Our ancestors faced these terrible storms, and today's blog describes the tornado of May 1918 that ripped through the Stratford area. Much of what follows below is taken from the Stratford Courier under the title "Storm Ravages as Seen by Others" and dated May 29, 1918.
About 4:20 Tuesday afternoon, Stratford was visited by a real cyclone of large proportions which for a six-mile stretch devastated and destroyed everything in its path. It was a part of the storm which swept over the central portion of Iowa destroying millions of dollars worth of property and killing a number of people and injuring many others.
Ed Barquist was the grandson of John Barquist, Sr., and his wife Margaret and was my 1st cousin 3 x removed. He was Maria Barquist Olofson's (my great-great grandmother) nephew. The Courier article covers his experience this way:
Ed Barquist had been to Stratford and, when he saw the black clouds in the west, hurried home. He arrived just in time to grab the two younger children and rush to the cellar with them. Mrs. Barquist had already gone there to close the windows. A moment after they had gotten into the cellar, the house was carried off the foundation. Every window in the residence was broken out and the furniture was scattered over the fields far and wide. Both house and the furniture were entirely wrecked and practically worthless. The place is clean of all the buildings and fences. Hogs and chickens were killed and scattered in every direction.
The storm did more damage than at any of the other farms destroying every building on the farm except a small garage which housed a car belonging to Mr. Barquist's son Ralph. Neither the car nor the building was damaged. It was on this farm that three persons were seriously injured. P. O. Westrum, Ralph Barquist and Harry Borg were all in the large barn when it was destroyed, and for a time, it was thought that Westrum had been killed. He was on his way to his home from Stratford and drove into the barn to keep out of the coming storm. Ralph and the Borg boy were also in the barn unharnessing a team and before any of them could get out of the building, the tornado struck and demolished it.
Mr. Barquist states that no one who has ever been in a tornado of this kind can realize how forceful and how much suction there is in the wind. He had the greatest difficulty in keeping his little ones with him in the cellar because of the great suction. The property loss on this place is total and will be between $15,000 and $20,000. [Note: In today's dollars, $15,000 would be over $260,000.]
No insurance. No savings. House and animals gone. What could be done? While I don't have all of the details, here are a few follow-up articles, all from the Stratford Courier:
 |
| June 2, 1918, thanks for help with fences |
 |
| June 13, 1918, house put back on foundation |
 |
| Two articles from June 20, 1918; injury and another notice of thanks |
I'm confident that the Ed. H. Barquist home and other buildings were put back into working order with the help of their neighbors, friends, and family. Still, losing $260,000 and revenue from farm animals and crops had to set this family back for quite some time.
By the way, readers, do you know what the Woodmen organization was? A quick look on Wikipedia brought up the following about their history:
Modern Woodmen of America was founded by Joseph Cullen Root on January 5, 1883, in Lyons, Iowa. He had operated a number of businesses, including a mercantile establishment, a grain elevator and two flour mills, sold insurance and real estate, taught bookkeeping classes, managed a lecture bureau, and practiced law. Root was a member of several fraternal societies throughout the years. He wanted to create an organization that would protect families following the death of a breadwinner.
During a Sunday sermon, Root heard the pastor tell a parable about pioneer woodmen clearing away forests to build homes, communities and security for their families. He adopted the term "woodmen" for his organization. To complete the name, he added "modern" to reflect the need to stay current and change with the times, and "of America" to symbolize patriotism.
Originally, Modern Woodmen had a unique set of membership restrictions and criteria. Religiously, the group was quite open, accepting "Jew and Gentile, the Catholic and Protestant, the agnostic and the atheist." However, until the mid-1900s, membership was restricted to white males between the ages of 18-45 from the 12 "healthiest" states -- Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. Residents of large cities were also disqualified from membership, as were those employed in certain professions, such as railway workers, underground miners, gunpowder factory employees, liqueur wholesalers and manufacturers, saloon keepers, "aeronauts," sailors on the lakes and seas, and professional baseball players.
In 1884, the head office was organized in Fulton, Illinois. The first death claim of $698.58 was paid the same year.
Well, we certainly wouldn't want PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYERS! HA!
The obituary for Edwin Herman Barquist follows:
Obituary from January 27, 1944 attached to Biographical Record Hamilton County, 1902, states: "Last rites for E. H. Barquist were conducted in the Lutheran church here Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Earlier at the Schroeder funeral home in Boone friends were permitted to view the remains.
The Rev. Waldo Ekeberg of Dayton, vice pastor of the local Lutheran church, had charge of the services and he used for his text words found in the 139th Psalm. "In the Garden." "no Night There," and Saved by Grace" were sung by Mrs. Arthur Larson, Misses Marie and Velva Berglund with Mrs. Lloyd Angstrom at the console of the organ.
Large banks of beautiful flowers placed on either side of the altar and the large attendance at the service attested to the popularity of the deceased.
Following the close of the services, the remains were laid to rest in the South Marion cemetery. The pallbearers were Emil Berglund, Emmil Larson, Chas. O. Erickson, Elmer Bergren, Tom Hakes and L. M. Peterson.
Edwin Herman Barquist, son of A. G. and Christine Barquist, was born in Galesburg, Illinois, May 22, 1879, and died in the county hospital in Boone, January 20, 1944, at the age of 64 years, 8 months, 28 days.
At the age of two years, he came to Iowa with his parents and grew to manhood on the Barquist homestead, two miles west of Stanhope. Later he moved to the Stratford vicinity and resided there until his death. He was confirmed in the Lutheran church here in 1895.
On May 19, 1901, he was married to Annie Leksell and to this union was born four sons: Ralph, Floyd, Aubrey, and Clifford. He was preceded in death by his wife, who died September 29, 1929, and by his eldest son, Ralph, who passed on October 12, 1934.
Surviving are the three sons: Floyd, of Boone; Aubrey, who is in the nation's armed forces and stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and Clifford who is in the armed forces overseas. He is also survived by his sister, Miss Agness Barquist of Tulsa, Oka, and one brother, F. A. of Stanhope, four grandchildren and a large circle of friends.
By nature deceased was quiet and unassuming but he always had a kindly greeting for his friends, all of whom respected and honored him deeply.
The sympathy of a host of friends here are extended to the bereaved relatives."
No comments:
Post a Comment