Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1940-12-20
MISS MARIE JONES
RECEIVES LETTER
FROM P. ISLANDS

N1dSC week, LIkeFG dppCdIcu III Wis
column, a letter from Miss Marie
Jones, a former resident, of POGO
moke, and also a former member OF
the clerical force of local newspaper
She mentioned letter she had re-
ceived from her niece, living in Mas
bata, P. l., and of date, December z,
1889. This letter tells of an exper-
fence attending a visit of tornado
to the Islands, and it makes inter-
esting reading. Here is the letter:
Editor).
Rio Guinobatan, Masbata, P. l.
December End, 1889
Dear Nom, Pop and Auntie:
Christmas packages were sent off
by November 18th, SO you should re-
ceive them by Dec. 18th. If all goes
well, this letter will land in San
Francisco, Dec. 22nd. I hope you get
It by Christmas, too, but that is per-
haps too much to expect.
Today is cloudy and the barometer
is still falling. For two days we
have been expecting typhoon, but
it hasn't reached us. The radio re-
port says the typhoon signal No. 10
is up at Tacloban which is just little
way across the bay from here. That
is the highest signal I have ever
heard about and is as high as they
10. They say that after that no one
has time to hoist any more signals.
This afternoon I had Mrs. Bates
(the new general managers wife,,
Bertha Faust (wife of mill superin-
tendent), Rose Preisser (the school
teacher next door and Jonsey Middle
ton (called "Jonsey", because she is
one of the Jones girls Of the man
who makes Jones Vinegar-remem-
Der the plant that used to be in Red
lands, and I used to get mad when
the kids at Junior High would ask
me if my dad made vinegar?) Well,
anyway this afternoon I had them all
in to tea because it was raining some,
and what is better than tea on a
rainy afternoon?
Honesto made some icebox cook
les and some sandwiches. Mrs.
Bates and Jonsey played Chinese
checkers, while the rest Of US sewed
or crocheted. I am crocheting pur-
pie rag rug to go in my lavendar
bathroom.
Homer came home with pocket
full of candy bars, and Barney Faust
came in. I asked Barney and Ber-
tina to stay and eat clam chowder
with us, and we finished up with
uangoes for dessert. Then we all
adjourned to the "den" or "study'
because it was so rainy we couldn't
ut on the porch and had to keep
the French doors between the porch
and sala closed; that makes the sala
very small indeed, since we eat in
there too and have to have the table
pulled out when we have company.
But the "study" is very coy with
blue denim curtains and the cedar
chest and desk and camouflaged sew
ing machine; all the books are on
shelves in the closet and electric
lights kept on continually to keep
the books dry.
It began to get rainy and windy
so Bertha and Barney thought they
had better go home. Homer has
turned on the radio to see if he can
hear anything about the typhoon,
and I am writing this.
Probably you know that a typhoon
is practically the same as hurricane
wind and rain and both Of great in
tensity. There is center which is
perfectly calm and very, very low
pressure, and wind is rushing to-
wards this center in sort Of spiral.
OF course the center is moving along
all the time. First you get all the
wind and rain from one side, then