8 killed and a million dollars damage done in 1924 tornado

The Cape Girardeau tornadoes of 1850 and 1949 in Cape Girardeau, as well as those in Jackson in 1923 and 2003, are well remembered by local residents. Anniversary stories and photographs have served to help us preserve those terrible events.

That wasn't the case for a tornado that crept into Cape Girardeau at midnight on Friday, March 28, 1924. I have been unable to find a single photograph of the damage done, but the Southeast Missourian's front page the next day was filled with articles about the twister. They told of one dead in Cape Girardeau: Erdie Wright Steger, 39, the wife of Edward Steger. By the next day, after tallies were made throughout Southeast Missouri, the death count from the storm had risen to eight.

The estimated damages to structures from the tornado were placed at $1,000,000. The heaviest damage in Cape Girardeau was done to St. Vincent's College: "It is estimated that the largest single item of havoc caused by the storm here was the $10,000 to $12,000 damage done to St. Vincent's College, when the wind tore the roof from the west wing of the college, used as a chapel, blew down a large brick chimney at the west end of the building, which fell as one section, tearing bricks out of the wall all the way to the ground, and making a large hole in the west end of the building... Great sections of the heavy tin roof were wrenched off and carried 300 yards or more. The massive wooden joists, measuring 6 by 8 inches, which supported the roof, were nearly all blown down. The brick chimney, which took care of the smoke from the heating plant, was demolished, bricks being scattered for yards about the building, a large section of the west wall of the wing was torn down by the falling bricks."

In March 1924, a midnight tornado badly damaged the west wing of St. Vincent's College, shown at right in this 1920s photo. The storm wrenched off sections of the tin roof and knocked down the chimney at the west end, leaving a gaping hole . (Southeast Missourian archive)

Here's how the event was covered in the Southeast Missourian, Saturday, March 29, 1924:

CAPE WOMAN DIES IN STORM;
BIG PROPERTY LOSS CAUSED

TORNADO DESTROYS BUILDINGS, DEMORALIZES TELEPHONE, ELECTRIC AND GAS SERVICE; BIG DAMAGE AT ST. VINCENT'S COLLEGE

One person was killed, another seriously hurt and several others had narrow escape, in a tornado which swept Cape Girardeau at midnight Friday, wrecking and unroofing residences and factories, demoralizing telephone and electrical service and uprooting trees, causing heavy property damage.

Mrs. Edward Steger, a resident of the College Gardens suburb north of Cape Girardeau, was killed instantly, and her husband was seriously hurt, when their house was literally swept away by the wind. Mrs. Steger's neck was broken and her body was found lying under the heavy timbers of the wrecked dwelling.

The gas house of the Union Electric Light and Power Company in North Cape Girardeau was nearly demolished, the roof and west side of the structure being crushed by the wind. Gas service here was suspended for some time during the forenoon today as temporary repairs of the structure were made.

The automobile parking shed of the North Main Street garage, a short distance from the shoe factory, was almost demolished, the north and east sides of the structure being blown down. The damage was estimated at $500. The sheets of galvanized iron of which the roof and sides of the garage were constructed were blown nearly 100 yards away.

Another parking garage owned by Oscar Kaiser and Stewart Hoover on Main Street, west of the shoe factory, was also damaged, 40 feet of the north side being torn away.

The west side of the old Matteson paint mill on North Main Street, which has been abandoned, was wrecked by the storm, while the roof collapsed when the walls fell in.

The Matteson paint mill on North Main Street was destroyed in the 1924 tornado. (Courtesy of Cape Girardeau Heritage Museum ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

Farm property damage

A large hay barn belonging to O.F. Willa, county assessor, residing on the Bloomfield Road two miles from Cape Girardeau, was wrecked, but eight cows and several hogs in the building were not injured, when they were quickly liberated. Several fruit trees in the orchard were uprooted, and porches on the house demolished. Damage was estimated at $800. Timbers from the barn were scattered for a long distance in nearby fields.

Telephones in 350 homes in the city were out of order today as a result of the storm, according to Wayne Berry, superintendent of plant, while telephone service to points south of Oran was impossible. Farm lines in the country were also out of service.

Hundreds of wires carrying the city's electric power were down, due to fallen trees, but crews of the Union Electric Light and Power Company worked all night and today to replace the lines. Trees in various parts of the city fell down under the terrific wind and carried the wires with them, disrupting service in many parts of the city. Forty poles carrying the high transmission line from Cape Girardeau to towns to the south of here were blown down according to advices to H.B. Newman, local manager.

