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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1952)
0 Reporter Finds Human Tragedies, Freaks of Luck (Warren S. Topp Jr.. in the capaeit; of special correspon dent for the United Press, left his home at Sikeston. Mo., and went into the Tornado-torn areas of . Missouri's bootheeL These are his obserrations.) Caruthersville, Mo.- (U.R) A tornado-hewn path of devasta tion a mile and a nan wiae stretched through the cotton rnnntrv in Missouri's bootheel Saturday night, from Cooter to Cottonwood Point. Automobiles carrying rescue workers, survivors, and just Tiain mrinus drove through hubcap-deep mud left by a six- inch ram as tne nunt ior pos sible additional casualties weni on. IS Dead At least 15 persons died in Pemiscot county, Mo., and one at Milligan Ridge, Ark., as a result of the storm that swept this border area from Blytheville, Ark., to Cottonwood Point, Mo Property damage was estimated at more than $1,000,000. Injured totaled 47 at the Pemiscot Memorial hospital in Hayti, Mo., and a hospital at Blyetheville. Along an eight-mile stretch from Cooter east to Cottonwood Point, there wasn't a house left undamaged by last nignts tor nado. In the township of Cooter alone, 30 houses were destroyed and many others damaged. Stories of personal tragedy and freak luck began to come in as the first rush of caring for the injured and counting the dead neared an end. One of the dead was a 13 year-old girl, Virginia Mason, who was seriously ill of pneu monia when the tornado car ried her home away. She lay in the rain for more than twojiours before her father found her, un hurt. But she died in the Hayti hospital of exposure. Truck in Tree A big truck was left in a tree. An automobile with three per sons riding in it was lifted off the road and put down in a field a mile away. Its passengers were only shak en up. Coy Lewis, a farmer living outside Steele, Mo., told how the tornado moved his house off its foundation and leveled the homes of his neighbors. Lewis said that as the storm approached he and his wife were making preparations to take their three children out side to a truck, but the wind hit before they could get out of the house. It blew out the windows, shattering everything in the house. The house, itself was blown about 25 feet in one di rection, Lewis said, then blown back 10 or 15 feet in the other direction. He said he guessed it was lucky the family didn't make it to the truck he saw it turned completely around and moved about 25 feet. (See Story on Page One) SERVICE DISCONTINUED Harrisburg, 111. (U.R) Police announced that no longer will they switch coins from auto windshields to parking meters for motorists. They gave two reasons "skidrow" characters were getting to the coins first and some of the motorists skipped making the initial meter payment when they parked. Tornado Victims Receive Little Advance Warning Oklahoma City (U.R) Tor nado victims received little or no advance warning of the Fri day devastation although an Air Force storm warning expert said Saturday his staff had predicted "a ' major part of the tornado activity." ' Lt. Col. E. J. Fawbush, chief of the Tinker Air Force Base Severe Storm Warning center here, said his 14-man crew is sued confidential warnings to military bases in the ravaged area several . hours before civil ians had any word. of. possible disaster. Prohibited By Law "We are prohibited by law from releasing our forecasts to the public," Fawbush said. "Civilians must rely on the forecasts of the U. S. Weather bureau of the . Department of Commerce." Success of the Tinker storm warning center, which Monday begins its fifth year of operation, was a factor in the U. S. Weather bureau's decision five days ago to start issuing tornado forecasts of its own. The National Weather bureau in Washington issued a special forecast at 1:15 p.m. EST Friday, calling for "a few isolated" tor nados in southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, extreme southeastern Oklahoma and the north half of eastern Texas. Seven tornado fatalities occur red in southern Arkansas, but other areas mentioned in this forecast escaped fatal storms. Forecast Amended Fawbush said the civilian forecast followed closely a fore cast his staff made at 10:59 a.m. Red Cross