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Newspaper Clipping about Tornado on 52nd Anniversary
from Chilton County Newspaper
Transcribed by Martha Wright
At least 54 killed in Chilton
by Tim Tucker
News Editor
In March of this year Chilton County will observe the 52nd anniversary of the worst tornado to ever hit Alabama. This tornado struck Chilton County in March of 1932 and killed some 54 Chilton Countians and left scars on the minds of hundreds of others. The following facts about the killer tornado of 1932 were taken form the March 24 and March 31, 1932 issues of the Chilton County News.
Sever Weather Preparedness week will begin Sunday, February 12, and citizens of Chilton County will observe the week as will the entire state. For many in Chilton the week will bring back memories of the killer tornado of 1932 which claimed the lives of many in Chilton County. The first tornado in 1932 struck on Monday, March 21, 1932 and killed some 50 people in Chilton County. One week later on Sunday, March 27, 1932 a second tornado came through Chilton County and hit in nearly the same place as the first one.
The worst hit areas of Chilton County in 1932 were in the Northern part of the county around Thorsby and Jemison. Rescuers from all over Chilton as well as those from Montgomery and Birmingham worked together with the Red Cross to aid the people affected by the killer tornado. Everyone from church groups to Boy Scouts were involved in the clean-up that followed the storm.
The following is a list which ran in the March 24, 1932 issue of the Chilton County News. This list is as reported on Wednesday morning, March 23, 1932 and is as near correct as was able to be obtained at that time.
THOSE KILLED IN THE TORNADO:
Mrs. Barbara Hubbard
Tom Ellison, Mineral Springs
Jesse Nell Ellison, Mineral Springs
R. S. Chandler, Union Grove Community
Jack Latham and wife and 5 children near Stanton
Two children of Nat Smith, Union Grove Community
Hazel Pauline Strength, 6 months
Mrs. Carter Willis, Collins Chapel Community
Mrs. John Stanley and child
John Chandler, Union Grove Community
Holly Mims, Union Grove Community
Mrs. Eli Mitchell, Stanton
Battles Hamilton
Jack Hamilton, 6 months old
Ellen Cleckler, 74 near Jemison
Mrs. Barney Chandler and 2 children, Union Grove Community
Cecil Bridges, 19, west of Clanton
Doc Ray and Mrs. Doc Roy, Union Grove Community
Miss Lucy Robinson, Union Grove Community
Two Queen infants, near Thorsby
Mrs. Ina Headley, west of Clanton
Mrs. Jim Mitchell, Plantersville
Mr. and Mrs. Deramus, west of Clanton
R. L. Hamm, Plantersville
Tom Wallace, Plantersville
Lois Davenport, near Jemison
Hopson Smith, 12, Union Grove Community
Frank Smith, 2, Union Grove Community
Edgar Davis' child near Jemison
Four children Hilyer family
Joe Littleton, Cane Creek
Perry Lykes, Lomax
Canick Hayes, Lomax
Charlie Williams, Lomax
Unidentified child, Mineral Springs
DEATHS OF THE SECOND TORNADO OF MARCH 27,1932
Ella Katherine Lawrence, 11
Walker Lawrence, 14, Lawley
Austin Lawrence, 2, Lawley
Perry Hicks, Lawley
Mrs. Jane Green, 88, Lawley
G. M. Tubbs, Pleasant Grove
This list of deaths of the first and second tornado in 1932 is exactly as was published then. The lsit to follow is also exactly as was published in the Chilton County News on April 7, 1932. It is a report on Chilton County done by the Red Cross.
KILLED IN CHILTON: 57
INJURED IN CHILTON: 263
FAMILIES AFFECTED IN CHILTON: 274
BUILDINGS DESTROYED IN CHILTON: 228
BUILDINGS DAMAGED IN CHILTON: 89
NUMBER OF PEOPLE FED IN CHILTON: 860