Damage at Benton

A new house being erected by Reese Allen, one half mile north of Benton, and the barn on the place, were wrecked by the wind, and a cow and mule were killed, and other stock hurt.

A house standing near the banks of the Mississippi River in South Cape Girardeau, owned by M.E. Leming and occupied by the family of Monroe Williams, was blown off its foundation, and the family was forced to flee through the wind and driving rain to a neighboring home for shelter. None was injured.

Damage at St. Vincent's

It is estimated that the largest single item of havoc caused by the storm here was the $10,000 to $12,000 damage done to St. Vincent's College, when the wind tore the roof from the west wing of the college, used as a chapel, blew down a large brick chimney at the west side of the building. Father (M.J.) LeSage of the college said this morning that the loss was completely covered by tornado insurance.

Father LeSage is of the opinion that a cyclone of the twister type came up the river and struck the college. Great sections of the heavy tin roof were wrenched off and carried 300 yards or more. The massive wooden joists, measuring 6 by 8 inches, which support the roof, were nearly all blown down. The brick chimney, which took care of smoke from the heating plant, was demolished, bricks being scattered for yards about the building, a large section of the west wall of the wing was torn out by the falling brick.

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MANY BUILDINGS ARE DAMAGED; COURTHOUSE TOWER IS ABLAZE

Dozens of other residences in Cape Girardeau today are in need of repair as a result of the gale's furry, which struck unexpectedly. Chimneys were torn down by the dozens, windows were smashed and trees blown over and uprooted.

Deputy Sheriff Ed Frenzel's home at 418 Themis St. was considerably damaged by the gale, a chimney being destroyed and a section of the northeast corner of the house torn away. The damage is estimated at more than $200.

A chimney was torn down on the two-story residence, which Barrett Cotner recently purchased from Dr. A.M. Murphy, at 525 S. Sprigg St., and the falling bricks tore a large hole in the roof and scattered shingles for several hundred feet.

The house occupied by Pink Niswonger at Morgan Oak and Middle streets was thrown partially off its foundation and the family considerably shaken up, but no one was injured.

The roof was partially torn off Mueller's meat market at 411 Broadway, shingles being scattered along Broadway for the entire block

Damages garage roof

The wind made a neat attempt to strip the roof off a warehouse at the rear of the garage occupied by Chevrolet Motor Co., but only succeeded in taking it off in part, and laying it in the streets.

A window in the Hartung Repair shop at Broadway and Frederick Street was smashed in during the storm, as was a window in an apartment of the Idan-Ha Hotel.

Chimneys were also torn down at the houses occupied by Mrs. A. Brennecke at 424 Pear St., and James Thompson at 917 Good Hope St.

Only a few minutes after the gale had subsided slightly, the steeple on the Common Pleas Courthouse was seen blazing, apparently from a blaze caused by an electric wire which had come in contact with the frame work during the storm.

Although firemen experienced considerable difficulty in pulling hose through the second story of the building, along the winding steps and into the steeple, the fire was soon brought under control, after the driving rain had kept it from spreading on the outside. Damage to the steeple was estimated at $50.

Street blockaded

A number of trees in the much-used streets were blown down by the terrific wind. An old elm, standing on Lorimier Street, between Independence and Merriwether, fell across Lorimier Street, blocking all traffic. Another fell on West Broadway near the Broadway School, taking dozens of wires with it to the earth in its crash. The street there was completely blockaded until dawn when a force of workmen soon cut a way for traffic.

A large limb from a tree at Middle and Themis Streets blocked traffic on the latter street for some time, until a driver in a Ford coupe, apparently not seeing the debris, crashed through it at the expense of his windshield, but successfully opened the road.

The steeple on the Old Lorimier School was bent by the wind, but managed to keep itself in position, and today pointed to the northeast, stubbornly hanging on to its position.

Two windows on the south side of the First Christian Church and a large glass display board there, which cost $75, were broken during the storm.

Kiln roof is lost

The roof over the kilns of the Cape Girardeau Press Brick Company on West Independence Street was blown down, but no estimate on the cost of the loss would be made by officials today.

Telephone connection with points to the south was impossible today, although The Missourian was able to talk to Sikeston at noon. The storm, according to reports, was severe south of Sikeston, but only one casualty was reported. Other towns are said to have escaped heavy damage.

Several telephone poles were blown down by the wind in Cape Girardeau, ones at North Street, near Ellis and Bellevue and Fountain being the most serious to local wire service.

