Click here for Photos of the NOBTS snow day
Dec. 11, 2008 | By Paul F. South
NEW ORLEANS – An unexpected snowfall blanketed the New Orleans Dec. 11, giving students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary an early Christmas gift in the midst of final exams.
From one end of the campus to the other, students and student families enjoyed the rare snow day at NOBTS. As the children danced among feathery flakes that were transformed into snowmen and ice cream and balls of holiday cheer and Moms whipped up steaming cups of hot cocoa, childlike joy swept the campus.
The snowfall began around 8 a.m. and continued until 10:30 a.m., leaving one and a half to two inches of snow on grassy areas, trees, cars and campus rooftops. According to the city’s newspaper, the Times-Picayune, New Orleans has only experienced measurable snowfall 17 times since 1850. The last snow, with less than an inch of accumulation, came on Dec. 25, 2004.
Doctoral student David Han of South Korea found time to play in the snow before retreating to the warmth of the Hardin Student Center. Han and fellow students Jaeon Yang and Seong Jin Park crowded around a camera, viewing digital snapshots of a Big Easy winter wonderland.
“I saw the white world on campus and I was like a child,” Han said. “I went out and built a snowman with glasses and a tie before I came here. Our campus is beautiful. It’s exciting.”
Victor Grafe, a master of divinity student from New Mexico, said he came to New Orleans in part to dodge winter weather. But his grin exposed a hidden happiness at seeing the campus community enjoy the snow.
“I came to New Orleans to escape the snow in New Mexico and West Texas, but I really enjoy seeing everybody so happy all over the place,” Grafe said.
The snow made Yang, another Korean student, homesick for his home country.
“It reminds me of snow in my country,” he said. “I expect snow like this every year.”
Even as scattered power outages left some in the city in the dark, some area schools closed and flights at Louis Armstrong International Airport delayed, finals continued as scheduled at the seminary.
Even seminary President Chuck Kelley was caught up in the frozen frenzy.
“We will enjoy the unusual weather but keep working to bring this semester to a close,” Kelley wrote in an email to NOBTS employees. “As for me, I am dreaming of a white graduation.”
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Click here for Photos of the NOBTS snow day