Weather

February 10. 2013 10:16PM

In NH, big snowstorm translating to cold, hard cash for some

By LARISSA MULKERN
Special to the Union Leader

Cory Howe of Howe Two Landscaping clears the sidewalks at the Paul School in Sanbornville on Sunday following the Blizzard of 2013. (LARISSA MULKERN PHOTO)

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With shovels, snow plow trucks, snow blowers and front-end loaders at the ready, residents took the Blizzard of 2013 in stride as cleanup continued.

On a bright Sunday afternoon, Nicole and Cory Howe of Howe Two Landscaping of Wakefield and two crew members spent hours clearing the Paul School parking lot, driveways and paths using the company's snow blowers and front-end loader, as well as good, old-fashioned shovels and muscle.

"Cory's been out most of Friday and Saturday," Nicole Howe said.

It was a long weekend for snow clean-up crews, but after last year's nearly snowless winter, Nicole said the weekend storm was a boon.

"We were open all the time," said Seven Lakes Provisions co-owner Linda St. Germain in Moultonborough. The market was open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days, serving snow plow drivers and tourists alike.

St. German said business picked up Thursday night, with customers filling gas cans and snow plow trucks. The first wave of vacationers from Massachusetts arrived Thursday night, eager to get out on their snowmobiles, she said.

She credited the store's snowplow contractor, Mirror Lake Construction, for keeping the lot clear throughout the storm. At one point, she said, the plow driver even slept in the truck in the store lot rather than travel home only to return 30 minutes later.

"We're delighted with the snow," St. Germain said. "We are hoping for more."

Most customers bought lots of coffee, snacks and sandwiches, then beer when the clean-up work was done, she said.

"Snow helps business," said a worker at Skelley's Market in Moultonborough, which sold many essentials such as milk and bread in the pre-storm hours.

In Sanbornville, the parking lot outside Poor People's Pub was packed Sunday as visitors grabbed a bite and a brew at the popular eatery, located along a snowmobile trail.

"It beats staying home," said one rider, a man from Rochester.

"It brings a lot of money to the state," he said of snow.

lmulkern@newstote.com