THE GREAT HURRICANE OF 1938 

I was only three, but I still remember stories from my Mom & Dad about the 1938 hurricane. I also recently found some old photographs in a family scrapbook. With Hurricane Dorian about to hit the southern US, it seemed like a good time to share them.

                 The photo above was taken after the storm on Talcott Avenue. The big house with the porch columns was where we lived. To the right lived Mamie Sheets. The trees tore up sidewalks and 

everything else in sight. This wasn't some coastal storm that raised hell near the water and then dumped mostly rain on inland communities. The winds blew long and hard, devastating the immediate coast, while recording unbelievable damage to cities and towns well inland.

This is the old schoolhouse opposite St. Bernard.s convent on School Street.

The old Mill below the Snipsic Lake Dam is now an apartment complex. This is how it looked in the aftermath of the hurricane.

 The Hockanum River finally went back to normal levels but washed away much of what was in its path during the process.

What was left of Sandy Beach at Crystal Lake after the storm.

Another photo from Talcott Avenue.

My Dad's favorite storm story was about an argument he was having with Gramps . The wind was blowing hard and the garage door behind the house was swinging back and forth. Gramps wanted Dad  to go out and close the garage door. Dad preferred life over death and was refusing to go out. The argument was settled when another wind gust ripped the door off it's hinges sending it sailing down the street through back yards. They found it the next day in Percy Bakers back yard, four houses and a hundred yards away.

These photo's should serve as a reminder  that extra caution is always necessary when the weather misbehaves.

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