Valley Girl Views: May 2020

Seventeen school children and three teachers were in the Dewart Academy when the Tornado touched down, taking the top floor right off the building. No one was seriously injured.

On May 21 1919, 17 students from the Dewart school, and other township schools, had come to the Dewart Academy, to take the exam exam to attend the high school located there. While three township teachers and a Northumberland School Superintendent graded the tests, the pupils were outside on the playground.

As the skies darkened, the superintendent, Mr Swank from Elyburg, called the students back inside, saying it looked like an awful storm was coming. He had everyone gather in the vestibule, the sturdiest part of the red brick building.

Moments later, the winds tore through the building, removing the top floor. The school bell flew off the school, and across the creek, landing in the meadow.

Tornado Damage at the Russell Farm

Superintendent Swanks Ford roadster was picked up, turned over several times, and landed in a vacant lot nearby. It had to be taken to a Watsontown garage to undergo repairs.

No one was seriously injured, and the students, who all lived within walking distance, walked home after the building collapsed. They later all took the same exam again at the McEwensville school.

Tornado Damage at the Nicely Barn

It was about half past 4pm when a man crossing the Allenwood-Dewart bridge witnessed the black funnel cloud. It first tore the roof off of a large barn at the William Nicely farm. From there it moved east, striking the Russell farm, where the Dewart Academy was located.

Edmund E. Russell & Wiliam H. Nicely, President of the Farmers National Bank, were brother in laws. The Dewart Academy was located between their two farms.

John Russell, and his father Edmond, were working in the nearby barn when the funnel shaped twister came through the area, taking the roof off the barn they were working in.

The barn was soon reduced to a pile of boards and heavy timbers. A nearby shed was ripped apart, and the 1917 Model T Ford kept inside was lifted into the air. It landed upside down, on it's roof. (After the storm, the car was flipped upright, and when the hand crank was turned, the car started.)

Residents took shelter wherever they could find it. The two Russell men and the farmhand hid under a wagon.

The entire storm lasted approximately three minutes, but it was followed by heavy rains that continued throughout the night. Several neighbors helped the Russells put a temporary roof on their home during the rains.

Between 20 and 30 apple trees on the Russell farm were uprooted, and a windmill was leveled. Later the family attempted to replant the apple orchard, but the new trees would not grow there. Some of the chickens were blow about a mile away to the next farm.

At Coburn, along Penns Creek, the creeks overan the banks in the worst flood since 1880.

A large portion of the dam at Monroe Mills was washed out. Fifteen hundred dollars worth of lumber was washed away. The heavy rains caused the river to rise so rapidly that several feet of water covered the trolley tracks near the Milton fairgrounds.

East of Sunbury, a tornado touched down around 6:30pm. Two additional farm houses were unroofed and fruit trees of George Conrad's 3 year old peach orchard were torn up by their roots.

Seven Men and a boy look over part of the remains of the Dewart schoolhouse after a cyclone hit the building and ripped the roof off May 21 1919. About 20 students were inside the building when the cyclone struck. Miraculously, only two pupils were slightly injured. Investigating the damage are (left to right) Fred Truckenmiller, Jake Wertman, W. Truckenmiller, Ed Truckenmiller, George Fredericks, Stewart Wertman, Unidentified, and Homer Hess, all from the Dewart area.

Ward Truckenmiller would be the "boy". Fred was his brother, Ed his father.

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The next tornado to come through the Dewart Area was in 19185
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-1919-tornado-that-destroyed-dewart.html

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Find More Stories & History Of Dewart Here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/06/dewart-pennsylvania.html

And more local history from the Susquehanna Valley here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

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READ MORE
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Article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 22 1919

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The deadliest tornado to ever hit Pennsylvania occurred on May 31, 1985.

It struck the area between 9:25-10:15pm, hitting Allenwood, Dewart, and Watsontown, including Hidden Creek Campground and Spring Lake Village.

Rated an F4, the tornado was 1.5 miles wide and it's path was 19 miles in length. It resulted in 6 deaths, and more than 60 injured, in our local area alone. More than 60 people were killed across the state.

The day had been hot, and incredibly muggy. There had been news about a possible tornado warning, but tornadoes are so uncommon in Pennsylvania that no one was truly concerned. And then, that evening, there were dark skies, forbidding winds and large hail.

Some recall seeing sideways lightning — green and blue lightning, and the temperature suddenly dropped.

Witness was playing at the Pike Drive in, just two miles from the Tornado's path. Spectators recall the sky turning a weird shade of green, and then strong winds shook the cars as the tornado moved through the areas nearby. (The drive it was not damaged, the storm passed nearby, but did not touch that area)

Before long, there was a strange sound from across the countryside, like a freight train rumbling.

(The Arrow is not quite correct here, it hit a bit above Allenwood)

The tornado traveled east-southeast from one mile west of Bastress in Lycoming County, downing hundreds of trees in the Tiadaghton State Forest, and ascending into the White Deer Ridge. It then lifted briefly over the Ridge, before touching down again.

It moved into Union County and widened to 1.5 miles as is crossed the Susquehanna River into northern Northumberland County.

The shaded area shows where the damages occurred

“It came down over the mountain,” said Karen Lynch, who lived with her family on a farm on Alvira Road. “For years, you could see the path where it came down off the mountain.”

