GRAND LEDGE, Mich. — Not everyone has the luxury of being able to stay home on a snowy day like Monday.
Local authorities and some businesses were open on Monday despite the weather. One of those businesses was Grand Ledge Ford Lincoln.
"If somebody comes in on a day like this, they are ready to buy a car," owner of Grand Ledge Ford Lincoln Barry Merrill said.
That means the cars have to be ready for display...without snow, which takes a lot of hard-working employees.
"A snowstorm like this represents a whole new challenge in the car business. Basically what we have to do to remain open is broom the cars off, key them up, start them, move them, plow between the cars and move the cars back," Merill added.
Merrill says there are about 400 cars in this lot which is a lot of cars to keep clear. But they aren't the only one working in these conditions.
"In the emergency services, firefighters, police, we don't get days off. Even in the summertime, you can deal with the warm and extreme weather there, but you don't have all of the extra elements you have to deal with," Chief Rodney VanDeCasteele of the Grand Ledge Area Fire Department said.
In addition to layering up to combat the colder temperatures, firefighters say they have to take into consideration the weather conditions.
"It changes everything and it makes things a lot different. When you're fighting fires in the snow, one, you have the snow to deal with, you're going to have the slippery ground that you have to deal with. You're going to have water that's going to freeze, and everything that you try to gain access to seems a lot harder," Chief VanDeCasteele said.
But that doesn't mean they don't enjoy their job.
"We understand the difference that we can make," he added.
The fire chief said to stay off the roads if you can, but if you have to drive, take it slow.