Storm damage at Whitewater

Whitewater and the surrounding territory was damaged to a considerable extent by the wind storm Friday night, telephone lines being down all over that district and communication cut off. The farm of W.W. Rau, three miles west of Whitewater, was badly damaged, his barn wrecked and eight head of stock killed in the crash.

The smokestack of the Whitewater Mill was blown down and the roof torn off the engine room.

The home of G.A. Strong in Whitewater was partially wrecked, and H.H. Gerden's barn near was demolished.

Farms are badly damaged

A.J. Masters, a farmer living five miles northwest of Cape Girardeau, reports one end of his barn having been blown off, with one end caved in. He had been keeping one horse in the barn, but fortunately took him out last night before the storm, so did not lose any stock. The roof of the chicken house was also blown off and one smaller building has completely disappeared. Four apple trees in Masters' orchard were uprooted and he said is morning that the road past his house was covered with fallen timber which had to be cut way.

W.D. Masters, a farmer living in the same neighborhood, also reports the roof of his barn gone and much timber blown down. George Schrock and Harry Hale, farmers near Three-Mile Creek, lost roofs from their barns.

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CAPE WOMAN KILLED WHEN HOUSE FALLS

MRS. EDWARD STEGER HAS NECK BROKEN BY CRUMPLED TIMBERS OF HOUSE

Mrs. Edward Steger is dead with a broken neck and her husband is badly bruised, with a gash across his forehead, as a result of Friday night's tornado which picked up the Steger house and hurled it 30 feet to smash it to bits against the trunk of a large tree. The roof was carried on about 100 yards into a nearby gully. The only piece of furniture left intact was a new table.

Mrs. Steger was found lying among the debris of the house, partly covered with a section of the wall. Her neck was broken and her body covered with bruises and cuts.

Steger is at the home of a neighbor, John Enman, which he reached by crawling after his home had been demolished.

The house was located on a high point of ground overlooking the Mississippi River in the Capaha Gardens, North Cape.

On the south and east sides the ground slopes sharply to the railroad tracks 100 feet below. The home, a light frame structure of one room, was perched on wooden blocks, elevated a foot or two from the ground. The wind, coming up the river, swooped up the slope and getting under the house picked it up and threw it against the tree.

Steger, his nerves shattered and unsteady, said this morning:

"My wife and I heard the wind come roaring from the South about 11:30 o'clock and we got out of bed and started dressing. I had succeeded in putting on part of my clothes but my wife was still in her night dress when the wind hit the house. I don't remember anything after that until I 'came to'. Guess I was knocked unconscious.

"When I woke up, the wind had died down and the house was in ruins. I was hurt and didn't know what I was doing. Managing to get to the Enman house, I got in there and they went over and found my wife."

The tree against which the house was hurled was torn out of the ground by its roots and lay under the wreckage. Pieces of furniture were strewn about, small sections of the wall lying over mattresses and utensils scattered every which way. A heavy iron cook stove was dented and battered out of shape while a light frame chicken house, 20 feet from the home, was unharmed.

Steger is an employee at the International Shoe factory, he and his wife having lived ub the destroyed house about four years.

Mrs. Steger, who was 39 years old, had been married to Steger for nine years, and both had been married previously.

She is survived by her husband, two children, two stepchildren, her mother, two brothers and two sisters. Her two children are: Mrs. C.H. Westrich and Miss Hattie Hines of Cape Girardeau. The stepchildren are: Mrs. John Reiker and Miss Madaline Steger of Cape Girardeau. Eldon Wright of Cape Girardeau and William Wright of Bakersfield, California, are brothers, and Mrs. Bonnie Riddle of Poplar Bluff and Mrs. Florence Shelton of Cape Girardeau are sisters. Mrs. Patrick Wren of Red Star (suburb) is her mother.

Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Brinkopf Funeral Home, Broadway and Frederick Street.

Her husband was taken to the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Reiker, at 116a Themis St., today.

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ONE IS KILLED NEAR SIKESTON

Mrs. Louis Fogge (later corrected to Fodge) was instantly killed and her husband seriously injured when their farm house, 3 1/2 miles south of Sikeston, was demolished by Friday night's wind storm. Mrs. Fogge was crushed by the flying timbers and was killed outright. The extent of Fogge's injuries could not be learned.

The woman, who, with her husband, resided in a farm house in the Big Opening community, southeast of here, was killed instantly, according to advices here early today.

The storm, which apparently was at its greatest height at the Big Opening settlement, swept through here without doing major damage.

A barn belonging to T.A. Wilson, two miles east of of here, was blown down and six mules were killed. Two other mules were killed when a barn belonging to Dr. Malcom in the same community, was wrecked.

