The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1946-04-11
Mrs. Evelyn Niswander Reeder,
Teacher on Islands, Writes
to Parents Here
Wall of Water Engulfs Houses
AS Inhabitants Flee Inland;
Death Toll 205

"AoASSdiS QcSLIuGllDu WTeakeu In
Hawaii by last weeks tidal wave
caused by a sub-sea earthquake in
the Pacific ocean near Alaska, was
described in an airmail letter re-
ceived by Mr.. and Mrs. Noah Mis-
wander of South Lawn avenue from
their daughter, Mrs. Evelyn Reeder
who witnessed natures seaborne out
burst on the island of Maui, of the
Hawaiian group.
According to Red Cross reports
the loss of life in the catastrophe
has grown to 205.
Giving a graphic account of how
she witnessed the tidal wave beat
upon her home island Monday morn
ing of last week as she was enroute
to the school where she teaches, Mrs.
Reeder writes the following:
You probably have heard of the
disastrous tidal wave we had here
today. 1t certainly caused a lot of
destruction where the beach was low.
Before school in the morning /
was listening to the 7:15 newscast
and in the middle of one item the
commentator interrupted to say that
tidal wave had struck the Waikiki
area. After that it was time for
me to leave and | went out to wait
for the other teachers with whom |
ride.
RECEIVES WARNING
While / stood there a truck pass
| ed, and as the road was very muddy,
slippery and very steep the wheels
started turning just before they
reached the top of the hill. Some of
the workmen jumped off and started
pushing. One man noticed me stand
ing there. He shouted to ask me if
1 was going to Paia where | teach.
shook my head, and he said, "Tidal
wave down there"
Soon my driver came and | asked
the others in the car if they had
heard anything. They had not, so
we went on. We usually take a
short cut thru the cane fields, but
because they were muddy and i'm
passable we went around by the
ocean road which is paved.
"As we neared Paia we noticed an
unusually heavy stream of traffic.
All the buses were coming up, in
stead of going down as they usually
do. When we came to Paia, people
were out of their houses in excited
groups, clothed in whatever they
could grab quickly. The streets were
lined with cars, and the people all
wore worried expressions. Some
were weeping, others carried bundles.
"As we went down to lower Paia,
| people came in slacks with pant legs
rolled up to their knees. Policemen
were directing traffic and one road
was completely blocked off. We
couldn't stop but were waved on be-
cause traffic was so heavy, so we
went on along the road toward
school.
| SEE DESTRUCTION
Wherever there were low spots
we could see the destruction. We
looked down and saw where house
had been washed right into the mid
die of street. Finally we were
able to stop on the top of hill
where a Hawaiian church stood
People were on top of stone wall
looking down, and we joined them
"One of the men there was an old
Japanese who pointed and said
"That is my house" All you could
see were pieces of lumber being
churned in the waves. While we
watched, the water receded, then
came back in a huge wall. It hit
those pieces of lumber and carried
them out to sea.
"The Buddhist temple was under
water, and the Japanese cemetery
was completely flooded. The houses
had whole walls carried away.
Eve went on and found places
where the water had swept across
the road. None of the roads hac
been washed from the shore. The
below and see where huge holes haC
been wreched from the shore. TIL.
ocean was very wild, muddy ant
churning as far out as you could see
I'VE found many absent when w,
arrived at school. Some teachers