COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Pat Haws '72 was inside the pool in Warner Palaestra on the afternoon of Jan. 10, 1975.
 
That meant the then-Saint John's University swimming and diving coach hadn't had much opportunity to look at what was going on outside.
 
"There are no windows or anything in there," Haws recalls. "It wasn't until the guys came in for practice that I heard there was a blizzard going on. That's when I went out and looked.
 
"I saw right away that we were in trouble."
 
Indeed, that Friday afternoon marked the start of what would turn into one of the worst blizzards in Minnesota history.
 
It's been referred to as both "The Storm of the Century" and "The Super Bowl Blizzard," as it took place the same weekend 50 years ago that the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers were preparing to square off in Super Bowl IX at Tulane Stadium.
 
According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources records, the storm:
 
•               Was responsible for 35 fatalities across the state – 14 because of the blizzard itself and another 21 from storm-related heart attacks.
 
•               Closed most of the state's roads, some for as long as 11 days.
 
•               Dropped one-to-two feet in most locations, with a high of 27 inches reported at Riverton in Crow Wing County.
 
•               Caused the loss of 15,000 head of livestock.
 
•               Resulted in snow drifts of up to 20 feet.
 
•               Stranded an Amtrak passenger train with 187 on board in Willmar for two nights.
 
The St. Cloud Times reported around 300 people – mostly stranded travelers – took refuge at the city's civic building, while another 350 were put up at the Germain Hotel.
 
According to an account from then SJU President Fr. Michael Blecker, OSB in an edition of the SJU Community Newsletter later that month, the school's campus was snowed in for a couple of days afterward.
 
Haws and his wife Mary Ann lived near the old Municipal Pool in St. Cloud at the time, and when practice concluded that Friday, they attempted to drive home.
 
But they didn't get far.
 
"We put the car in the ditch by the first lake," recalls Mary Ann, who was working in the school's microfilm library. "We had to leave it there and walk back to campus in the storm.
 
"I had decided to wear a dress to work that day, so I ended up doing all of that in only a dress and a winter coat."
 
Mary Ann and Pat remained on campus until Sunday morning, sleeping on the pole vault pits that were being stored under the pool.
 
"It was chaos that weekend," Pat said.
 
"We'd taken the swim team to Florida over the holiday break and we'd just gotten back," Mary Ann added. "I'd gotten the photos developed the day before (the storm started). So that whole weekend, we were showing people photos of us in Florida, picking oranges."
 
"It kept us warm," Pat said with a chuckle.
 
SJU basketball coach Jim Smith was stranded on campus as well, sleeping in his office. His team had been scheduled to play host to Concordia on the night of Saturday, Jan. 11.
 
But that game had to be postponed, much to the chagrin of Cobbers' coach Sonny Gulsvig.
 
"We sure wanted to get that game in Saturday because the St. John's students are on a break (it was actually J-Term)," he told the Fargo Forum. "Now we have to go down there and face the Rat Pack."
 
The game was indeed rescheduled for Jan. 27, when Terry Booth recorded 23 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Johnnies to a 76-72 victory.
 
Before that, though, Smith had to get himself, Pat and Mary Ann off campus when the heavy snowfall finally subsided Sunday morning.
 
"In those days, I was driving an old Thunderbird," Smith remembers. "It was a beautiful car that could really cut through snowdrifts.
 
"I do remember the football game was on and we wanted to get home for that. So I think I drove Pat and I back into St. Cloud that Sunday, and I dropped him off at his house. I can remember plowing through huge snowbanks to get there."
 
The football game was probably not worth rushing home for as the Vikings fell 16-6 – marking the third of their four Super Bowl setbacks.
 
Bearing beverages and snacks, Pat and Mary Ann had trudged about eight blocks down the middle of the snow-packed streets to Pat's brother's house to view the proceedings.
 
"I don't remember a blessed thing about the game that day," Pat said. "I probably blocked it out of my mind because of how it ended up."
 
70 years ago (1965) 
Terry Hartman had a pair of goals as the SJU hockey team opened its season with a 4-1 win at Gustavus Adolphus.

90 years ago (1935)
Earl Meinz scored 10 points in a 30-27 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 8 in Collegeville, then added 15 more in a 39-35 home win over Saint Mary's three days later as the Johnnie basketball season started 2-0 in conference play.
 
Meinz – a World War II veteran who served in North Africa, Italy and Germany – went on to a career as a judge in Central Minnesota before passing away after a battle with illness at age 46 in December 1960.