(dramatic music) - [Narrator] Chicago's biggest blizzards transformed the city in countless ways, impacting politics, preparedness, and surprisingly, even parking protocol.

(upbeat music) - Chicago dibs came in around 1967.

This is the idea that we still have today in Chicago, that if there's a snowstorm and you clear your parking space, that is your parking space.

- I think kind of the go-to for a dibs is maybe like a patio chair or something like that.

I have seen like a full table and chairs set up as well.

You see the shopping cart, so you're like, where did those come from?

I've seen people put out the nativity set and then it's like, well who's gonna move baby Jesus?

You know.

- I saw somebody use a refrigerator.

I don't know how they were gonna move that.

A toilet, I feel like, you know, maybe the things inside your home that are heavier should not go out there.

- You're not supposed to do that legally, of course.

But people in general in Chicago respected that.

And if, you know, some bozo came in your parking place, he might find his tires flattened or something else.

- [Narrator] Resolve and resilience are hallmarks of the Chicago spirit.

And for many survivors of its greatest storms, memories of challenges faced have given way to a fond nostalgia.

- This is January 12th, 1979, the first stage of the snowstorm that will change the political complexion of Chicago.

Isn't that something?

You look back on a period like that and you say, "Wow, what a privilege it was to go through that era and be able to watch it right up front, close and personal."

I'm sorry, there's a majesty to all this.

You know, it's such a privilege to do what I do and have had a chance to do it, and I think Chicago's an amazing place to do it.