1946 Tornado–St. Johns, Michigan

Posted on by Rebecca C.

I pulled these images from slides. I was surprised to find them in my recent estate sale purchase. The previous owner did a lot of traveling. Most of the slides are focused on the trips. I admit, I love seeing their adventures. And, my bucket list is getting a lot of great ideas.

But these slides were focused on the aftermath of a tornado in Clinton County, Michigan.

Each slide has handwriting on them. In pencil are the date, event, and location. The tornado took place in August 1946 in St. Johns, Michigan.

A couple of the slides had extra details like Rudy’s trailer.

The broken trees were on Clinton Ave. I found this interesting. My grandfather lived on Clinton Ave. for years.

There’s no further identifying information on the next three slides.

The sign in the rubble reads, welding. Perhaps, the name on the business sign is Gary.

A lot of people showed up to help.

The next two slides are labeled, “Aunt Nellie’s house”.

I am assuming the lady with the flowered dress is Aunt Nellie.

Tornadoes leave a path of debris and destruction. I am hoping no one was hurt in this event.

I am hoping someone out there can provide more information on this tornado. I did a little research but did not find a lot of information. If I come across my slides from this event, I will definitely post them.

Until next time…peace

First Congregational Church, St. Johns, MI

Posted on by Rebecca C.

One of the photos I recently purchased off eBay was an image of the First Congregational Church in St. Johns, Michigan. I don’t have a date for the picture. If someone can tell me the year of the car in the image, I can have a better guess when the photo was taken.

I love old original buildings that are still in use today.

Main Street, St. Johns, Michigan

Posted on by Rebecca C.

Can you imagine catching the trolley to go up Main Street? I would love to step back in time to stroll down through the little shops past all the carriages. Of course, I would have to pet every horse on the way.

What do you see when you look at this photo? I do not have a date. I purchased the photo from eBay. But I just love it.

Vintage Photo: Essex Farmer’s Club

Posted on by Rebecca C.

I have been working a series of photos that include images from a parade. In this photo, the float is for the Essex Farmer’s Club. I did a quick search but I did not yield any quality results on the club. I know the photo was taken in St. Johns, Michigan. I do not have a year. I am hoping to find out more information as I continue to research.

Until next time….peace