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

Stormy Day

Posted on by Rebecca C.

Phone rings. The answering machine picks up. From the open window, I hear my mother’s voice:

“Stop taking pictures of the storm and get in your house. I refuse to explain to the doctor why you were struck by lightning.”

Yes, I went back in and called my mom to ease her worries. I live right beside my parents. There’s actually distance between the two farm houses which is why I had to ask if she could see me outside. Her reply:

“No, I just know you.”

Her answer was perfect.

Dark skies, wind, thunderstorms, heavy rain, tornado watches (and warnings)…just another day in Michigan. As I type this, we are still under thunderstorm/tornado watches. I guess, the storms are one of the main reasons why I am still awake. I like to keep an eye on the weather during these watches and warnings.

Michigan has seen a little bit of everything as far as weather is concerned.  Mother Nature was busy keeping our lives interesting. There have been reports of tornadoes. In fact a tornado touched down in Portland earlier. From the pictures on social media and the news, the place resembles a war zone. Despite all the damage, no major injuries or deaths have been reported which is the best news to come out of all the destruction.

For my area, I noticed the birds and other wildlife seemed extra hungry prior to the beginning of the storms. I was told this is normal; the animals will eat early in order to take shelter later. I am going to have to do some research to see if this theory is true or not.

Until next time…peace