| |
| On
April 9, 1947, the event that was to become forever linked to Higgins occurred.
A tornado or tornadoes approached Higgins from
the south, after first hitting Glazier,
Texas. Forty-five people lost their lives as the storm continued up into Oklahoma
and even into Kansas. |
| Broader
view of destruction on Main Street |
| Men
and car in Main Street after the tornado |
| Surveying
the destruction of Main Street |
| A
car sits destroyed in front of Weis Dry Goods. That Building still stands today |
| People
walking around dazed and confused looking for anything. |
| Higgins
Hotel after tornado |
| First
Baptist Church after tornado |
Higgins,
Texas Forum Glazier
and Higgins Tornado of April, 1947
Dear TE, The recent pictures of the Greenburg, Kansas tornado brought back memories
of the tornado that hit Hemphill County back in 1947. I was 12 years old on April
9, 1947 when I witnessed the tornado that hit Higgins
and Glazier. It was just
southwest of the airport at Canadian,
Texas, where my father Thomas L. McCurdy was the airport manager. The tornado
was so large that there were five or six smaller twisters circling the main column.
The tornado was so close that the air seemed to be all sucked up. It was such
weird feeling. The main tornado lifted as it crossed the South Canadian River
but went back on the ground after reaching the north side. We were so frightened
by it, that we talked about it for hours after it had passed. The next morning
someone was banging on the door at the airport. The man who ran the paper at Canadian
was saying that Glazier
was wiped out. My dad flew the photographer over the area and took the original
pictures of the devastation. After returning to the airport, my dad flew back
to Glazier and landed on the highway to pick up two of the injured and bring them
back to the Canadian hospital. He remained in that plane for the next two days
flying people from Higgins and Glazier because
the highway from Canadian to Higgins was impassable.
All the barbed wire and telephone/ telegraph lines were twisted together and wove
back and forth on the highway for many miles. Cars couldn't drive over it because
of the barbed wire, so Dad's airplane was the main lifeline between Canadian
and the other two towns. On the second day the Army flew in with stretcher planes
and helped. Dad’s plane was a Stinson Voyager with a stretcher in it. He could
carry one in the stretcher and one in the back seat. I don’t know how many trips
he made but I know he was in the airplane for two solid days. The local gasoline
dealer brought kerosene smuge pots to the airport and lined both sides of the
runaway. They did the same in Glazier
and Higgins and he flew all night long to bring
the injured to Canadian.
The basements of the Baptist and Methodist churches were filled with injured people
after the hospital had run out of room. The high school gym was also used. Even
though I was only twelve at the time, my memories of that event remain vivid.
- Otto W. (Bill) McCurdy, Houston Texas, May 14, 2007 |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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photos of their town, please contact
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