Some people really enjoy reading about disasters. Accounts of floods, fires, hurricanes, and accidents of all kinds do make for exciting reading, as I discovered today. Today I discovered a web site called GenDisasters, which has historical accounts of disasters of all kinds from all over the United States and Canada. It is a great resource for anyone whose ancestors lived through or perished in a disaster, as well as those doing historical research about cities and towns where the noteworthy events occurred. Oh, and of course, if you are one of those people that loves to read about disasters, GenDisasters is a wonderful site for you to visit too.
When I discovered the site, I decided that I would see whether anything exciting happened in or around the town that I grew up in or the town that I live in now. I found quite a few interesting disasters to read about. In January of 1904, a young man fell on the ice on one of the lakes in a city near where I grew up. The newspaper account of the incident made me laugh because it stated that he “is single” and then lists his address. I wonder if random people read about the incident in the paper and went to wish him well. It also stated that he “was fooling with a companion when he fell”.
A tornado hit that same city in 1953. Tornadoes are not common in Massachusetts, and it was a large one. Eighty people were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed, and 6,800 telephones were knocked out of service. The account of what happened was very detailed and it was such a major disaster, that many people whose relatives live in that city are certain to remember it. In fact, I will have to remember to ask my mother and father if they remember it, because they both grew up in Worcester.
I was unable to find any disasters from the town that I live in now, however, I did find an interesting story from a nearby town in January of 1907. A farmer went out to make some repairs on the roof of his barn one cold winter’s day. The wind blew his ladder down and he was trapped on the roof. He called for help but no one could hear him. As night fell, the temperature dropped to twenty below zero and he was unable to call for help any longer due to exhaustion. Someone finally found him after he had been up there for six hours, and he was taken down and tended to by doctors. The account of the incident said that it was possible that the farmer would recover from the incident, but recovery was not certain. Tonight as I write this, it is extremely cold out and I hope that anyone who was outdoors today has since gone indoors. The stories that I read today on GenDisasters were not only interesting, but educational. They helped me to understand a little about what was going on during certain time periods in the places where the events transpired. What interesting incidents will you learn about through researching your family history?