Etna at the time, her neighbor was getting married that Saturday at All Saints Church.

"There was so much snow that the groom had to walk from Troy Hill," she said. The bride also chose an unusual method of transportation -- by police car. "They didn't know how else to get her there. We walked to the church," Mrs. Anderson said.

Bill Dugan, 80, of Bellevue, remembered the storm of 1950.

"It was so bad, cars just couldn't move and they didn't have the equipment they have today. I had to walk to work," he said.

Retired by 1993, Mr. Dugan wasn't affected as much by the storm that arrived in time to threaten the St. Patrick's Day parade, which went off as planned. But even with improved equipment, he felt the recent storm was the hardest, mainly due to the increase in the number of drivers.

"At least it was on the weekend to give them some time to clear the streets, but it did seem like people were a lot more upset this time that it took a while," Mr. Dugan said.

David Lee, a retiree and longtime resident of Franklin Park, has vivid recollections of the storm of 1950. Sadly, they aren't such happy ones.

A 9-year-old living in Franklin Park, young David was sick at home that day and unable to play outside.

"I remember looking out the bedroom window from the second floor of the house and I could see two feet-plus [of] snow on the roof of our neighbor's house. There was a playground across the street and it had tons of snow. But, not for me," Mr. Lee recalled.

While other children were outside doing what kids do in the snow, David was in the house, sipping ginger ale ... until his trip to the doctor.

The son of a chicken farmer -- his father rented a handful of small farms for his business -- his father's "hired man" was asked to use his car, a Hudson, to transport the 9-year-old to the doctor. "I'll never forget driving down Pennsylvania Avenue in Oakmont. That's a long hill. And we were driving through 10 inches of slush in that big, heavy car," he said.

The overall impression of the day, wiping out just about all other memories, was the sense that he was very excited to see so much snow, and very sad not to be able to play in it.

John Rudolph was only a year old in 1950, but the 1993 storm is etched in his memory. He and his son, Chris, of Rudolph Auto Repair in Richland, spent three days nearly non-stop plowing driveways. "We would work for 18 to 20 hours, go home and sleep for four, then get back on the road," he said.

Since the 1993 snowfall was about five inches more, he thought it was more difficult to get around than the recent snow.

"There were times the snow was coming down so hard during that storm, you could hardly see," he said.

Bob Beale, 88, Richland, remembered shoveling -- a lot of it -- in 1950.

"Our homes were all set on one-acre lots with long, driveways. When it snowed, you had a real problem," he said.

Since it was before snow blowers and other snow removal equipment, Mr. Beale used "muscle power."

He said he thinks people had more fun with the snow back then. "I think they considered it a lark and a chance to spend time with their families. They weren't in such a hurry to get out."

The Rev. Dr. Richard Moreledge, of Richland, earned lots of money during the 1950 storm. Home for Thanksgiving break from Grove City College, he and his roommate shoveled driveways.

"Of course, we didn't have all the modern equipment," he said, "I remember them bringing a bulldozer down the street to remove the snow."

In 1993, he was the minister of Bakerstown Presbyterian Church, but despite the heavy weekend snow, he didn't want to cancel church.

"I got in my four-wheel drive and promptly got stuck," he said.

Unlike 1993, Dr. Moreledge didn't let the snow of 2010 thwart his plans. "I went to the Pitt basketball game Saturday night," he said.

While the media provides more warning for storms now than ever before, Dr. Moreledge isn't sure that is an improvement. "People weren't nearly as anxious about the snow in 1950," he said, "Although I hope we wouldn't get what we had in '50."

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