As far as I know, we in Ansonia dodged the bullet when tornadic conditions swept through the area Thursday night.
While I felt fortunate about that, I feel so sorry for those whose lives changed dramatically when buildings were leveled; trees were uprooted, poles and wires were downed; pets, in some cases, did not make it, and probably a lot of injuries we don’t even know about as a result of this devastating storm that was extensive through this part of the country.
Never in my life have I heard the word “tornado” as much as I did that night.
We didn’t lose power at our residence, so we were able to hear the weather updates on TV, which made it even scarier.
Figuring we would lose power, especially after the winds went through, I got candles ready and had flightlights nearby just in case, but obviously, I didn’t have to use them, which was a positive thing for us.
Lots of people in the storm’s path did lose power for a long period of time, and it sounds like there may have been some deaths in the other areas that were devastated by the storm.
Lots of prayers were said here at home, and by the grace of God, we survived in more ways than one. Son Jamie and I are forever grateful.
I asked him if he wanted to put his comment in here and his comment was, “I’ll never forget it. The keyword was stovepipe tornado. I never heard of such a thing.”
And, neither have I.
But, during the storm, he kept saying to me, “We’re going to be all right, Mom,” and I felt better about his positive attitude. It gave me hope.
The tornado sirens in Ansonia blared for what seemed like hours on and off. Those alarms are great, but I would understand if pets and children would have gotten upset and/or scared. The sound made us realize this was real.
Traveling a few days following the storm had us stopped in traffic for crews repairing downed lines and poles in one spot, and I heard that Fisher-Dangler Road was one area that was affected and decided to drive down that road on Saturday afternoon and, by golly, they did get hit. Only five of the houses in that long row of homes were not affected, as far as I could tell. There were a lot of parked vehicles on the road, but I passed all of them, got out of my car, and took some photos. People were at almost every home, cleaning up the debris and probably getting what was left out of there.
While this event didn’t physically affect us, it was the first time I was terrified because this could have involved us.
I do remember the tornado that tore through the village of Arcanum on November 22, 1992, just days before Thanksgiving. Jamie and I were living in a mobile home in Ansonia at that time, and the next day, I was assigned to go to Arcanum and check things out and, of course, to report on it.
I interviewed quite a few townspeople affected by the devastation. Many of them were busy sorting through the wreckage. Homes and businesses were destroyed and poles and lines in the roadways were down, not only in town but out in the country as well. I spent a lot of time at the fire department, where periodic press conferences were held. It will always be a memorable experience for me.
It was reported that 13 people in Arcanum were injured, and, fortunately, there were no deaths.
I also remember the Xenia tornado on April 3, 1974, and some tornadoes in Darke County over the years, including one that overturned a mobile home out in the country, resulting in the death of a woman.
Now, I can add this recent storm to my memories; however, I would rather not hear of another one. I could do without that kind of news.
Stay safe!
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Jamie and I extend our condolences to the families and friends of Dr. Fred Bernhard, Jeff Jenkinson, LaDonna Brewer, Gaylord Hoffman, Jason Stucke, Albert “Buck Sheets, Frances “Fran” Schmitz, and Rev. Myron Stump.
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Please pray for these people: Kent Snyder, (Cousin) Carol Byrd, Kinley Bernard, Kathy Burke, Gladys Neff, Kara Didier, Dave and Ginny Reese (of Hopewell, Pa.), Carl Francis, Craig “Cheese” Thompson, Katie West, Bridget Brown, Don DeBord, Otis Stewart, Chris Clark, Kyle Kaiser, Tina Ruble Ullery, Cindy Lovejoy, Janet Kammer, Slug Midlam, Bob Peters, Phyllis Brumbaugh, Sonny Custer, Judy Collins, Linda Gasper, Carol Hemmerich, Stephanie Klingshirn, Alice Knick, Brenda Schlechty, Betty Burnfield, Dan Lockhart, Roberta Hall, Pam Norman-Penticuff, Kelly Kelch, Mike Mayse, Larry Linder, Steve Waymire, Jamie Knick, Nikole Baldridge, Chester Bryant, Lester Beisner, Delores Beisner, Kermit Foureman, Chuck “C.W.” Cruze, Mark Lovejoy.
Also, Judy York, Donald Booker, Dennis Leeper, Connie Stachler, Randy Heck, Ronnie Norton, Jeremy “Jerm” Burke, Gary Eichler, David Pretzman, Clinton Randall, Ralph Byrd, Doug Winger, Sonja and Dan Coppess, Bruce Kaiser, Amanda Mote, Paul Gigandet, Doug Whittington, Tracy Pratt, John Rimmer, Joan Keen, Larry P. Fitzwater, Jim Thomas, Neal Gray, Judie Hathaway, Randy Garrison, Kathy Gragorace, Becky Everhart, Donna Bixler, Cathy Melling, Scott Clark, and all others who are suffering from other life-altering illnesses.
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Happy birthday:
March 22 to Virginia O’Dell (105), Cris Moody, Tom Wentworth, Elaine Howell, Glen Best, Andrea Hodge, Steve Gruber, and Diana Floyd.
March 23 to Paula Moody, Jeff Dohme, Brandan/ Heck, Carol Bowman Cox, Kaya Price and Sylvia Garrett.
March 24 to Kim Koverman Hershey, Cindy Jenkinson Moody, Brian K. Hathaway, Mike Thornhill, Jana Deeter, Mike Stegall, and Tina Ruble Ullery.
March 25 to Shelly King, Brandon Moody, Joan DeMange, Doris Barga, Mike Doyle, Kristin Hartrum, Linda Shuttleworth, Gerry Honeycutt, Furman Kiser, Brian Dapore and Nancy Norton.
March 26 to Nevin Elleman, Connie Starline, and Kenny Erwin.
March 27 to Joan Falknor, Susan Kammer, Jeff Hile, Molly Wentworth, Nathan Leeper, Travis Yohey, Chuck Runner, Sherry Zumbrun Keen and Sharon Hutchens.
March 28 to Donna Slyder, H.B. Hole Jr., Bob Berger, Eva Cusac-Seale, Virginia Metzcar, and Mike Henderson.
Happy anniversary to Gene and Amy Maher on March 26 and Kirby and Beth Wilcox on March 29.
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