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"Imagine being one of twenty children, ages seven to fourteen, stranded in a makeshift school bus for thirty-three hours during the worst blizzard to hit Colorado in more than fifty years. The gripping narrative of Children of the Storm leads you through this haunting experience. The morning of March 26, 1931, began with sixty-degree weather and students excitedly running to board Carl Miller's bus for their routine ride to the Pleasant Hill School. By the time they arrived at the pair of forlorn one-room schoolhouses, it was dark, windy, and cold-obvious signs of a spring snowstorm. Soon after, following the teachers' orders to drive the children to a nearby home for safety, Miller lost his sense of direction in the ensuing whiteout and lodged the bus in a ditch. When rescuers found the survivors a day and a half later, the blizzard had taken its deadly toll. The media avidly pursued the story, and the children became national and international celebrities. Ariana Harner and Clark Secrest have written the first comprehensive account of the tragedy, culling details from interviews, newspaper clippings, and archival documents. This is a tale of media exploitation, false heroism, lifelong heartbreak, and hard-won survival"--
About the author
Ariana Harner formerly wrote and edited for the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado). She received a bachelor of arts from Mount Holyoke College and a master of arts from the University of Denver. Currently, she lives and works in Denver.
Clark Secrest is a retired editor and writer, now residing in Southern California. He graduated from the universities of Denver and Missouri and wrote for the
Denver Post and the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado). He is the author of
Hell's Belles, a crime history of Denver and Colorado.