Five barns on the property of L.M. Stallcup were destroyed, Dan McCoy lost five barns and two houses on his farms and a number of barns and houses were blown down on the Matthews properties. Many farmers and their families were slightly injured.

Wires are down between Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Charleston, and communication with those towns shut off. There is no electric power here, and the water supply is very low, and it is expected to be exhausted soon unless the power lines are speedily restored.

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SMALL DAMAGE DONE AT JACKSON

This place (Jackson), partially wrecked by a cyclone a year ago, escaped with only slight damage in the tornado which swept this section Friday night.

The roof of the home of Alex. Smith, east of Jackson, was partially torn off, broke down a cedar tree and wrecked a cistern pump.

Telephone service from here to rural districts was cut off

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FREAK STUNTS PERFORMED BY FRIDAY NIGHT TORNADO

George Fagan, who is the night man in charge of the gas plant of the Union Electric Light and Power Company, had a narrow escape from death when the roof and west wall of the structure housing the gas plant collapsed during the tornado Friday night. He had just walked out of the retort room into the compressor room, when the wall and roof of the retort room collapsed behind him with a mighty roar. Flying dust and bits of brick showered over Fagan in the adjoining room, but he escaped without injury. Fagan lives at 705 Broadway.

The west wall of the gas plant, which was of brick, collapsed like an eggshell in the face of the heavy wind, according to employees of the plant. The roof, which was of frame, fell in immediately after the brick wall had collapsed. Workmen started soon after to clear the wreckage, but it was necessary to suspend the gas service for a time, while it was being cleared away.

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A chicken house erected two weeks ago by Mason Thomas, mail carrier, at the rear of his home on Perry Avenue, was destroyed by the wind Friday night, but a setting hen, "stuck to her eggs" unafraid and was rescued from under the debris by Thomas when he started to clear away the wreckage today.

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A garage belonging to J.M. Ford, Frisco railroad brakeman, at the rear of his home on South Kingshighway, was blown over and demolished by the storm Friday night, but a Ford coupe inside the garage was not damaged to any great extent and was driven from the debris under its own power.

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Al Klaproth, who built himself a garage at his home on Perry Avenue within he past few days, but who had not started leaving his automobile there, saw his garage in ruins today, following the storm Friday night.

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A wooden silo on the dairy farm of Frank Schonhoff, 1 1/2 miles west of Cape Girardeau on the Gordonville Road, was blown down although strong cables had been used to anchor it to the ground. Following the destruction of another silo on the farm in a similar manner five years, Schonhoff put strong cables on the silo, but it was apparently useless.

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Stories of death and destruction continued in the Monday, March 31, 1924, edition of the Southeast Missourian:

NEW NAMES ON DEATH TOLL; CHECK-UP SHOWS EIGHT KILLED BY TORNADO IN S.E. MISSOURI

Eight persons, including three women, lost their lives, and five others are in critical condition, as a result of the tornado which swept Southeast Missouri early Saturday, demolishing buildings, demoralizing telephone and electric service and paralyzing industry in this section for 24 hours, a careful checkup by The Missourian today shows. Damage estimated at $1,000,000 was caused by the gale, one of the most severe which has visited this section in years.

The dead:

Mrs. Edward Steger, Cape Girardeau.
Mrs. Louis Fodge, of near Sikeston.
Melvin Graves, of near Dexter.
Mrs. Jerry Gray, (Black) of near New Madrid.
Four unidentified (Blacks), two near Sikeston, another near Malden, and a fourth near Morley.

The more seriously hurt include:
William Mason and wife of Bernie.
Mrs. Ben Bowers of near Vanduser
Edward Steger, Cape Girardeau.
Louis Fodge, of near Sikeston.

Telephone service crippled by the storm was rapidly being returned to normal today, and communication with a dozen towns, which were isolated all day Saturday, was resumed. Electric service was also resumed in towns in this district late Saturday night by the Union Electric Light and Power Company, and in several cases the service was restored in time to replace exhausted supplies of water. While service was restored to a degree, a careful survey of both telephone and electrical lines is to be made, but an estimate of the damage to these utilities could not be made today.

Bernie hard hit

Bernie, a small town in the southern edge of Stoddard County, was apparently the hardest hit community in this section, reports today indicated. Nearly a dozen frame buildings there were demolished by the gale, telephone service was destroyed and outside communications with other towns was cut off.

Mr. and Mrs. William Mason of that place were seriously hurt when their frame house was demolished and blown away by the storm. So serious were there injuries, that physicians refused to remove them to a hospital, and The Missourian was told today that they had only a slight chance to recover.

