Chapel Hill, April 30—Sweeping clear a path of a hundred yards wide and a mile long, a tornado at noon today brought destruction to Pace’s Mill section, 12 miles south east of Chapel Hill, killing three persons and injuring, more or less seriously, seven others.
The dead are Dave Blalock, his wife and their 16-year-old son, Charles.
The injured are W.D. Johnson and wife, their two children, and Mrs. Will Blalock and her two children.
Tonight Dr. B.B. Lloyd and Dr. E.A. Abernethy of Chapel Hill and Dr. Chapin of Pittsboro are at Pace’s Mill attending the victims who are being cared for in the homes of neighbors. All of the victims of the disaster were white farmers operating small farms, and the dead and injured are all limited to members of three families. They are in a destitute condition, all of their property having been swept away.
Only three residences, as far as can be learned, were destroyed in the path of the tornado, but a number of storehouses were wrecked, while stock were killed, injured and scattered about the country.
The Blalocks were in their home in a large saw mill building and Mrs. Blalock was preparing the noon meal when the storm struck. The house was blown to pieces and the body of Mrs. Blalock, 35 or 40 minutes later, was found 350 yards from the house with an aluminum kettle in her hand.
A seven days old baby, of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, was blown from the arms of his father and deposited in a ditch partly filled with water, about 40 yards away. the baby, it is stated, will die.
In addition to the damage to privately owned property, the storm, it is reported, warped the steel bridge over Haw River. Several families living in the building occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Blalock and a number were in it when it was demolished by the high wind. The escape of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who occupied the demolished building, is considered nothing short of marvelous.
Willie Blalock, son of the deceased Mr. Blalock, and Ben Stewart started to Durham during the afternoon prior to the s torm. They had gone but a short distance when the storm caught them. They drove their car beside a hill where it was shielded against the wind. Within a short time the wind subsided and they turned their car back towards Bynum. Reaching the scene of the old mill they soon saw the havoc wrought by the storm. The victims were found lying about on the ground as were the bodies of the three dead. Medical aid was summoned by the injured.
Most Damage to Mill
Other damage was done at Bynum, it was stated, but most of it was done to the mill. A mill on the opposite side of the Haw River was not touched by the wind, it was reported.
The storm appeared to be general throughout this section of the state. Durham felt a little of it in the high winds and the deluge of rain but no damage was done in the city or suburbs.
Efforts were made to get into communication with Pittsboro over long distance telephone tonight, but they failed. It was reported here that considerable damage was done in that place although not to such an extent as was done in Bynum.
From the front page of The Sampson Independent, May 1, 1924
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