Director Sent to Tornado Area San Francisco U.R) Rich ard F. Gordon, director of Red Cross disaster services for the Pacific area, Saturday was as signed the job of directing reha bilitation work among the home less and needy as a result of tornadoes in the south and southwest. Gordon departed for Red Cross midwest headquarters at St. Louis, Mo., via TWA plane last night. S.heldon Williams, assistant Pacific coast director and a vet eran of 25 major disasters for the Red Cross, accompanied Gordon. Another 65 Red Cross specialists from other parts of the nation were to join Gordon at St. Louis. Hawaii Alerted Against Possible Tidal Waves Honolulu (U.R) Small vil lages on the south oast of the island of Hawaii were alerted Saturday for a possible tidal wave after Dr. Gordon A. Mc Donald of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory reported a series of submarine, earthquakes off shore. ' However, coast geodetic sur vey seismologists i n Honlulu said the quakes were not large enough to cause "any alarm about tidals." They said the quakes were much smaller than those of the west coast of Hawaii last August which caused unap preciable waves. McDonald said there had been more than a thousand under water shocks since Sunday and they were continuing. None was felt ashore. amended at 5:30 p.m. Friday before the worst of the storm hit. , "We revised our forecast to include a major part of. the tornado activity which actually occurred within a few hours," Fawbush said. The civilian forecast, how ever, was not revised until 11 p.m. from Washington after the tornados had raked through northeastern Arkansas and into Tennessee, Mississippi and Mis souri. (See Story Page One) Survivors Tell Terrors of Storm In Arkansas Town By GEORGE MILLER U. P. ' Staff Correspondent Searcy, Ark. (U.R) Survi vors told Saturday of the terror of seeing a house roll toward them, of dread at seeing a home gone with loved ones missing, ending. Mrs. Julia York's happy ending. Mrs. Julia York's ended tragically. - I met them both on my trip through the little town of Jud sonia where the tornado struck hardest in northeast Arkanasas. "I first noticed the storm when I went to sit in a chair by the window, in our living room about 5:13 p.m. yesterday," Mrs. York said. "I looked out the window and the sky seemed to be right on top of the house. House Shaking "I looked out the window and across the street seemed to be shaking and then it jumped off its foundations and began to turn over," Mrs. York said. " looked out the window and saw that house rolling across the street toward us," added her daughter, Mrs. Cora Lee Barr. "I shoved mother to the floor and screamed for my husband to come to us. Then the house wag gone and mother and I were lying in the front lawn." Pinned Under House Mrs. York said she "must have fainted," because she next heard her daughter screaming that her husband Luther "was pinned un der the house and she couldn't get him out. " A young sailor rode with me to Judsonia to search for his wife and six-year-old daughter who were reported missing there. He was just back from Korea but there was so much confusion I didn't ask his name. When we reached Judsonia we had to climb through fallen trees and over live electric wires through a driving rain to reach the spot where his house should have been. Nothing But Stove There was nothing but a cook stove. The floor and walls were all gone. "Oh, my God, I should have stayed in Korea," the sailor moaned. . We turned away. About 200 yards from us a light shone through the window of an aban doned church. We walked to the door and a fellow stuck his head out, the sailor knew him. 'Have you seen my wife and girl?" he asked. "Here they are," the man said. The woman and child rushed out. The reunion was joyous. For awhile they were all speechless. Finally the wife said: "Oh, your clothes are all gone now!" (See Story Page One) BEAUTIFY and ENLARGE tht LOOKS of Your Homo with a GOOD NEIGHBOR GLAMOUR FENCE You'll be surprised how it will add to the attractive ness of YOUR home, while giving protection and pri vacy. We'll build any height you want and any style you desire. We have many designs for your selection ALL LONG-LASTING REDWOOD used In the Construction of Good Neighbor Glamour Fences. 