It was Memorial Day Week-End, and Hidden Creek Campground in Union County was at full capacity. In the Campground, two people were killed and 20 were injured.

An 83-year-old woman survived when her mobile home was thrown over an 80-foot cliff and landed in a tree. Thomas Hess, the county’s director of emergency services at the time, told the newspaper that 80 percent — 48 — of the 60 campsites were destroyed while the rest sustained minor to major damage.

A total of 48 campers, 8 homes, three mobile homes and 18 vehicles were destroyed in Union County. Five additional homes were damaged.

In Northumberland County:

Two business,

140 mobile homes,

77 homes,

1church,

28 barns,

9 silos

28 garages

were all damaged or destroyed.

A total of 190 structures and 50 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by the tornado.

Thirty mobile homes in Spring Lake Village were destroyed.

Numerous homes were blown off their foundations and moved as much as 20 feet away - most with occupants inside. No one was seriously injured, but many had lacerations and contusions from being bounced around in their homes, or from flying debris.

Four school buses were destroyed. Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped off.

The Kennedy Home in Washington Twp (Allenwood RD)

The Kennedy Cider Press

Later, the wheel from the press, which survived the storm unscathed, was stolen.

35 farms were heavily damaged or destroyed, and farm machinery was destroyed. 12 cows were killed.

The Grange Hall was completely destroyed

Eleanor Taylor, was literally picked up and thrown through the air by the winds of the storm that evening. She had driven to her stepmothers house that evening, in what she thought was a really severe storm. She recalls that she could barely open the door when she arrived. The power went out, and the Eleanor went to get a kerosene lamp, but she does not remember anything after that. The winds from the storm crashed into the home and carried both women away. Thelma would later die from her injuries. Eleanor was knocked unconscious, and spent three days in a coma. She was in the hospital for three weeks. But she survived.

Ruth Stumbaugh was also blown from her home, when her mobile home near Montgomery was torn apart. She landed on her mattress 25 feet away, and was able to find her flashlight to signal for help. Stumbaugh said she felt like Auntie Em in the Wizard of Oz.

The Charles Fenstamacher Home

One man wrapped himself in a mattress in the hallway of the trailer and got ready for the ride of his life. His trailer was picked up and spun before it landed again, almost right on it's foundation. Another family put their children in the dryer, and then leaned in front of the machine covered in clothes baskets.

Bastian Home in Dewart Pa

At the Drick farm, the barn was swept from its foundation, and the silo roof and a section of the house roof were gone.

The Lynch Farm

At the Lynch farm, the old brick farmhouse had a big gaping hole in it. It was off its foundation, and the barn had collapsed on the cows. Farm equipment was scattered across the road.

The roof was blown off of the home of Glenn Burkhard, and the trees were snapped.

The historic Pike’s Peak one-room school house lost its roof. Renovo's fire tower was twisted like a pretzel. Four 24 foot billboards and two trailers were never found.

In Elimsport, more than 100 baled stacked hay stood neatly stacked, with the barn that had stood around them completely gone.

At Eagle Enterprise, along 54 towards Turbotville

Note - Our farm is located not far from Eagle Enterprises, and just a mile and a half from the Spring Lake Village trailer court. My husband grew up in this house, so I asked him if he remembered the storm. His family was in McEwensville that night, at his grandmothers house. What he remembers is that he didn't get to see the end of Miami Vice - the power went out. :-) He doesn't remember any damage at all here on the farm, but he does remember viewing the damage all around the area, the next day.

Gov. Dick Thornburgh declared the three counties a disaster area, and the Pennsylvania National Guard was brought in.

"In Elimsport and the surrounding communities, where 5 died and damage was in the millions of dollars, the local people were taking care of their own."

The Red Cross set up two emergency shelters in Elimsport, but they remained virtually empty, serving only two people. Eighty five homes had been destroyed, and 146 more were damaged.

Wedding parties donated their reception meals, and local companies sent thousands of dollars worth of food and soda. A church group donated 100 spaghetti dinners.

A group of Amish from Lancaster came and volunteered with clean up, and rebuilding.
Barns that had been flattened by the storm were rebuilt within days by Amish men and others.

The twisters cleared a path 12 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide, causing $10 million in damages in northern Northumberland County and $2 million in Union County.

Neighbors and Amish from Lancaster rebuild the barn on the Ivan Farley farm in the White Deer Valley. Farley lost his barn, house, and four school buses in the twister.

Boy Scout Troop 40 from Elimsport, and Scout Troop 70 of Picture Rocks, often camped, and participated in activities together. So when the families from Troop 40 were effected by the Tornado, Troop 70 got permission from the East Lycoming School district to spend the day in Washington Twp, helping with clean up, and bringing donations.

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Those who died were Donna Marie Fenstermacher, 12, and Mildred Bieber, 78, both of RD1 Watsontown; Miriam Wagner, of Milton; and Mae Koser, 86, Thelma Taylor, 69, and Kelly Aucker, 11, all of RD1 Allenwood, The Daily Item reported at the time.
Wagner and her husband, Clyde, were injured when their trailer was blown over at the Hidden Creek Camp Sites north of Allenwood in Gregg Township, Union County. Mrs. Wagner died later in the hospital. Bieber died of a heart attack related to the storm.