TRANSCRIBED FROM THE COURIER INDEX OCTOBER 5, 1917 P. 1
Am sure lucky that I am here tonight. We had the worst storm yesterday, beginning at eight thirty in the morning and lasting until ten o'clock last night I ever saw. The station was warned Thursday morning that one was on the way and every one was put to work preparing for it. All the small boats, launches, speed boats, etc., were taken out of the water, put on flat cars and hauled just as far away from the water as could be. Then this big ballons hangar, the wrecking barge and all other big boats were made fast with big chains and ropes. All the windows and doors were nailed down. Everything navigable about the yards was either either nailed or tied down.
Well, the storm hit us Friday morning at eight thirty, and believe me, it was different from any storm I ever heard of. The wind blew a gale of 120 miles an hour, and it just picked the water up and dropped it on us. The water came through the windows and doors just like they were not there. Some of us tried to go to dinner, but we could hardly stand up and the sand would sting our faces like needles. We were working all day sweeping water off the floor. Several windows were blown out and half the roof was blown off. The air was full of tin and most everything else. The water was coming in a hundred feet and washing everything away in front of it. The wrecking barge broke loose and there was no way in the world to save it, so away it went like a shot out of a gun--fifty thousand dollars gone. Nearly all of the hangars were damaged, as were also several machines. The estimated loss is a million dollars. Water was three inches deep on the floor, so we all moved down on the first and second floors. We slept on the floor, on tables, book cases, drafting tables. Yesterday morning this place was a sight to behold. The only way one could get to Pensacola was by boat. The electric light wires were down and something got the matter with the water mains and we were without water almost twenty-four hours.
NOTES: This letter was written by Olin Giles McAlexander to his sister Jessie Corrine Word. He was writing from the training station at Pensacola, Florida. He was born on March 6, 1891 in Marianna, Arkansas and died on November 25, 1980. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. He enlisted on July 19, 1917 and was discharged on May 5, 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
Am sure lucky that I am here tonight. We had the worst storm yesterday, beginning at eight thirty in the morning and lasting until ten o'clock last night I ever saw. The station was warned Thursday morning that one was on the way and every one was put to work preparing for it. All the small boats, launches, speed boats, etc., were taken out of the water, put on flat cars and hauled just as far away from the water as could be. Then this big ballons hangar, the wrecking barge and all other big boats were made fast with big chains and ropes. All the windows and doors were nailed down. Everything navigable about the yards was either either nailed or tied down.
Well, the storm hit us Friday morning at eight thirty, and believe me, it was different from any storm I ever heard of. The wind blew a gale of 120 miles an hour, and it just picked the water up and dropped it on us. The water came through the windows and doors just like they were not there. Some of us tried to go to dinner, but we could hardly stand up and the sand would sting our faces like needles. We were working all day sweeping water off the floor. Several windows were blown out and half the roof was blown off. The air was full of tin and most everything else. The water was coming in a hundred feet and washing everything away in front of it. The wrecking barge broke loose and there was no way in the world to save it, so away it went like a shot out of a gun--fifty thousand dollars gone. Nearly all of the hangars were damaged, as were also several machines. The estimated loss is a million dollars. Water was three inches deep on the floor, so we all moved down on the first and second floors. We slept on the floor, on tables, book cases, drafting tables. Yesterday morning this place was a sight to behold. The only way one could get to Pensacola was by boat. The electric light wires were down and something got the matter with the water mains and we were without water almost twenty-four hours.
NOTES: This letter was written by Olin Giles McAlexander to his sister Jessie Corrine Word. He was writing from the training station at Pensacola, Florida. He was born on March 6, 1891 in Marianna, Arkansas and died on November 25, 1980. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. He enlisted on July 19, 1917 and was discharged on May 5, 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD