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TIJE OMAHA SUNDAY UKtii MAIU'lL 3U, 1913.
AS YIEWED M A MINISTER
Rev. T. J. Maokay's Description of
Tragic Easter Sunday.
BEEN THE MORNING AFTER
Btnnntng Evidence of the Airful
Power of the Destroyer -Ilain-Ke
Inflloted Inside
Home.
Iter. T. J. Mnckay. In Church and Home.
Easter day. March 23, will go down
Into history as the most momentous that
Omaha has ever known. It will always
bo remembered as the day of the great
disaster, when thousands of peoplo wero
rendered homeless, and hundreds killed
and wounded by a destructive tornado.
Tho day dawned ctear and pleasant,
With only light clouds hiding the sun,
and the churches were thronged with
anger, Joyful worshippers who llstenod
with delight to the beautiful Easter
music and the Inspiring utterances of the
clergymen, as they delivered their mas
en so of cheer and comfort.
In All Saints the early celebrations at
C and 9 o'clock were well attended and
gave assurance of n crowded church at
11 o'clock. The expcctctlon wiui real
ized, as the church wns filled at the
third service. The music wns splendid,
the full choir showing the result of tho
careful training for weeks by our organ
ist and musical director, Mr. J. II. Hlmms
At 4 o'clock the children of the church,
school and kindergarten oraembled In the
church for their Easter service and pre
sented their offerings, receiving their
usual Easter remembrances. Scarcely
had they reached homo ero black threat
ening clouds began to form In tho south,
and it became evident that n storm was
brewing In that direction. Btlll no alarm
was felt, as such threatening clouds iiro
not unusual at this time of tho year,
and no one dreamod of tho Impending dis
aster. Clouds Grow IllncUcr.
About 6:45 the clouds crew blacker and
more threatening, and the storm broke
with peals of thunder, and vivid flashes
of lightning; We were all scatod In the
study conversing quietly and wondering
if the weather would clear tip by church
time to that wo could hold service, when
the electric lights went out, nnd soma
one came In and told us thnt a tornado
was raging in the western part of tho
city. Btlll we did not rcnllso tho full
danger of the situation, as telephonic
communication was cut off, and not until
the newsboys began crying their "extras"
did we know that to the west of us, only
half a mtle away, whole streets of beau
tiful residences were destroyed, and thnt
many of our peoplo whom we had scon
at church in the morning were homeless,
and not a few badly injured In the tor
nado. v
In the morning the papers gave graphlo
descriptions of the damage, but not until
wo went up to the scene of tho disaster
could we grasp tho full extent of It
Standing at the corner of Twenty-eighth
and Farnam, only two blocks from the
rectory, a scene or devastation met tho
eye North, south and west, every street
looked like as if some giant flail had
wunff from side to side smashing In
houses aa If they bad been built of card
board, and levollng trees even with tho
ground. For about six blocks In width
tr
;
ami three to four miles In length, the
' tornado had swept With a fury lndsrrlb
I able, and with a noise like a heavy train
on a trestle, dmllng death and destruc
I Hon without partiality. Rich and poor
I suffered alike.
Mniialon nnd Cottage Alike.
The costly manolon and the humble
cottage shared the same fate. Stone
house and frame houses were moved
from their foundations and overturned
and most of them wrecked beyond hope
of restoration. Costly oriental rugs were
tackwl in many of the wlnvdws to keep
out the oold where houses were only par
tially wrecked, while In others lace 'Ui
talns wero flapping In the wind, and ino
interiors laid open, showing furnlluro
snd bedding strewn about In wild con
furlon. Wo have soon towns wreaked by
such storms, and have read graphic ac
counts of such, but nover oould pun de
scribe or do Justice to the dreadful extent
and nature of such u tornado as iiiat
of last Sunday. The contrast butweon
the quiet of the Uusttr day morning and
its ending una never be told by worda
or pen. The pride of Omaha's best ivsf
denco district won leveled to the ground
or battered us If by u oatinonada.
Wealthy people wero looking about the
ruins as If In a dream, and eyes would
fill with tears when a friend would ao
cost them. People who rented, und whoso
homes were destroyed, wero busily en
gaged gathering up what little of their
effects wero left, to store them until
they could decide oh to tho future, and
down thn long vista of the storm's
path thu dwellers In tho humbler homes
wora engaged In the samo work of try-
Freak
TO OUR PATRONS:
) 1 1
We wish to thank you for the patience which you
have exhibited toward us on account of interruptions and
delays in our Exchange and Long Distant Service dur
ing the trying hours of the past six days.
Through the untiring efforts and loyalty of all our em
ployes we wish to announce that we are nearly back to
our normal ability to repair or improve existing lines and
instruments and to install emergency or permanent serv
ice to any one requiring it.
NEBRASKA TELEPHONE COMPANY
In
A. D.
of Uio Wind Timber Driven Into
the Track of the Tornado
Brandcis and Mrs. Prank Carpenter
Piano
MpeOOOOeOOOOOPPOOOOOOOOOOOC
:v
Homes
Kxhunilng Uodlcn from Idlewlld
ing to Identify their homes amid the
tangled wreckage.
This tornado was unlike others that
We have road of, which arose In the air
once In a while and then swooped down
again for another harveit. This one,'
from the time It struck the city, swept
on with the accuracy 'of an immense
threshing machine, sparing nothing in
its path until it reached the Missouri
river, four miles away.
Effect Upon the Mind.
The effect upon the mind of the be
holder of all this ruin was somewhat
1 ke paralysis of the body. We were
speechless; stunned Into dumbness by the
evidence of the awful power that we
witnessed. And If this v as the feollnir
o tiie marl who lost nothing, what could
be the etate of rnlnJ of the people who
saw the result of an entire life's work
strewn about them Ir. shapeless wreck
age their homes which were their pride
lylnc in ruins at their feet.
A curious feature of the storm was the
way in which the wind (or was It elec
tric force?) dealt with t"is :ntoj-!orn of
homes. The house might be standing,
even with tho roof on, only the windows
showing the evidence of the disaster, but
Inside the walls and doors wero splint
ered and broken as If some one had taken
an a.xe und client hours mailt'' sjsIv d
stroylng everything In sight. Heavy
furnlturo was moved about, clothing car
ried away, and tho cost of repairing In
teriors will be almost as great as re
building. And all this ruin was the work
of a few seconds. Just a gust of wind
and all was over.
Wall, North Twenty-fourth Street,
Petrie Bros, Move
Houses for Nothing
A. T. Petrie of the firm of Petrie Bros ,
house movers, consisting of O. J.. H. f
und A. T. Petrie, told the cltlseW relief
committee when he had been called before
It and asked to help move houses for a
consideration that he had donated his
own rervices and the eervlces of nis mn
(since Monday to needy cltlsens.
i "Furthermore," said Petrie, 'we are
'going to keep on helping, and It won t
ice st Jheaa people a cent."
Since Petrie began he has replaced
many houres on foundations, moved oth
ers from the streets and righted a large
number. He has a big force of men at
wotlc at great expense. He refuted to
consider tho matter of payment from the
(restoration committee.
Sound to Him Like
Two Autos Racing
When the storm came Sunday evening,
former Lieutenant Governor McQltton
was inclined to pay no attention to it, al
though he heard the peculiar noise. "It
sounded to me at first.' says Mr. Mc
Qtltnn. "llltn two automobiles racing, and
I only realised the real cause of the roar
I when the house began to totter.
To Xtep Cuurcu Open JJext Week
Cavalry Baptist church, Twenty-fifth and
Hamilton streets, will be kept open for
relief of sufferers next week and longer.
If found necessary.
Where Twenty.flve Were Killed
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