10 DOWN 36 MONTH TO PAY REDWOOD TRELLISES MADE TO ORDER Western Redwood Fence Company 837 South Riversfdo Medford Telephone 3-141S If w Patios and Barbecues O. . ALL KINDS OF CEMENT WORK . i m m f AV'X jf fir -JIL . ; P. H;;m - V un I I a Lff4vsiv. ffi Wind-Whipped Fire Ravages Half Of Alaska Coastal Fishing Town Wrangell. Alaska jOJ.R) Fire from an exploding hardware store furnace destroyed approx imately one-half of this Alaska coastal fishing town Saturday and caused damage estimated at $1,000,000. One person was in jured slightly. The blaze, whipped by 30-mile-per-hour winds, raced north and south over a four-block area and leveled 21 waterfront buildings. About 100 persons, including 40 from the own's only hotel, fled for their lives. About 400 men, representing every able-bodied man in town, turned out to fight the fire, which was reported virtually under control. Lew M. Williams Jr., co-editor of the Wrangell Sentinel news paper, said the. damage would reach $1,000,000. He said "better than half" of the , town was leveled. The Coast Guard ordered the cutters White Holly from Peters burg and Sweet Briar from Ketchikan to proceed full steam to Wrangell to help fight the fire. However, with the tide out early Saturday, it was impossible for ships to approach close enough to play water on the blazing town, Williams said. "What made the fire so hard to fight," Williams said, "was the fact the burning buildings are on docks and the wind blew the flames underneath. The firemen couldn't get at the flames." Destroyed were the three-story Wrangell hotel, a cold storage plant; the electrical supply firm where the fire started; the town! only barber shop, theater and bakery; one of three grocery stores, a lodge hall, a bar, two liquor stores, the Elks hall and bowling alleys and one of three women's apparel shops. A 10-unit apartment house and transfer garage also were leveled. EN ROUTE TO JAPAN, Caesar's Crown, 8-year-old mare, proudly nuzzles her 18-day old colt at San Francisco wharf before boarding ship. They are among 16 valuable horses, including colt sire. Vino Puro, outstanding Argentine stallion, bought by S. Shirai, owner of Japanese Racing Form, from Oakmead Farm. (In'trvationai) Searchers Find Two Cougar Hounds Dead TJarrinfftnn Wash (U.P) Searchers gave up hope Satur-I day for the last of three cooar hounds which were stranded for 15 days atop a rocky ledge on Whitehorse mountain. A 10-man rescue party which had been seeking the animals fin ished their search Friday night when one of the dogs was found frozen to death on the ledge, a second was found dead at the foot of the cliff and the third was missing. Stay All Night Seven of the mountaineers stayed on the mountain all night because it was too risky to come down after dark., Cleo Riddels, owner of the dogs, found, the broken body of Old Tom, the dog that flushed 26 cougars this winter, 4000 feet up the snow-packed mountain and at the bottom of the 500 foot ledge. A band of mountaineers from the University of Washington found the fecond canine. Laddie, curled up and frozen stiff on the ledge. Vertical Cliff The climbers had to inch their' way several hundred feet across the almost vertical face of the cliff to reach the animal. ' The third dog. Queenie, was nowhere to be seen and Riddels feared he followed Old Tom's lead and hurled himself off the cliff. Riddels, his eyes moist with grief, gently picked up Old Tom, removed the animal's brass studded collar and said, "the kids will be broken up about this but I'm glad for their sake we found him." 15 Days Ago Riddels' dogs became ma rooned on the isolated ledge 15 days ago and attempts to rescue them this week failed. Besides having no food for 15 days, the anguished dogs were harassed by infuriated bald eagles that dived and swooped at them on their lofty perch. LOST EASILY FOUND Ligonier, Ind. (U.R) A state police trooper, William Booth, visualized an embarrassing stol en police car broadcast when he ' couldn't ' find the patrol car he had parked behind the police; post. Then he found it on a near-! by pistol range. He had failed to set the brake. i Vacuum Cleaners SERVICE & REPAIR ALL MAKES o Dust Bags, Filters etc. Phone 2-4998 3 TO BE GIVEN AWAY THIS LP $239.00 1 -y Store ON THE NIGHT OF APRIL 5th, 7 P. M. 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