[Granville-Hough] 5 Feb 2009 - Re: CalvaryTornadoes

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:56:05 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: [Fwd: Re: CalvaryTornadoes - 4 Feb 2009] - 5 Feb 2009


I got a nice reply on the Calvary Tornado which I will include.

    Simpson County Disasters.  One of the tornados mentioned by Harold 
Hopkins must have been the one which hit the Pine Grove Community, which 
was the first Baptist community west of Shady Grove.  Like Concord, it 
was a county line community but with the church in Simpson County.  Some 
children went to Old Hickory and Magee schools and some went to Shady 
Grove and Mize schools.  As I recall it, this tornado hit the community 
and destroyed one home, killing the lady of the house, I believe, a Mrs. 
Hughes.  It also did extensive damage to other homes and farms.  
Somehow, we got to drive through the area and see the damage. 
    I may be wrong, but I believe there was another storm between Pine 
Grove and Magee, which destroyed several homes, one being that of Mr. 
Willis Purvis.  Mr. Purvis was hit by debris and knocked unconscious.  
He was said to have come to in his barnyard with a cow lying on his 
legs.  Anyway, I visited Mr. Purvis with a mare when he had a breeding 
jack, but I never asked him about the storm.  He did have a new house.
    With regard to lightning, my brother Clifford Hough bought a farm on 
the Mize-Magee highway which had come into the possession of Bob 
Everett, merchant of Magee.  The land joined Clifford's land for some 
distance, so he just made it all into a big pasture.  It had a big shade 
tree in an open area, and his cattle often rested there.  In a 
thunderstorm, they all gathered under this favorite shade tree.  It is 
my understanding that lightning struck the tree and killed the whole 
herd.  This was in Smith County, about a quarter mile from the county 
line.  It was a real disaster for Clifford, as he lost his cattle, then 
had to dispose of all those carcasses in short order.  I believe he had 
to hire backhoes  to dig pits for burying them. 
    I do have Harold Hopkins' account on storm pits, which I will 
include in the next two days.

From: harold hopkins 
Subject: Re: CalvaryTornadoes - 4 Feb 2009
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:22:55 -0800

Great story,  Granville!

I remember one thunderstorm or tornado in the 1930s that "tore up the =20=

pea-patch" -- so to speak --  between Mize and Magee, and I think also =20=

to the northwest of there, and seeing some of the downed trees, =20
damages to buildings, fences, etc.   Where I grew up at Mize, in a =20
house on a white chalk hill just north and across the street from the =20=

elementary school, we had a storm pit dug fairly deep into the chalk =20
and covered at ground level by heavy timbers almost like railroad =20
crossties.  It had a low, sloping roof to keep it dry in the pit.  It =20=

was fair sized and when the wind got high it became a place for very =20
crowded social gatherings. I don't recall that any of our near =20
neighbors  had a pit, so  they just came to ours.  I believe there =20
were kerosene lamps or lanterns so the refugees could identify each =20
other and carry on conversations.  This might be during the daytime or =20=

nighttime, and these storms were usually accompanied by sometimes =20
blinding  lightning and thunder, making a terrific sound and a =20
sometimes livid sky.  One of the neighboring kids was frightened by =20
the lightning and he'd sit there and complain to his mother, "Mama, =20
that lightning was keen!!"  Somehow,  nobody ever was killed or hurt =20
by these storms, but they commanded respect from everyone.  I remember =20=

lots of times being awakened by my parents and running to the storm =20
pit, which was only a few feet from the house.  It was always a  =20
little disappointing that,  with all the foofuraw,  things became =20
perfectly normal when  the storm had passed -- and left no lasting =20
horrid remembrances.  I think I recall having written something about =20=

storms and storm pits for the Smith County Reformer or the Clarion-=20
Ledger.  I don't remember but one other storm pit and that one was at =20=

the Cohay  logging community.  I was visiting a boy there named Ezra  =20=

Rogers and a storm came up and we went into the storm pit.  There must =20=

have been a hundred people in that  storm pit!  It was obviously built =20=

for many people  -- well timbered and lit -- almost like a church in a =20=

way -- and one must  presume that it was the scene of many prayers.  I =20=

was made  aware that some things seemed to  "draw" lightning and it =20
was standard precaution for any person  outdoors  during an electric =20
storm never to take shelter under a tree. On the rooftops of some =20
houses were "lightning rods," as they were called, that were supposed =20=

to carry the electric charge to earth and perhaps save the house.

One  thunderstorm event in the news four or five years ago had lifted =20=

the roof off all or part of the Mize High School building (I believe =20
it was --  I never saw the damage) and there was an account in the =20
Smith County Reformer, which was on-line at the time, that carried =20
news about the tornado's work and the rebuilding and so on. Then the =20
Reformer went off-line and the relict website carried the same story =20
for at least several weeks about plans for starting school in the =20
newly rebuilt school -- even for some time after school had restarted.

Harold