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SALISBURY HISTORYThe storm lasted two days. It took over a week to removesnow and clear debris. Joseph Thomas led a crew of NationalGuard troops and local crews in the clean-up. Twenty menand six trucks came from Newburyport, working eighteenhours cleaning sand and debris from the beach.Travel on state highways was banned as a state of emergencywas declared by Governor Michael Dukakis. Allschools in the state were closed. 300 U.S. Army troops fromFort Devens and 350 soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolinawere sent to aide the state of Massachusetts. Salisbury,along with the rest of Essex County, was declared amajor disaster area by President Jimmy Carter. This madethe town eligible for federal disaster funds.U.S. Representative Michael Harrington toured PlumIsland, Salisbury Beach and Rings Island as well as up-townSalisbury. Accompanying him was State RepresentativeHenry Walker, Deputy Commander Albert Zabriskie fromthe State Department of Environmental Management,Selectmen Alfred Sargent and Walter Morse and HarmonGuptil of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. These menreported that Salisbury suffered the worst commercial lossand Rockport sustained the most property damage. WalterMorse estimated Salisbury’s damage as 9.2 million dollars.The area had just recovered from two other severe snowstorms. One on January 20, having left over 20 inches ofsnow and winds gusting to 62 miles an hour. It was theworst January storm since 1897.Just previous to this, a severe snow storm hit the area onJanuary 9, with winds of 40 miles-per-hour. Waves and hightides caused flooding at Salisbury Beach leaving sand anddebris covering Broadway. The waves pounding against theshore exposed concrete walls of the swimming pool whichhad been filled in with sand and covered some years before.86