MY GOD!! It's a Cyclone

About the Book

On March 21, 1932, a tornado hit the central part of Alabama, causing death and destruction. This one was designated as the deadliest to have hit Alabama in history. There were two that hit that week, the second being March 27. The death toll from the first one was reported as being 214. The second one brought the total deaths to over 400. The first one that hit about 6:30 PM took my Father, Mother, and five siblings, leaving the four youngest of ten children orphaned. Witnesses who saw our house when it hit said the house was taken up in the air about fifty feet, then exploded.

The family was gathered in the room used as a family gathering place, and my Father uttered the last words anyone heard him speak before he was killed: “My God!! It’s a cyclone”. At that time tornadoes were called cyclones. When the house exploded, the family was scattered and the youngest girl, Velma, was blown back in the direction from which the tornado came. She was found about two lengths of a football field, and across a creek. The only garment she had on was the cuff of a sleeve from the dress she had been wearing. My Father was found some distance from where the house had stood, and the rest closer together. Only three boys and one girl, the youngest, survived. The four of us were placed in an ambulance at one time and taken to the hospital.

After leaving the Vaughn Memorial Hospital, we were supposed to have been adopted by a family in Selma, Alabama. They had only wanted the youngest boy and girl, but were told they had to take all four or none. It was agreed, but later, the oldest boy was sent away, and about a year later I was sent away as well.

About the Author

I have no previous experience in writing. I was urged to write this account of the tornado that took most of my immediate family by my granddaughters. I can only write of the actual events in a first person format, and the descriptions and words used are as those spoken during that period of time. Most of the events in this work were things I actually experienced, revealed to me by relative, persons who were living in the area when the tornado occurred, newspaper clippings, and court records.

I had but a 6^th grade education until the year 2000. At this time I received my GED, and in 2002, entered Central Alabama College at Childersburg, Alabama. Due to several periods of illness, I had to drop out twice during the two years I was enrolled. I attended under an Alabama Law that allowed persons sixty years or older to attend a State-operated college for two years, paying only for books and lab fees. While it would not have been possible to receive a diploma, it was possible to receive a certificate. As I had to drop out prior to completing the required two years, I did not receive one. Prior to my becoming ill, my GPA had been 3.78.
It might very surprise some or cause concern regarding the way foster homes were operated during the time after my parents were killed. There was no close supervision by Welfare Case workers of the treatment of the children placed in these homes, and most were used for slave labor. There was not, for the most part, any feelings of concern for the children and the treatment was brutal at times. Most kept children for the money they received from the state, as well as the free labor the children provided. The case workers did not make many inspections to know what was occurring. Most visited a foster home possibly once each year, and the time for the visit was related to the foster parents in advance, so everything appeared normal. If nothing more comes from this book than the need to better supervise the foster homes, it will all have been worth it.