Michigan ice storm hit Hillsdale leaving campus without power for two days. Courtesy | Michaela Estruth

The houses were dark, silent with the loss of electricity and Internet or cell connection. The students gathering outside, bundled in coats and reveling in the absence of class and presence of good company, didn’t mind.

After Hillsdale College campus and the surrounding residential area — largely occupied by students — lost power on Wednesday, Feb. 22, students left their unlit homes and gathered outside to enjoy the unlikely sun peeking through the ice-covered trees. 

On Manning Street, people passed an afternoon on porches and in yards for the first time since the warmth of autumn. Fellow students, neighbors, cheered as a yard game concluded, and Manning residents wandered over to chat, drinks in hand. 

Sophomore Cecelia Cummins joined classmate Mary-Ruth Oster on a porch swing and accepted an offer for a hot mug of tea. 

“It felt like graduation weekend, because it’s spring semester and all of a sudden, we have nothing to do. When there’s no school to do, the Hillsdale community becomes so special because it really embraces the small-town feel — because we’re not just students anymore,” Cummins said.

She and Oster spent the morning at Saga, partaking in what they termed “Doomsday brunch” and scavenging for water just in case they had to ration their own.

“Some people on campus were talking about not getting power until Monday,” Cummins said. “The only hot food Saga had was oatmeal, which ran out, so it was even more doomsday.”

Down the street from Cummins, senior Sam Schaefer and his housemates left the cold of Graceland to take advantage of the warmer weather, listening to the crackle of melting ice on the trees around them. 

“Thankfully, there weren’t any branches that hit us or our neighbors,” Schaefer said. “It’s fun when everyone’s outside so you can use the entire street. That’s the fun of having a porch — just people-watching and people stopping by.” 

Graceland lost power at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the house spent the night playing childhood games. They transformed the house’s power outage into a perfect environment for hide-n-seek and sardines.

“Everything in the house was so dark. In the middle of the living room, you couldn’t see someone standing six inches in front of you,” Schaefer said. “It was funny trying to fit seven guys in one closet and trying not to laugh, all while you can hear one person wandering around the house trying not to bump into things.” 

On Thursday, freshman Aidan Christian decided to make the most of an evening of canceled events, and his band decided to put on their own — a spontaneous concert at Penny’s.

“Around 2 p.m., our pianist Eric Tedder said, ‘I want to do an impromptu concert.’ Of course, with no class, we all woke up around noon, so the day had just started,” Christian said. “Over the next six hours, we got together a 45-minute set. The whole thing was a real rush job.” 

Just before the concert began, an email from Diane Philipp officially canceled Friday classes. Drummer and junior Carter McNish announced the news, and the room burst into cheers. 

“And that means we’re going ’til one!” McNish declared. 

At the end of their performance, members of the student band “Schizmatics” found each other in the crowd and emerged for an unplanned set, borrowing instruments to play. 

The performance only continued until 10 p.m., when New Dorm’s quiet hours meant the crowd had to disassemble. According to Christian, about 70 people attended the concert. 

While power returned to many off-campus homes in less than 24 hours, senior Beth Potwardowski’s home on North West Street lost power from Wednesday evening until late Sunday night. 

Still, Potwardowski said she was never worried that the community wouldn’t take care of her. Over the course of her five days without power, she was welcomed to stay in several off-campus homes and the Kappa house. 

“Everyone who was still in town was super king and generous,” Potwardowski said. It really spoke to the strength of the community — it’s cliche, but it really is the people.”