Richmond Times-Dispatch from Richmond, Virginia • 4

rMFr- xr spit 4 Richmond Ti mes-Dis patch Thursday Oct 1 1959 Persons Killed State Twisters 10 In Downpour in City Area Is Triggered by Gracie Continued from First Page hi Joseph Sullivan said but stopped short of serious flooding Many families in the Mill-hiser dr area in the West End and In the Madrid dr and Club rd sections of Lakeside prepared to flee A deluge on the night of August 8 sent flood waters into a number of homes in those areas A squall line set off In the wake of Storm Gracie along the Blue Ridge brought a down 1 pour to the Richmond area last night and gave Jittery Henrico county residents a bad scare Creeks and drainage ditches In flood-prone areas of Henrico county west and north of the city began rising rapidly 11 Other Deaths The weather station at Byrd Field reported nearly two inches of rain fell during the heavy downpour Total rain- fall recorded in the 24 hours ending at midnight was 213 inches The station canceled its severe weather warnings at 11 pm Tornado warnings had been Issued earlier in the evening as well aa those for thunderstorm activity The 11 message said the squall line had moved east of Richmond and was rapidly diminishing In intensity Tws Inches of Kola Amateur weatherman Louis Rubin reported from the West End that more than two Inches of rain fell in less than two hours in that area "Hist was more than all the rain he had recorded previously in Septem- section hit in the' August flood POLICEMAN'S BEAT were extremely alarmed Said THEY SURVIVED Raymond Bruce (left) and Womble await treatment at a Charlottesville hospital after suffering injuries Caused by Storm wiwphw a tornado nit near Ivy In Albemarle county wife was killed when their house was destroyed (See Story Page 1) when Gracie now Just another bad lion maybe as much as rainstorm with a name left atwo million nt? Estemdva Damage aged property in its wake last night as it turned northeast- of ward' in Pennsylvania and ton bore the brunt of he watched a "big black funnel -shaped for several minute after 2 pm He said it picked up trees and threw branches and truck about like sticks He estimated the twister moved toward White where it later was reported to have lifted and dissolved northwest of here Sidney Smith was in a filling station near the Chesapeake A Ohio Railway Co underpass at Ivy right in the path "It waa with three minutes said Smith He wasn't hurt Mrs Randolph wheisa dock timed the tornado's arrival said she saw the tornado approach from her porch It looked to her like a "cloud of whlta steam against a very black rain cloud" After the lights went off she said she realized the was a tornado -First news of the 10 deaths came from Gentry Rea who drove into Ivy at about 5 pm and summoned rescuers They were still searching the ruins late Wednesday with the aid of searchlights Live Wires Block Roads Rescue efforts were hampered by trees water and live wires blocking secondary roads and RL 250 between the scene and the University Hospital 1 One of tho early arrivals on the scene said rescuers met one man who was walking although injured In one house they found a baby who still breathing when taken from the scene A girl with a serious chest puncture a boy also were injured in the same house The houses were virtually In splinters Trees in the orchard in which they were located were uprooted In Greene county Shifflett estimated that leas than six minutes elapsed from the time he first saw the twister approaching here "until it passed He said one employe near him thought it waa smoke from Life Full of Hard Knocks By Beverly Orndorf Timea-Diapatch Nows Bureau If the desk sergeant at the police then located in the city hall building sister was alive when removed from the wreckage of her home on the farm "The Edward Bruce house was taken off the foundation and thrown down through the Sullivan said "It was shattered all to pieces Not even the outbuildings were Sullivan said two houses were in the orchard about 150 yards apart and the third was off to the aide 75 yard? away Rescuers swarmed to the mountainous countryside area but were hampered by high water from torrential rains which blocked portions of RL 250 west Ambulances sent to the scene had to be pushed and pulled by hand over some stretches of the highway The first tornado struck Ivy at 2:25 pm It knocked out power and the kitchen wall clock of Mrs Randolph stopped at precisely that time "There was a streamer of a terrific she said and all lights went off The Greene county twister hit about 4 pm about 25 air miles northeast of Ivy It ripped the roof off a State Highway Department building on state RL 