The storm in Florida with so much loss of life and property destruction in its wake, has caused a good deal of uneasiness on the part of Johnston County people who had relatives in the stricken area. All of them have now been heard from, and no loss of life of former Johnstonians has been reported.
Mr. J. A. Wellons had a telegram Monday afternoon from his daughter, Miss Mabel Wellons, who holds a position in Miami, one of the hardest hit sections, stating that she was all right, and there was no cause to worry on her account.
Mrs. A. M. Calais had a similar message from her father, Mr. A. M. Willets. Mr. Calais’ parents and grandmother live in Miami also. Telegraphic messages have been meagre, but news of safety suffice until letters give details of the terrible disaster.
The editor of The Herald received a letter from Mrs. Delia K. Sanders yesterday announcing that all is well with her and her little daughter, Martha Rose. Mrs. Sanders has been living in Miami for several years, having purchased a home there. She states that her home is standing although all awnings, screens and the roof of her kitchen are torn off. Even the tops of the trees around her place were wrung off. Mrs. Sanders in describing the experience says:
“The storm lasted 12 long awful hours. I dressed by candlelight at 2 a.m. and woke Martha Rose at 3 o’clock and had her to dress. At 4 o’clock one of my neighbors came over because their house swayed so, and they had not been in my house 15 minutes when their house fell. It was the blackest night, not even a ray of lightning, and we thought dayling [daylight?] would never come. Between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. the wind blew a terrific gale, and we saw sailing by in the air planks, roofing, buckets, tubs, etc. Trees were popping, windows were rattling, and then a crash would be heard—a roof blown off or a falling house.
“Saturday morning after daylight, a family of five, the youngest a baby four months old wrapped in a blanket, made their way to my house in that raging storm, all of them drenched and exhausted. They did not leave their own ome until the roof blew off.
“The two families I have in my house lost everything they had. I would like to write in detail about what I know personally of the destruction here, but I do not feel equal to it now. Biltmore Hotel at Coral Gables is housing 1,600 homeless people, and The White Temple church has been turned into a hospital.
‘Martha Rose was not the least bit excited during the storm and kept saying, ‘Mother, I just know God will take care of us.’ She kept repeating the 23rd Psalm. The verse that came to me was ‘I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whithersoever thou goest.’”
Others heard from in Miami include Mrs. Jesse Wellons, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Wood. Mr. and Mrs. Wood live in the Polenta section, and they have received a message stating that Mrs. Wellons and her family are safe but lost everything they had.
Mrs. A. Z. Pierce of Selma has received a letter from her son, Mr. Winleigh Pearce, who lives in Miami, and he says it is impossible to get a true conception of conditions from newspaper accounts. Thousands of people are homeless but thankful that they escaped with their lives after the agonizing hours they spent as the storm raged. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce are staying with Mrs. Pearce’s niece, and five other large families are sharing the house with them. Supplies are being sent and among them candles. Mr. Pearce states that Miami is almost completely devastated.
Mr. Mitchiner, a son of Mr. John A. Mitchiner of Selma, was in the mercantile business in Miami and lost both his home and business place.
From the front page of the Smithfield Herald, Sept. 24, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073982/1926-09-24/ed-1/seq-1/
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