Remember When: The Energy Crisis

By Janice Lane Palko

Whenever we approach spring, I always breathe a sigh of relief. We’ve survived another winter. Some winters are worse than others. I wasn’t around for the “big snow” of 1950 when nearly 28 inches fell on the area from November 24-26. I do remember the Blizzard of ’93 when more than 23 inches fell on March 13, imperiling the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But the Irish are a hearty lot, and the parade did go on. In 2010, we had Snowmageddon when 21 inches of snow blanketed the region on February 5-6. 

However, there is one winter that stands out in my mind, and it wasn’t because of a snowfall and that was the winter of 1977. 

In 1973, the U.S. experienced fuel shortages when the Arab OPEC members imposed an oil embargo, reducing its supply of oil to America. This led to rising prices, long lines at gas stations, reduced driving speeds, and rationing. I remember people were only allowed to get gas depending on their license plates. Plates ending in an odd number were allowed to purchase gas on a certain day and then the even numbered plates on the next. 

Throughout the ‘70s, the U.S. experienced fuel shortages and high prices. The president at the time was Jimmy Carter, and he encouraged people to reduce their thermostats to 65 degrees during the day and 55 at night, don sweaters, and refrain from putting up Christmas lights. 

However, things intensified in 1977. January of that year was cold, and oil was running low. According to the January 27, 1977, issue of The New York Times by that date:

“Pennsylvania officials calculate that 51,000 workers in the state have been laid off thus far, with more expected to follow when the new, more severe Columbia Gas curtailments are instituted on Feb. 1. On Tuesday the state's Department of Labor and Industry told The Associated Press that unemployment grew by 2,430 because of cold‐related shutdowns. A variety of industries, from steelmakers to pretzel bakers were involved, the state said.”

To preserve our dwindling oil supply, then Gov. Milton Shapp ordered all schools in the Commonwealth to be shutdown. I distinctly remember that day. I was a junior at St. Benedict Academy, and at the end of the day on January 26, our principal came over the PA and announced that by order from Governor Shapp all schools were closing to conserve energy. 

Pandemonium erupted. It was like every student had won the lottery at the same time. Girls were dancing in the hallway and throwing paper in the air like confetti. We took the bus home and didn’t go back to school for two weeks. Since there were no computers back then, there was no “in-home learning.” 

My husband, whom I did not know then, was a senior at Penn State at the time, and PSU was one of the few institutions in the state that was powered by coal, and he still laments that he did not have the mid-winter holiday that the rest of the students across Pennsylvania had. He had to brave the frigid State College temps while walking across campus and shiver in his fraternity house. 

It was a holiday for kids, but looking back now as an adult, it must have been a nightmare for my mom. She was trapped in the house with four kids, and to complicate the situation, my Aunt Kathy, who lived a few blocks away, was at the end of the gas line, and there wasn’t enough gas to heat her house. She had three little girls under the age of seven, and her whole family moved into our game room to keep warm. So, our three-bedroom house had four adults and seven kids under one cramped roof. I remember it as being a fun time, frying doughnuts for the little kids and playing games, but my mom recalls that all she and my aunt did was go to the store, cook and tramp over blankets and wall-to-wall toys.

Winters come and go bringing snow and frigid temps, but thankfully, there has not been another oil shortage like the one in the ‘70s that nearly shutdown and froze out the whole state.