609 two milea from StanardsviUe and 1 crumbled part of the cinder riock walla Several road employes were inside but escaped Injury 'It's a miracle they got out without said Deane Greene county sheriff Big Whirling Cloud Linwood Shifflett a state employe said he saw the twister coming from the Highway Department building "It was a big cloud whirling he sqjd The University of Virginia Iospital here reported nine persona were treated for in-uriea attributable directly or indirectly to the twisters They included Mr and Mrs George Andrews of New Brunswick whose car waa blown off US Rt 29 south of here Robert Morris of Dyke Greene county who suffered head Injuries when a shed on his farm collapsed David Thurston of RL 2 Charlottesville Injured by a falling tree Mr and Mrs Womble of station needed a policeman he would beat on an iron railing outside the station with a nightstick The patrolman stationed on the eastern CHARLOTTESVILLE Sept 30 Within minutes after a telephone call to the police station here a patrol ear is at the seen of the reported disturbance thanks to the action of town upon hearing the rape -would run to the -police station hop into the department's only vehicle a model-A Ford with solid rubber tires) and answer the calL He would also toot the horn In the two-longs-pause-two-shorta rhythm to sum- two-way police radio But how did the city police department operate In the pre-radio era? A policeman's Ufa in those days until the early 1930s was literally a life of knocks and bangs according to Police Chief mon other patrolmen If more than one waa James Adams a 37-year veteran of the needed on the call force here Essentially the police force's communications system In those days consisted of a series of raps with a nightstick on an Iron object the chief said If a patrolman needed help in hia area he would beat on an iron pipe a radiator or even on the two alow rapt a pause and then two quick raps Other nearby patrolmen would rush to aid him Chief Adams said the knocks could be heard over long distances In the city but he added that things were considerably quieter in those days than they are now with the large numbers of automobiles present The police department here Installed oneway radios in 1935 During the war years the two-way radios were Installed furious assault From Edlsto island Folly Beach St Helena island as well as Charleston and inland points came reports of extensive damage Beach cottages arid pier were battered down Houses and churches lay in ruins Fallen trees and roofs blocked highways Power lines dangled from poles bridges were Impassable and in some locations washed away The Parris Island marine recruit base estimated its damage at $250000 and Maj Gen David Shoup base commander sent an emergency call to marine corps headquarters for funds to repair the widespread damage much of it to roofs Charleston's electrical facilities were damaged to the extent of a half-million dollars a hotel assessed its loss at $60-000 In Washington the White House said President Eisenhower is deeply concerned over the ravages of the hurricane and that federal agencies are working closely with state and local officials in the areas hit by the storm In West Virginia locally heavy rains were forecast in advance of the storm in the eastern and northern parts of the state until it blows out The rest of West Virginia also benefited by precipitation the amounts ranging up to 205 inches at Flat Top early yesterday afternoon At many points It was the first measurable rain in that state since September 10 The nearest West Virginia came to trouble was heavy rain over the New river headwaters which brought flood warnings The Weather Bureau said the river at Galax would crest Wednesday night at 125 to 13 feet one-half to one foot above flood level there and 15-16 feet at Radford one to two feet above flood headed toward New York The hurricane lost much of its force when it stemmed into mountains and turned north long the eastern slopes of the Appalachians Its principal remaining danger stems from the flash floods it may cause There were 10 deaths In Virginia and 11 fatalities wen attributed to1 the hurricane farther south There wen seven In South Carolina two in Florida and one in Georgia and North Carolina The devastation only now beginning to be assessed will amount to millions of dollars in South Carolina alone A representative of the Na tional Board of lire Underwriters said a preliminary estimate of the damage in a seven-county ana around Charleston exceeds seven million dollars The damage in Charleston county alone will total more than $4200000 he said Warning of Hoods The Weather Bureau said flash floods