Friday, October 23, 2009

The Great Storm of 1933 - Part II



Below is more information about the Great Storm of 1933, courtesy of the book, "Gwynn's Island Virginia, a History and Pictorial Essay," written and illustrated by David D. Ryan:

"In 1933 the Chesapeake Bay area was struck by a powerful storm, greater than any in recent memory. Six natives related their experiences on the island during the August 22-23 storm..."

"...on the night of August 22, I was sleeping beside a window and the wind was blowing a terrific gale...by mid morning...the view from this porch was as if you were on the ocean. The water was the color of milk, almost, because of the waves. They would hit the house and break over the kitchen. We had a 42-foot canoe that my father was concerned about and he went out to try to check on it. We could see his head at times. Sometimes we couldn't, because the waves would wash right over him, and my mother was screaming, because she thought something was going to happen to him..."

"...It got so dark and dreary that the hens and chickens went to roost! They didn't know, but it was a terrible time..."

"...Scrooch Callis, who operated the Callis's Mercantile Co. on Callis's Wharf at the time of the storm: "Well, I was living on Risbytown Road and I knew we were having a bad storm of course. Early that morning, possibly about 7 o'clock, my brother, who was captain of the ferry that ran from Callis's Wharf to Cricket Hill, came by and told me that water was in my store...when I got on the main road, you could see the water coming up and the seas were high enough that at one time, it knocked me over...I don't recall how high the water was then, but it must have been more than foot deep in there (the store), which was unusual..."
-------------
Chesapeake Bay Woman speaking now, though not about the Great Storm of 1933.

Tonight at a community forum regarding the upcoming Board of Supervisors election, Blog Fest was mentioned as an example of how the county has the ability to draw tourists from all corners of the country but needs to reflect upon ways to lodge those people once they arrive. Of course they won't arrive at all if certain local bloggers keep posting stories about storms with waves big enough to knock people over, but this is neither here nor there.

Also, I took the picture above yesterday at the public landing at Onemo. Those gloves sitting perfectly atop the crab pots just begged for attention, and I gave it profusely. There's a close-up shot that's better than this, but I haven't uploaded it yet.

Happy Friday and Feliz Fin de Semana.

9 comments:

Meg McCormick said...

How to lodge them? Can't they all just stay on air mattresses in your foyer and living room and and in your kids' rooms and pull campers into your yard? You could probably charge premium rates for the waterfront view. THINK ABOUT IT!

Ann Marie said...

ohhh i have water front too! never thought of that.. granted CBW has better than me.. but STILL!!!!

we can open mini camp grounds LOL

Seriously.. word verification.. uncoco... I don't wanna UNCOCO... I want coco.. maybe the universe is trying to tell me my ass doesn't need coco...

one fair assing deserves another heheheheheh

Mental P Mama said...

Scooch? I love that name! And W00t for the Blog Fest props. I think you should be appointed the Tourism Czar for Mathews County.

Daryl said...

Catching up after an insane week. That is one terrific photo, I love the work gloves resting as if just put down after working on getting those traps clean ...

Uh oh .. is this an omen? WV: raingc

Linda said...

Oh storms from before my time don't deter me! And I'll bring my tent if you have a place for me to pitch it.

foolery said...

WOO-HOO! A shout-out from the local government. I'd say they noticed us. Hopefully I didn't embarrass us too much. They didn't mention any pending anti-foolery legislation, did they?

Bringing my blow-up bed and a Snuggy. I'll be right as rain.

Meg McCormick said...

Noticed us?? I bet that lunch place is STILL talking about the table for 16 from that Friday in July!!

abb said...

I know where I'm staying next summer, come hell or high water! Ya can't scare me!

abb said...

Ooops, first wv was tickey and this one is Imfil.

Imfil of tickey. And you?