Students, parents and teachers heard weather forecasts on Monday, Feb. 10. They began making plans for Tuesday while listening to these forecasts, hoping weather conditions would improve.

The usual communication took place. Telephone calls to friends and neighbors asking questions about school and business closings began as the television and radio broadcasts continued with updates about severe weather in parishes in Northwestern Louisiana.

Rain on Monday night caused drivers to take precautions on the highways into Ferriday and Vidalia. The Concordia Parish Police Jury meeting went on as scheduled. My daughter Alane and I were a few minutes late arriving at the meeting because the rain had been extremely heavy along the levee road. We did not stay at the courthouse to hear the rest of the meeting discussions after the special recognition of local historians. We drove back to Monterey through Ferriday so that we would not be isolated travelers on Louisiana 15.

TV stations in North Louisiana began their announcements of public school closures. We listened Monday night and then waited and watched through Tuesday while school continued for the day.

But the late afternoon brought freezing rain. By dark that evening, it was evident electrical service was going to be lost. That prompted a search for flashlights and candles. The grandchildren rummaged in the closets and found a few candles and had an exciting time lighting and placing them in strategic points in my house.

It was decided everyone would “camp” at Grandma’s house since there were gas space heaters for warmth, and their mobile home, where some of them were living, could only be warmed with the electric central heat.

Rain had turned to ice as it accumulated. Trees were losing limbs with the frozen weight. At 2 a.m., my grandson Dalton and I had heard an extremely loud crash. Unable to view outside at the time, we could only wait until daylight to see. At the daylight hour, I went outside and took pictures. The only remaining old pecan tree at Flowry Mound was on the ground and had fallen into the side of the  shed, missing the lawn mower by only inches.

By that time Wednesday morning, anxiety was building in Concordia residences and was at its peak when an announcement came through the school’s telephone alert notification system. Schools were closed.

Mobile text messages and calls spread the word quickly. It had been a few weeks since the January snow storm had interrupted school attendance, thereby allowing kids to make snow angels at home, ride four wheelers pulling creatively-built sleds, and discover recipes for making snow ice cream.

Although the ground was frozen and slippery, most of the trees were managing to maintain their upward stance while limbs were breaking.

Those of us who had experienced a lengthy snow fall and freeze in the late 1980s in rural Concordia Parish simply watched and waited. We felt grateful for our present circumstances as the electric service was consistent and the water system stable. We talked about how it had been a long time ago, even though the grandchildren were not too interested in hearing about the past.

Back at that time, my family was fortunate to have butane space heaters in our house, as well as a wood-burning heater on the enclosed porch. Snow and freezing temperatures took the electricity away from us for three days.

The kitchen was equipped with an electric oven and cook top, so we had to begin preparing food on the wood-burning heater, after we found cooking utensils that were suitable. Fortunately, we had frozen food stored in a deep freezer. Our water supply came from a well in our yard that was dependent on electricity, and we had no generator, so we had to call upon a neighbor who had a generator and who generously shared with us.

After that survival experience, it was decided a gas burning cook stove would be a good thing to install, in addition to the electric one we already had, for future weather catastrophes.

With the recent onset of ice in 2014, many residents have found modern technology really helped with communication. With cellular phones, talking and text messaging and Facebook posts, we were able to keep up with events, even with power outages occurring. The crashing sound of limbs and trees, accumulation of ice, muddy driveways and scenes along fields and bayous, were all recorded with photographic skill and shared.

Needless to say, it was a relief to learn schools and some businesses continued closures on Thursday. However, my granddaughter Jordan Pecanty did go to work in Jonesville at a pharmacy. She said electricity stayed off for four hours, and customers could not make any purchases because all sales depended on the use of electronic equipment.

By noon on Thursday, traffic was moving smoothly on Louisiana 129. I drove to the Monterey Post Office and was amazed at the broken limbs and fallen trees in yards. But residents had already cranked up their yard tractors and started the massive cleanup!

Parents and grandparents were glad to see school buses moving toward Monterey High School Friday morning. As the thaw was continuous that day and the students assumed their studies at school, Facebook friends persisted in sharing a virtual tour of Southwest Concordia Parish, expressing their relief at returning to normal.

By Saturday, the message was, “Lots of landscaping will be needed!”

Marilyn Campbell works for the Concordia Parish School Board and is also a historian in Concordia Parish.