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Miller's Ferry tornado
"I'm just not making much of a commission," he laughed. Two days after a disaster that could have killed him and his wife, Patsy, the former editor of the Selma Times-Journal was able to joke a little about the devastating tornado. Wallace showed many people the round underground sphere where he and his wife rode out last Thursday's tornado that killed one person in the Wilcox County community. It was just steps away from what was left of his doublewide mobile home residence that faces the wide Dannelly Reservoir of the Alabama River. Cliff Gaston, 48, died not far from the Wallace residence. The forester who once worked for Scotch Lumber Co. had apparently stopped by his vacation home for a midday break. The tornado struck at 12:25 p.m.
Shelter built for grandchildren Wallace, 71, pointed to nearby grandsons and said they were the reason the storm shelter was put in place to start with, explaining that they were visiting a few years earlier when a bad storm blew up. "We decided we didn't want to put them in danger again and we had the shelter installed." The youngsters' grandparents are probably alive today because of that decision. The tornado roared in from the southwest, blowing over the Highway 28 river bridge and crashed into a point of the Miller's Ferry community that jutted out into the river. The Wallaces saw a severe storm warning on television and decided to get into the storm shelter. The tornado, estimated to be an F3 with winds of about 140 mph, slammed ashore just minutes later. Warning sirens in the area were silent before the storm's arrival but reportedly went off after it had done its destruction. The storm apparently hit not long after warnings of tornadoes were reported over Salitpa, Chilton and northern Clarke County. In Jackson, rain fell so hard that motorists could hardly see the streets. Water ran down College Avenue as though it was a drainage ditch. The reported tornadoes apparently did not touch down in Clarke County. Wallace's molded fiberglass storm shelter has a rounded top covered with dirt and grassed over. A refrigerator-looking door opens to show steps leading down into it with a molded circular seat. It can hold six to eight people. An air vent protrudes from the top of the mound. Wallace explained that when it was installed the contractor broke the key so no one would ever be locked out if they needed to get in. Getting out was a problem for the Wallaces, though. Storm debris blocked the door and it took rescue workers and neighbors about an hour to dig them out. Most of Wallace's neighbors knew the storm shelter was there. Ellis Shields was one who helped get them out. "Ellis was white as a sheet; he wasn't sure we were in there," Wallace said. The longtime newspaperman said, "I've covered a lot of these things but I've never been on this side of the story." All that remained of the Wallace home was the foundation and a back deck that had faced the river. A U.S. flag found in the debris was unfurled and fluttered from a ramshackled back wall. The Wallaces had moved to Miller's Ferry about six years ago. They had one of the most beautiful spots in the neighborhood called Sand Island that is accessed by a single-laned wooden bridge. Wallace works part-time for the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Planning Commission in Camden. He said his wife loves to fish. "She had just caught 80 pounds of catfish that morning and had just cleaned them and put them in the refrigerator. After we got out we had to laugh to keep from crying and I told someone we had to find that refrigerator," Wallace related. It was found Friday, a bit late to save the catfish. Mixture of homes Some people, like the Wallaces, live in the community full-time. Others have vacation homes and camps there, including many from Clarke County. It is a mixture of upscale large homes, smaller cabins and mobile homes. Gov. Bob Riley visited Friday. Saturday, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, a Wilcox County native, and Congressman Artur Davis were there. President Bush visited storm sites in Enterprise and Americus, Ga. Saturday but didn't come to Wilcox County. Total destruction The destruction around the Wallaces' home was total. Trees that used to shade the area were completely ripped up. Houses were blown away, leaving only concrete slabs. Cars were smashed. Mobile homes were either completely blown away or so badly damaged by the wind and falling trees that they were total losses. Thomasville resident Jerry Newsom's mobile home was one of those damaged beyond repair, crushed by a falling tree. A 91-year-old woman and her nephew were injured as they tried to leave their mobile home and get to a vehicle. Both were said to be recovering in the Camden hospital Saturday without serious injuries. The storm sliced like a knife through a narrow path. All total, 30 homes were reportedly destroyed and many more damaged. There are about 150 homes on Sand Island. One report said the storm's path was a half-mile wide and 15 miles long. Trees on the west bank of the river were snapped off and broken pines could be seen in the distance as the storm continued eastward. Just to the south of the storm's path, former Grove Hill Mayor S. P. Hudson was at his camp and was awakened from a nap and watched debris roll by his door. He was not injured and his cabin was not damaged. Also to the south, Judy Skipper's home on one side of the street and her mother's, Elizabeth Skipper's on the other side were unharmed. They are natives of Jackson who live in Miller's Ferry fulltime. To the north, Grove Hill native Spidle Lindsey's vacation home was just beyond the storm's reach. He had one tree downed in his backyard and the tops of a few others blown out. His neighbor just to the south had a tree to fall on the front of his home. "You were lucky," a friend said, surveying the minor damage. "No, we were blessed," Lindsey replied. 'Just stuff' Jamie Wallace pulled a crumbled photograph of him and his wife out of his pocket and said it was one of the few that they had found. He said he had kept records and stories of area elections dating back decades but they were all lost.
"But all of this is just stuff. We are just thankful to be alive," he said as he surveyed the devastation.
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