Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1926-11-24
THE FLORIDA GALE.
Maine Mans Story Of His Terrible
Experience,

|
A Maine man, Alphonso Christie
pher, formerly of Madison, in a let
ter from Hollywood, Fla, telling of
his experience in the disastrous hur-
ricane of a few weeks ago, says:
Il cannot tell in words how bad it
was; we are very fortunate to be
| living.
Il closed my store at 10 o'clock
Friday night and went home. About
1890 o'clock the wind started an
uproar and kept on getting worse.
About o'clock we got up, as we
could not sleep. The house was
shaking, it was pouring rain, and
the wind was blowing $50 miles an
hour
"All of sudden the back end of
the house blew away with an awful
crash, and the lights went out. We
knelt down and prayed as we
thought the end had come. The
wind blew a window out about 5
o'clock and the rain poured in. One
could hear the other houses crash
| ing in, but we could not go out, as
the wind and rain were too strong.
We thought daylight would never
come. Finally it did, but the wind
and rain got more furious every
| moment.
about $50 the piazza blew off
! and I thought Arlene would go
| crazy Then all of a sudden the
/ roof caved in, I grabbed Phyllis and
| we ran for the neighbors and made
| it without a scratch. The neigh
bors wife and baby were at the
door crying, and the man was trying
| to hold up one side of the house as
| the. windows were all out. Well, he
and I managed to hold it until 7.3O
and then the roof of another house
blew off and struck the side we were
holding and the whole house caved
in. We were unconscious for few
moments.
81 jumped up. My face was COW
cred with blood, where a beam
struck me on the cheek. I began
pulling the walls to find Arlene and
Phyllis and the neighbours wife and
baby, and finally found them, with
out scratch. I grabbed Phyllis
and Arlene and brought them back
to the REQ sedan, with the glass all
out of it, but I could open one door
I told them to stay in the bottom
and lie there until l came back, as
l was going for help. The other
mans wife and baby would not get
in the car, as they were afraid, so
they lay fiat on the ground.
"Well, ran to the hospital, which
was in the same block. Trees and
roofs were flying, together with
boards and everything else. l final
ly made the hospital and found it in
ruins to the ground, and not soul
in sight l tried to get back to
Arlene and baby, but could not
make it, as the wind and rain were
too strong. There happened to be
Ford touring car standing near
it and lay down on the bottom. Be-
leve me that Ford was sure shak-
ing like cradle.
II laid there shivering for an
hour, with everything blowing over
my head Every few moments I
looked up to see if the wind was
letting up, so l could run back to
Arlene and baby, as I figured if we
were to die, we might as well die
together. Finally l crawled out Of
the Ford and started for the sedan.
All of a sudden the water came
rushing in from the ocean, and l
was crawling through foot of
water. 1t looked as if the end had
really come, but l kept up my cour-
age and got about half way to the
house when tub hit me and
knocked me senseless. When l re-
covered, l got up and jumped
through the window of a house. AS
men and woman there.
81 told them to come and help
me get my wife and baby ana the
other family before the water got
too deep, and we started, but l
dropped exhausted. l told them
where my wife and baby were ana
they started. I crawled back into
the house and thought IL they got
hack to the house at all, they would
bring them back dead, but finally
thew got back with everybody all
right. l was sure glad to see them.
There were four feet of water ny
now and the rain was pouring
through the ceiling and we inquired
that the house would not stand II
much longer. -.
"About one O'Clock it began let
ting up and we wer call happy me
water was going back to the ocean,
and about 43O o'clock we men went
out to look around. There wasn't
building standing on 18th avenue.
The grocery stores were blown to
the ground. There was twenty feet
of lumber and dirt piled up in the
middle of the road. 1t was the
greatest sight I ever saw in my life.
My store was wide open, and people
were helping themselves. That did
not bother me. l don't think can
get much out of what was left. but
might be able to sell for $500 or
s4OO or move it elsewhere after 1t
is fixed up. That doesn't worry me,
as l can work and am still living.