Families weather snow to visit 'Thon

Despite snow and fog, parents of 'Thon participants made their way to State College to support their own children.

A Thursday night snowfall and heavy fog did not stop families from traveling to visit loved ones participating in the 1997 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

Of the families that were on the road Friday morning, most said they experienced no significant difficulty.

"It slowed travel, but it wasn't a traffic-stopper or anything like that," said Mike McAuliffe, a forecaster for Accu-Weather.

Average accumulation across the state was about three inches, McAuliffe said. University Park received five inches and Pittsburgh got three-and-a-half inches. It started to snow at 9 p.m. Thursday and continued until about 9 a.m. Friday.

"It was dense fog and we couldn't see the side or the center of the road," said Linda Boord. "We were opening the windows to see if we were even on the road."

Boord left her home in the Pittsburgh area Friday evening to support her daughter Erin (senior- kinesiology), one of the marathon dancers.

"I didn't want them to come if it was bad weather, but I wanted them to be here," Erin said.

Travelers who left the Pittsburgh area earlier in the day did not have trouble with fog, but did contend with slush.

"The roads were just wet and sloppy," said Sue Lewis, who came from Indiana, Pa., to see her daughter dance.

Lewis' daughter, Sara (junior-recreation and park management), was concerned about her mother when she learned that snow was expected.

"I was more worried Thursday that the roads were too bad for her to come up on Friday," she said.

Edi and Joe Zentis came from Hermitage to see their daughter, Jennifer (senior-psychology). They arrived at 12:30 a.m. Saturday and stayed all night. They said they had to deal with some fogginess. Jennifer was worried about her parents also, but not just because of any bad weather they might have encountered.

"Dad has a heavy foot," Edi said.