The Sandisfield Times
A Winter Perspective
by Ron Bernard
Published March 1, 2026

image of the Riiska Farm snowstorm in 1968.
Aftermath of the 1968 snowstorm at the Riiska farm.
(Photo: Gene Riiska.)

It's good to remember when winters could be even more severe than the one we're in this year.

For instance, March 10-12, 1968. A Nor'easter delivered a 33-hour Berkshire blizzard that dropped 11 to 19 inches of snow, brought 50-mph winds, and zero visibility. The storm caused "significant disruptions, high absenteeism at work and schools, and dangerous driving conditions."

One who remembers that time is Gene Riiska. Gene grew up on his family's Riiska farm on New Hartford Road (today home of the Sandisfield Orchard). Here is one of Gene's Kodachrome photographs of that time. He said, "I was about 15 then and had to crawl out of a window because our doors were blocked by the snow."

Winter 2026

image of A buried truck.
A buried truck.
(Photo: Richard Migot.)
image of the front of a house.
A Sandisfield front door, shoveled but needs it again.
(Photo: Richard Migot.)
image of a house in New Boston, Sandisfield Road.
New Boston, Sandisfield Road.
(Photo: Larry Dwyer.)
image of mailboxes buried in the snow.
Buried mailboxes.
(Photo: Larry Dwyer.)
image of kids playing in the snow.
Like always, kids like this stuff.
(Photo: Larry Dwyer.)
image of snow hanging over a row of windows.
March 1: A four-foot "glacier," precariously balanced, threatened a row of windows and nervous Cold Spring Road home owners. (Photo: Jean Atwater-Williams.)

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Published March 1, 2026