may occur all along Grade's path and warned residents of low-lying -anas and along riven and streams to take precautions Only a few showen and diminishing winds an In prospect for Virginia today The winds that cut a swath of death and destruction from Georgia Into Virginia brought rain which broke a three-week drought In West Virginia and Virginia But the worst damage left in the wake of the rampaging hur-rican which turned into a storm was in South Carolina when Gracie slammed ashore with 140-mile-per-hour winds be the same in 100 said Mayor Angus Fordham of Beaufort a coastal town some 50 miles south of Charleston Every business place and home was damaged Fordham said "It may run over a mil- a fire aa It approached An Mathews Will Increase Election Of Pay Poteer Lines Block Road In Albemarle other of the road employes thought it an airplane said Shifflett no Shifflett said part of a The Greene county twister also picked up a state employe's late model automobile and Staunton whose car was wrecked on Rt 250 west of Jhe Th vehicle was dumped on its top nearly 200 feet away The car owned by Leabert Deane was demolished Torrents of rain poured In the Central Virginia area At here Byrts Nye 54 of Syracuse also hurt when wind blew his car off Rt 29 State TVooper Pace said the second Ivy area 'twister demolished two homes a struction in the current budget and with all secondary funds cut back to near the 30 per otnt minimum we are having difficulty financing such projects out of maintenance funds Flewellen said 'The engineer added that all of the work in question his been established as public roads and have been graded although none has yet been approved by the Highway Department In other action the hoard authorized payment of $383 to CL Wilson of Mattaponl for repairs to the building that formerly housed the county office and county records room one time during the evening brick church a large barn and Timen-Diapatch News Bureau MATHEWS Sept 30 Mathews supervisors voted Wednesday to Increase the pay rate of election officials from $12 to $15 per day Grubb Piankatank district member and Roland An-derton of Westville district voted' for the Increase Aubrey Morgan chairman and Chest' peak district representative did not vote Morgan told the others that under the lower pay rate a pri mary election cost the county $63 a general election $105 In other business Grubb asked Flewellen assistant highway engineer when the county could expect acceptance of J5 private road projects into the state secondary system Flewellen said the projects will all be considered In connection with a final highway bud get now being prepared "With no money for new con- several points along RL 250 were reported under water A bank caved in and partially blocked the east-west highway at Mechunk creek which is six miles west of Zion Cross- four sheds In the Medium river area He said It cut a swath 200 yards wide and three-quarters of a mile long Actually the devastating whirlwind must have dippedroads Fluvanna' county Late down then up several times Itjin the evening State Trooper appears that the killer tornado Owens said the road was struck first on Rt 29 south of passable Ivy then headed northwest The tornado Which struck through the Lindsay farm area the Cunningham community and then crossed RL 250 near near Palmyra in Fluvanna Medium river bridge county about 5:30 pm tore off Tax Rise Starts -On Gas Today One of the first persons to pass through the area hit by the tornadoes reported a number of persona stranded along the highway in stalled and wrecked vehicles Skelton of the circulation department of Richmond Newspapers Inc said the area along Rt 250 In Albemarle county between Afton mountain and Charlottesville was hardest hit by wind and rain "Coming down Afton mountain from Waynesboro water was rushing across this road You could hardly' see it was raining so Skelton "Cars were backed up for it seemed like miles at Medium river (near Ivy just west of Some had skidded off the road he said 'At the railroad bridge which passes over the highway at Medium river power lines looped down 35 feet to the road blocking Trark Hits Gar "Aa cars began to back up at Medium river a tractor-trailer swerving to avoid hitting a roof that had blown onto the road smashed Into a Skelton said He did not know if anyone was injured in the crash Skelton got through Mec-hum river by riding on the road's shoulder around the downed power lines "A state trooper said I couldn't make it under the lines but I did He pushed my radio antenna down and I Just barely made it under the hot Skelton said Closer to Charlottesville Skelton said ambulances passed him headed west