There’s a time-honored belief that basketball tournaments bring out the worst in Old Man Winter, who apparently isn’t a fan of the game. Perhaps the origins of this belief began on Feb. 25, 1961.

On that particular Saturday, a surprising 8.5-inch snowfall came blowing into New Castle while the sectional semifinals were being played at the fieldhouse.

Suddenly, the world’s largest and finest high school gymnasium became the biggest slumber party in the city’s history.

“Hundreds of cars dotted the Fieldhouse parking lot this morning to provide an almost comical reminder of the blinding blizzard which trapped several thousand basketball fans in the huge arena Saturday,” the Feb. 27, 1961 edition of The Courier-Times reported.

According to the newspaper report, snow started shortly before the first game of the sectional tourney at 12:30 p.m. that Saturday.

“By the time the second game had ended about 4 p.m., the blizzard had reached its peak,” the newspaper reported.

David Burns, now a photographer for The Courier-Times, remembers that night well. He and his girlfriend, Celia, tried to leave the building but as fate would have it, his vehicle was white. Trying to find a white car in a snowstorm proved to be an impossible task.

Not many others were having luck, either.

“Many fans tried in vain to find their autos,” the newspaper reported. “Others found their cars but were unable to move them. Some pulled from their parking spaces into exit paths and were bogged down, tying up all traffic in the vicinity.”

A 9-year-old Neil Thornhill remembers how he and his parents tried in vain to find their vehicle.

“The snow was so bad, we couldn’t find our car,” he remembered. “My mom, dad and I walked all the way down to the motel and spent the night.”

While the fieldhouse had the biggest slumber party, other houses in town also hosted miniature ones, because of the weather.

“I was living on 18th Street,” Mike Bergin said. “The National Guard brought some people in a truck and they stayed all night at mom and dad’s house.”

The Courier-Times reported an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 “anxious persons” remained in the large arena at 6 p.m.

“Small groups gathered in the sparsely populated stands. Hundreds of others wandered aimlessly around the rim of the structure – some hungry, some tired, all of them undecided,” the newspaper said.

But as the night wore on, the moods of many lightened. In some cases, it was almost like a party.

“Youngsters were sailing lids from paper drinking cups out onto the empty playing floor,” the newspaper reported.

Gene Ingram was a seventh-grade student at the time.

“It was a blast for us,” he remembered. “This was a way we could stay out late and not have to go home. Decks of cards were at a premium.”

“It turned out to be quite a party at the fieldhouse,” retired New Castle educator Evelyn Rentchler said. “Even though it was miserable outside, people were fed, dry and relatively comfortable.”

Jack Renner was in charge of concessions that day.

“We had quite a few supplies but ran out about midnight,” he said. “People were really very considerate about everything. Once they realized they were going to be there for awhile, they relaxed and had a good time.”

Eaton’s Market – located just down the road from the fieldhouse in the vicinity where Mancino’s is today – delivered cold meat, jelly and bread for sandwiches, pie and doughnuts. Later Ray’s Drive-In set up another concession stand in the corner of the building.

It was one of those moments where patience and kindness rose above the drifting snow – both inside the fieldhouse and out on the snowy streets.

“Some kind soul stopped and piled as many people in his vehicle as possible, taking them to a home,” Rentchler said.

“I think that was typical of New Castle then – as it is today,” Renner said. “This community has always been one to reach out and help others in need.”

But there is a time-honored belief that whenever Hoosier Hysteria or March Madness or whatever you call these wonderful basketball tournaments are held, a grumpy Old Man Winter is lurking, perhaps jealous that he could never play the great game.

“Since then, I think people have been a little leery of sectional tournament weather,” Jim Cole said.

Pictures at the south end of New Castle Fieldhouse show what is now a piece of local history: the day fans were snowed in, the day a weather inconvenience turned into a long night for some, an almost festive party for others.

But when play resumed, a force of a different kind named Marion Pierce blew into town. Pierce led the Lewisville Bears to the sectional championship on the way to 3,019 career points – a state record that stood for 29 years.

“It might not have been as festive of an atmosphere if we’d known then that Lewisville was going to beat us Monday night,” Thornhill said.

Darrel Radford is executive director of The Henry County Historical Society and a staff writer for The Courier-Times. If you have memories to share of this event, please email them to [email protected].