52 Years - Hurricane Betsy, 9 September 1965
Sept 7, 2017 18:45:46 GMT -6
HarahanTim-Now in Gallatin, TN, xty624, and 2 more like this
Post by RowBear on Sept 7, 2017 18:45:46 GMT -6
Here's a reprise of a post from the "olden days" .(FWIW) ...
For GCWx post 13 Sep 09 @ 0850.
Dateline Reserve LA – Thursday, 9 September 1965 – 2025 hrs:
It was a dark & stormy night. I was in my room reading. The rain was falling, the wind was blowing the curtains at the window, the song on the radio was “Liar, Liar” by the Castaways. Suddenly, the lights went out and stayed out for the next 10 days. Some time later, probably 2200-2300, my dad gathered us all together in the central hallway. As I looked into the kitchen, I saw the floor jump several times and table and chairs move around a little and heard the pictures on walls rattle.
Suddenly, quiet. My dad and I went out on the front porch to look. The sky was weird-looking, almost glowing even though it was sometime around midnight; some trees down or broken; some roof damage to buildings around us (our house was OK); power lines down all over the place. After a few minutes, the wind suddenly started again fiercely from the south-southeast. We watched it peel off the corrugated tin sheets from roofs of houses across the street from us and send them sailing through the air toward the north. My dad looked at me and said, “What the $hit are we doin’ out here?” and we ducked quickly back inside.
We saw through the big picture window all sorts of things flying through the air – trash cans, tree branches, power lines, people’ roofs and rafters. We felt perfectly secure watching, since my dad was smart enough to put masking tape on window to keep it from breaking.
Our house stood very well. It should have, as it was completed only 4 months before the storm. Others weren’t so fortunate. Several homes in Reserve were completely destroyed, along with the town’s pride, St Peter Catholic Church (built in 1897 in the pseudo neo-gothic style).
Dad went to check on his parents and found their house heavily damaged, so he brought them to stay with us. No power for the next 10 days (or school!). I remember sitting around the table at night by “kohl-oy” lamps and hearing Grandpa tell stories of the “olden days”, which included some of the stunts my dad and uncles pulled when they were kids. Also, that’s where I picked up a beginning interest in genealogy which has stayed with me and still flares up occasionally.
Hurricane Betsy was one of the milestone points of my life. Nothing was the same after the storm (not really a bad thing, as it turned out). I suspect that my memories and images of Betsy ‘65 will always remain with me. I hope so.
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Anyone else have a "Betsy" story ?
For GCWx post 13 Sep 09 @ 0850.
Dateline Reserve LA – Thursday, 9 September 1965 – 2025 hrs:
It was a dark & stormy night. I was in my room reading. The rain was falling, the wind was blowing the curtains at the window, the song on the radio was “Liar, Liar” by the Castaways. Suddenly, the lights went out and stayed out for the next 10 days. Some time later, probably 2200-2300, my dad gathered us all together in the central hallway. As I looked into the kitchen, I saw the floor jump several times and table and chairs move around a little and heard the pictures on walls rattle.
Suddenly, quiet. My dad and I went out on the front porch to look. The sky was weird-looking, almost glowing even though it was sometime around midnight; some trees down or broken; some roof damage to buildings around us (our house was OK); power lines down all over the place. After a few minutes, the wind suddenly started again fiercely from the south-southeast. We watched it peel off the corrugated tin sheets from roofs of houses across the street from us and send them sailing through the air toward the north. My dad looked at me and said, “What the $hit are we doin’ out here?” and we ducked quickly back inside.
We saw through the big picture window all sorts of things flying through the air – trash cans, tree branches, power lines, people’ roofs and rafters. We felt perfectly secure watching, since my dad was smart enough to put masking tape on window to keep it from breaking.
Our house stood very well. It should have, as it was completed only 4 months before the storm. Others weren’t so fortunate. Several homes in Reserve were completely destroyed, along with the town’s pride, St Peter Catholic Church (built in 1897 in the pseudo neo-gothic style).
Dad went to check on his parents and found their house heavily damaged, so he brought them to stay with us. No power for the next 10 days (or school!). I remember sitting around the table at night by “kohl-oy” lamps and hearing Grandpa tell stories of the “olden days”, which included some of the stunts my dad and uncles pulled when they were kids. Also, that’s where I picked up a beginning interest in genealogy which has stayed with me and still flares up occasionally.
Hurricane Betsy was one of the milestone points of my life. Nothing was the same after the storm (not really a bad thing, as it turned out). I suspect that my memories and images of Betsy ‘65 will always remain with me. I hope so.
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Anyone else have a "Betsy" story ?
