But when the guests didn’t leave before the strongest winter storm of the season passed through, that’s exactly what happened, according to Michelle De Vries, of Hardy.

The storm stranded a group of about 30 people, mostly children, at the Bode community center for 2 1/2 days.

The group was celebrating a quinceanera on Saturday, according to De Vries.

Two of her daughters, Tamela De Vries, 12, and Kailey De Vries, 13, attended the event with their friend, Esmeralda Reyes, 13.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Josh Oberhelman, of Fort Dodge, left, and brother Matt Oberhelman, also of Fort Dodge, work on removing snow from their grandmother’s driveway along Avenue O Monday afternoon.

The daughters said while the party was fun, food and comfort didn’t last.

“We were freezing,” Tamela De Vries said. “We were starving.”

Kailey De Vries said the nights were cold.

“We didn’t have any blankets that first night,” Kailey De Vries said. “It was really cold.”

Reyes said cell phones were not getting good signals, either.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Drivers with plows on the front of their pickup trucks were busy Monday afternoon, cleaning up after more than a foot of snow fell throughout the Fort Dodge area during the weekend.

But eventually, word got out that help was needed at the community center through a social media post from Michelle De Vries’ husband, Scott De Vries.

Scott De Vries posted the message Sunday and within hours, children had food and blankets.

Michelle De Vries said it was friends and community members in the Bode area that brought over the goods.

She appreciated how the community responded.

“Blankets, clothes, socks,” Michelle DeVries said. “I couldn’t believe how many people came together. It was amazing.”

The children returned home on Monday.

“They ate a bowl of cereal and a whole bag of chicken nuggets,” Michelle De Vries said. “They were hungry.”

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Meanwhile, Fort Dodge residents were still digging themselves out on Monday or helping others who needed it.

“We did this yesterday and we are doing it again today,” Matt Oberhelman, of Fort Dodge, said with a snow shovel in hand.

He and his brother Josh Oberhelman, were helping to clear the snow from their grandmother’s house along Avenue O.

“It was 3 foot deep in some spots,” Matt Oberhelman said.

Their father, Lyle Oberhelman, was running the snow blower.

He summed up how he felt about the conditions.

“This sucks,” he said.