THE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER
?
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Puzzling Questions Surround Destruction Of Cecil House By Tornado
ONLY TANGLED DEBRJS remains of the Alfred Johnson sum
mer home which was lifted from its foundation (foreground) by
a tornado and hurled SO feet away, uprooting a large tree in the
yard. Four other nearby buildings were destroyed, but an old
barn only 100 yards away was left untouched. The tornado appar
ently came down from a wooded draw above the house and made
a sweeping turn against the Johnson property, (Mountaineer Photo).
HEAVY OBJECTS such as an electrical refrigerator (foreground)
and a cook stove (not shown) were thrown together in a heap by
the force of the twister which destroyed five buildings owned by
Alfred Johnson on McClure Creek in Cecil community. At right
are branches of a tree uprooted by the house as it was torn from
its foundation. (Mountaineer Photo).
A BEDSPREAD (white arrow) from the Alfred Johnson house was
blown more than an eighth of a mile and lodged in the limbs of
this tall tree by the tornado which lashed across MoClure Greek
during the night of Monday. February 27. Neighbors told of being
awakened by the noise of the wind, which they described as re
sembling the sound of a Urge airplane flying low.
(Mountaineer Photo).
AMONG "VICTIMS" of the twister that flattened a three-room
house and four small farm buildincs on the property of Alfred
Johnson on McClure Creek in Cecil community recently were
bees inhabiting 40 beehives upset by the wind. Mr. Johnson has
replaced several of the hives (black arrow) and bees have returned
to their homes. (Mountaineer Photo).
Damage Is
First Such
In History
By BOB CONWAY
The big question is: How did it
FOR SALE
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TRUSTEE
happen?
Supposedly the towering moun
tains in Haywood County form an
impenetrable barrier to tornadoes
and cyclones which ravage other
parts of the country all loo often.
Although damage has been caus
ed in this county by high winds
from time to time, an actual tor
nado has never beep reported In
these parts before.
Nevertheless, during the night of
Monday, February 27, the three
room frame house of Alfred John
son on McClure Creek in Cecil
Community was uprooted from its
foundation and hurled 50 feet
against a tree as if it had been a
child's doll house.
Four other sttiall farm building^
and 20 beehives also were bowled
over that night, and the entire
yard of the house appears as if
a team of bulldozers had moved
orer the area."
Strangely enough, however, an
old, dilapidated barn only 100
yards away was left completely un
touched and other homes and farm
buildings irv the neighborhood also
escaped unscathed.
Although no one witnessed the
destruction of the eerie midnight
visitor, its roar was heard by sev
eral people in the vicinity. J. Edgar
Burnette, who lives near the inter
section of the Lake Logan road
and the McClure Creek road, said
it sounded like a giant airplane
flying low overhead.
Some people here in Waynes
ville seem to feel that "tornado"
is not the correct term to describe
the damaging wind that h'it Mc
Clure Creek. If you don't like that
word, you can choose between
"whirlwind," ."twister" or "cy
clone". The words "hurricane" and
"typhoon" also describe destruc
tive winds, but the fatter-two usu
ally arise at sea and sweep inland.
Whichever term is correct, Mr.
Johnson only knows that his sum
mer house and other buildings have
been utterly demolished at a total
loss to him of more than $2,000.
and none of the property was in
| sured.
Fortunately, though, there was
no loss of life because the dwell
ing was not occupied at the time,
but if the twister had come a little
later, it might have been. Mr.
Johnson said that Bob Long, who
resides in the neighborhood, had
planned to move up to the demol
ished house temporarily to do
some work on the Johnson place.
Although the tornado-struck area
is approximately 12 road miles
from Waynesville, It's only about
six or eight airline miles across
Lickstorie Ridge.
In this same McClure Creek val
r-i
ley, two persons were drowned sev
eral years ago when torrential
rains pouring off the east side of
Lickstone Ridge swelled small
creeks in the area into a flash
flood.
About 26 million families in the
United States take a half billion
photographs every year, says the
20th Century Fund.
Dark Horse?
CORPUS CHRISTI. Tex. (API
Deputy Sheriff E. W. Britt, in
vestigating an attempted safe
cracking reported:
1. Nothing was taken, although
the safe's knob was knocked off.
2. The only clues were tracks
outside the door?horse tracks.
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