Mixed reaction to March Nor'easter in Cambridge

PUBLISHED by The Cambridge Chronicle

Cambridge —Will Roseliep said he enjoyed a spontaneous frolic in the Nor’easter that hit on Sunday night.

“It was fun and relaxing,” said Roseliep, a 27-year-old originally from Iowa who works at the Harvard Square Starbucks. “I was running and sliding when people weren’t looking.”

Not all Cambridge residents were as happy about the storm that blanketed the Northeast on Monday. Some said the weather dashed their optimism that spring is on its way.


“Everybody’s miserable,” said Cambridge Police Officer Eddie Gillett. “It’s just compounded the problems people are already having.”

Gillett said he was snow blowing his driveway Monday morning when he slipped on a patch of ice, and the blower hit his daughter’s car and scratched it. He said she was already in a bad mood from being in the house all day, and her temper was worse than usual.

Gillett, who is going on vacation to Florida in a few weeksto escape the winter, said he has noticed that people are much happier in warmer weather. Last Friday, with temperatures soaring into the 50s, passersby were smiling and waving all day, he said.

Raffi Bezjian, manager of Leo’s Place in Harvard Square, said he tries to cheer up all his customers by telling them the extra snow will prevent a water shortage in the coming months.

“They all have one thing in common: they complain about the snow,” Bezjian said. “They say March comes in with a bang, and I say February is going out with a bang. It adds spice to their day.”

One of Bezjian’s customers, Danielle Ogles of Boston, said getting up in the morning was harder for her in such snowy weather. Ogles, who works as a medical assistant in Arlington, said she left her car home and took the T to work because of the storm.

For those not used to New England weather, the storm wasn’t so bad.

Adam Smith, 28, of Arlington said he does not mind “one last hurrah” before winter ends. He said he plans to go skiing in New Hampshire next weekend, and he prefers snow when the weather is cold.

“Because I’m new to Boston, I just moved here a couple years ago, I’m not completely bitter about the snow yet,” said Smith, who works at Mass. General Hospital.

Brent Refsland, 27, of Jamaica Plain said he is also new to Boston, but he used to live in Minnesota, where snow is part of daily life. He said he expected a couple more storms to hit the area in March.

“I’m trying to stay positive, standing out here and enjoying my coffee,” said Refsland, a photographer. “Everyone’s always complaining.”