toward the Harry Carter of 6005 Madrid dr: Tm going to sell thii house as quick as I can get rid of He said he and hla wife had Just gotten their home "back in shape so we could live in The water rose four feet in his home during tho August flood Ckrter and hla wife had been visiting In West Virginia and arrived home yesterday morning! They immediately started moving furniture into the attic and hoping for the nest Truck Rented Residents on Madrid dr rented four trucks and parked them in the block to move out anyone threatened by the possible high water Further west John Britton Jr of 6305 Millhiser dr- next door to the Westwood Shopping Center reported the creek behind hia house was edging into his yard Two of his neighbors had placed their furniture as high aa possible and departed Britton said he also moved as much of his furniture into the attic The creek later receded without serious damage Both Madrid dr and Club rd residents were outside talking over the situation until well after midnight The Virginia Electric A Power Co reported about 1000 customers were without lights for about an hour when two circuits went out at the Laburnum substation Another 400 customer! were out at Varina In addition to a few scattered calls' a Vepco spokesman said The Varina trouble would be cleared up during the night he said The Laburnum substation circuit failure knocked out many of the lights at the State Fair but portable generators continued to function to provide some lights One automobile display turned on car lights and provided a clown to entertain fair visitors until the power was restored There was no panic at the darkened fairgrounds The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co reported about 30 phones were out of service at one point during the rainstorm Police reported the only street badly flooded was at Cary street and Three Chopt rda where water accumulated to about 18 inches The street remained passable Henrico and Chesterfield counties both reported heavy rains serious damage -The squall line which passed through Richmond was set off as an aftereffect of Storm well after the tropical storm itself had moved across most Of West Virginia A squall line about 170 miles long developed on the east slopes of the Blue Ridge mountains and began moving east The squill line was created by unstable air in a weak cold front which developed after Gracie passed weathermen noted "You could say it'a indirectly caused by- the storm they said More than three Inches of raid was reported at the State Farm In Goochland county in an from 7:30 to 8:30 pm All this happened after Storm Gracie had come and gone Earlier yesterday the storm itself caused wind and rain over most of the state The unusual weather should get back to more normal conditions today It will be mostly sunny' today highest winds apparently were no stronger than 48 mph In gusts but it was her heavy rainfall that did moat damage The biggest rain reported was 165 inches in the Shawsville-Elliston ares near Roanoke measured since yesterday when Grade was approaching from the Carolina! A 15-mlle stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Roanoke was dosed temporarily because of two earth slides which blocked part of the scenic mountain-top route which runs south from Virginia into North Carolina Montgomery county measured nearly 7 Inches of rain No casualties were reported from the hard-hit Southwest but then wen several narrow escapes from rising water but no I 8 Hannali Grows May Miss Beginning today motorists will pay an additional one cent a gallon federal tax on gasoline The new tax passed by Congress to provide revenue for 41 000-mile interstate highway construction program Is due to expire In 1961 Most dealers Intend to pass the additional tax on to customers Motorists will have to pay 7 cent in federal taxes and 3 cents a gallon In state taxes the roofs of severs! hones destroyed one church damaged another and uprooted many trees' No Injuries were reported A frame Negro church off State RL 53 was blown 10 yards off Its foundation by the wind The roof of the building was torn away but the pews were in good order One wall was fiat the other leaning precariously in toward the pews Wires Block Highway EL Skelton of the circulation department of The Times-Dispatch who drove from Waynesboro to Richmond Wednesday night said traffic was blocked for about a mile at Mfechum river about 4:30 pm High tension wires were looped down above the road from a railroad bridge backing up vehicles in both directions Van Horrid whose farm is about a mile north of Ivy said MIAMI Sept Hurricane Hannah whined into the severe hurricane class Wednesday