Imagine shoveling snow by hand to clear roads and railroads. Such was the case during the winter of 1936 which saw record snowfall in the area. High winds on Tuesday, February 4, 1936 piled snow in the most stupendous drifts. All highways were blocked and railroad service was halted for many hours. The westbound Rock Island passenger train stalled east of Dysart about 3 a.m. Two trainmen walked to Dysart for help. The railroad sent a snowplow from Iowa Falls and all section workers were ordered out. By the time this train reached Traer, there were 34 shovelers aboard. The shovelers cleared the track, and the snow plow pulled the passenger train which was frozen to the track. After spending eight hours in a snowdrift, the 10 passengers onboard lost no time looking for a place to eat when the train reached Dysart.