50 Years Ago Today

Fifty years ago today, I was 8 years old. It was Columbus Day, back in the day when we celebrated holidays on their actual day, rather than the Monday before. As the afternoon progressed, I remember seeing green and yellow clouds forming and the sky looked very scary. My mom was very scared and worried, and when mom was scared and worried, us kids were scared and worried! My parents had a meeting that evening with their real estate lady to sign final papers on our new house. By the time she arrived, the power was out and they had to sign the papers by candlelight. I remember because I was hiding under the table below them. The wind was really loud and it felt like our house was shaking. I remember watching the lady as she walked out to her car. She could hardly stand up and her coat and hair were blowing around like crazy.

My other memory of that evening was watching my dad out in our backyard. Our fence was falling down and he went out to try to prop it up. I was watching him from the window in my bedroom as branches and other debris were flying through the air. One of the detached boards with an exposed nail swung around it hit my dad on the side of the face. I watched the blood start dripping down his face. I was afraid that he was going to die! Around that time, the whole fence fell over and he came back inside. I have no other memories of that night except for the very loud wind howling and rocking our house. 

The next day when all over, I remember how quiet it was. Everyone came outside to check their property. Trees, branches, garbage cans, power lines and other yard debris was everywhere. No one could drive anywhere because all the streets were blocked. My next memory is of the chainsaws. It felt like that was the only background sound in our neighborhood for years. Just the endless drone of the chainsaws. For several years after that day, anytime the sky looked dark, I was sure we were having another storm. We have had many wind storms in the Northwest but never like that night. If you are interested you can read more about it from our local newspaper.  



Columbus Day Storm Still Howls

The only good thing I remember about that day is it was my youngest (at that time) sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Debra!!