with estimated top winds of 125 miles an hour but took a tack that lessened her chance of hitting land In late afternoon Hannah waa 860 miles east of Cape Canaveral Fla Gordon Dunn chief storm forecaster said forecast movement during the next 11 to 24 hours is somewhat uncertain Best indications indicate a northwestward movement around 13 miles per hour" AP WirfpMi Map TODAY'S WEATHER Rain will spread Iran the central and southern Appalachians today north-ward into the eastern Ohio valley and the Northeastern states Showers and snow flurries In the higher elevations are forecast for the Sierras and the Rockies Rain and snow in Colorado and Wyoming will spread into the western portion from North Dakota to Kansas where It will change to rain in the eastern Plains and middle Mississippi valley Texas will have showers and thunderstorms It will be cooler in the eastern part of the country i Polio Cases In State Are Reduced by Three The Weather Ctozet-Mechum river area In Charlottesville and to the Reports to the State Health east the rain lessened but water Department yesterday reduced continued to wash from hills by three the number of polio down across the road cases counted in Virginia this "Traffic was pretty slow to year Zion Crossroads but after that Laboratory tests showed made better time on into three cases earlier diagnosed as he said Skelton drove from Charlottesville a distance of about 66 milea to Richmond in about two hours and 40 minutes polio are actually meningitis No new polio cases were reported yesterday and the adjusted total for the year stood at 236 High Low Prtdp Alpena 54 37 Amarillo 45 J) IS Auhrvlllt 71 41 301 Atlanta IS 1 Atlantic City 7173 Baltimore 70 Htrminsham 01 Bismarck 40 13 Hoiw 55 42 HmIiki 05 40 Buffalo 05 50 Jt Opt Ifattcraa 03 77 Charfralnll 05 70 40 Chariot ta 77 07 173 Chatlanoofa 04 70 Chirafn 01 S5 Cincinnati 73 00 Cleveland 07 00 71 Columbus Ohio 07 04 1H Richmond Ontlook Barometer rising slowly winds locally 10-15 mph Mostly sunny snd less humid today high near 80 Friday increasing cloudiness chance of 'rain in afternoon High in middle 70s Lower Potomac and Chesapeake Bay: Small craft warnings displayed winds diminishing today clearing visibility 5-10 miles except in rain Tides two feet above normal chance of minor flooding In north Tides at Hampton Roads: Highs 7:50 am and 8:10 pin iowg at 1:36 am and 2:02 pm 35 oa Local Car Blown Off Road Into Pasture Dallas Drover Dea Moines Detroit Duluth Frown Houston 7t 40 01 SI 7S as 74 4 IS 7 7 73 75 St 57 Indiana polls Jackson villa Kansas City Key West Knoxville Little Rock an 14 41 47 71 57 71 47 15 07 01 03 00 OS 05 44 43 IS 00 09 04 71 0 75 05 01 Miami Beach Milwaukee Kaadlns at Byrd Flald Weather Stalled Veitarday'a Temperature Mldnlsht 71 Maximum Minimum 71 Mean 70 Normal temperature Cor this date 00 Excess yesterday 10 mu 37i batwe ymt ei uay Extern since Kept ember 1 gains auica January I Mpls-SL Paul MnMI Montgomery Montreal Nashville New Orleans Neve York Norfolk A local insurance adjuster was driving east on RL 33 three miles west of Ruckers-ville yesterday afternoon when his car waa picked up by wind and blown Into a pasture near the highway The driver was not Injured Herbert Epperson 32 of Stop Nine Mile rd was meeting a tractor-trailer when he saw what he believed to be water and wind coming from the trailer After he had passed the thick he said hia ear was lifted and spun around in the air before landing upright In the pasture He said that the wind apparently hit his ear Just as he met and passed the truck Epperson who was alone said that he had no warning other than a noise He saw a hen house being blown by the wind about 50 feet In the air after hia car had landed in the pasture A farmer and a state trooper came to the scene within 10 minutes after the Incident Eppeiaon said hia car waa not damaged except for a small scratch about the size of a dime on the right side He continued on to Richmond Yesterday's Praclphatlad Kalnfalt 11 hours end Ins midnight 14 Rainfall home ending mMnlght ISl JVflrlM ey ainre September 1 til Sates Mate January I 341 SI Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Mate St Lnuli II 0 77 so 01 7B 71 7 71 07 1 03 It Obaarvatlaa at Midnight Wind Incited south wind velocity mph 00 71 70 Mattes humtdky al 3 1 San Antonis San PVaiKfsap Savannah Seattle Tampa Wasniq Wlinu on Jack Apper-son Crozet fire chief looks over the ruins of a house at Ivy which was leveled by a tornadfc yesterday Ten persons lost their lives In this area and nine of them were believed to have been In this house Some were throwj from the building 71 73 155 pm a et today tomorrow 11 10 fjlr i nr ff -r ir Os.