Melvin Graves, 12 years old, a farmer boy residing between Dexter and Bernie, was killed instantly when the farm house was wrecked. His body was found lying up against the side of a tree, his neck broken, and his body lacerated in a dozen places.

Woman is killed

Mrs. Louis Fodge, residing southeast of Sikeston, was killed instantly and her husband seriously hurt, when their farm house was demolished by the storm. Her neck was broken by flying timbers.

The (Blacks) were killed, according to reports, when the tenant houses in which they lived, were wrecked by the gale. Identification ... was impossible.

Mrs. Ben Bowers, farm woman of near Vanduser, is in serious condition at her home of injuries sustained in the gale when her house was demolished. She is not expected to recover. Six other persons in the vicinity of Vanduser were also injured, but less seriously.

Found in debris

Mrs. Jerry Gray, (Black) woman, was either killed in the storm or burned to death, when the tenant house in which she and her husband, a son and and another (Black), were living, one mile north of New Madrid, was burned during the gale.

The men were all seriously hurt. The woman's body was found in the burning embers of the house several hours after it has been wrecked. The house was located on the Earl B. Howard farm, on Kingshighway.

A number of smaller houses, especially those occupied by (Blacks), were wrecked by the gale in the vicinity of New Madrid.

Slight damage

Reports that the damage did heavy damage at Malden and Campbell were denied today by residents. The damage in each of these towns was mostly to outbuildings and smaller houses. An unidentified (Black person) was killed north of Malden, but there were no casualties in the town.

A number of freight cars on the Frisco Railroad were blown off the track north of Sikeston, but no one was injured and traffic on the road was held up for only a short time.

At Bertrand several smaller buildings were partially wrecked, several residences unroofed and telephone and electric lines torn down. The public school building was partially wrecked.

Damage to the high school at Morley from the gale today estimated at $10,000. The building was partially unroofed and much of the south wall blown in.

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GORDONVILLE WAS HARD HIT BY TORNADO

ONE FARMER SUSTAINS LOSS OF $5,000

Efforts were being made today to re-establish telephone communications with Gordonville, which, since early Saturday, has been impossible due to the wind storm. Damage in that village, west of Cape Girardeau, is estimated at nearly $20,000.

Two large hay and stock barns on the Christian Gross farm, near Gordonville, were blown down, and one horse in one of the barns was killed. Seven others, however, were rescued from the debris. Gross' loss is estimated at $5,000.

The house and barn belonging to William Neimann was partially demolished at an estimated damage of $2,000.

The roof of the Gordonville Mercantile store, owned by H.W. Macke, was blown off, and the stock of goods was considerably damaged by the rain.

The tin roof on the Bank of Gordonville building was also blown off, while the blacksmith shop of E.T. Telle was partially torn down and three automobiles left in it, damaged. Other buildings sustained broken windows and minor damages.

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WRECK CAUSED BY HIGH WIND

STORM BLEW DOWN SIGNAL LIGHT AT ILLMO

The tornado which swept Southeast Missouri early Saturday was blamed today for the wreck of a Missouri Pacific Railroad freight train in the yards (at Illmo) when five cars were almost totally demolished.

The heavy through freight train crashed through an open switch at the east edge of the railroad yards at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and, although the locomotive and tender failed to turn over, the five following cars turned over and were shattered. No one was injured.

Railroad officials say that a signal, which had been turned to indicate that the switch was open, was blown down by the gale, and the engineer of the locomotive did not know that the switch was open.

The wreck was cleared away within a few hours, although 100 feet of track was torn up and the signal apparatus of the signal tower ruined.

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BALD EAGLE BADLY DELAYED BY STORM

One effect of last Friday night's tornado was to put the Steamer Bald Eagle nearly a day behind its schedule. The boat, scheduled to arrive in Cape Girardeau from St. Louis by 9 o'clock Saturday morning, did not get here until 7 o'clock that night, having been forced to tie up at the river bank about two miles north of Neely's Landing from 12 until 5 o'clock Saturday (morning) owning to the extreme roughness of the water.

Friday night when the wind was at its greatest velocity, the Bald Eagle kept right on going although at reduced speed, the river being comparatively smooth. It was not until Saturday morning that the waves began piling up sufficiently to make the boat seek shelter and a landing was made with difficulty at a place called Gerley's, a short distance above Neely's Landing.

The Bald Eagle loaded all freight for St. Louis Saturday night and left for Commerce at 11 o'clock, passing here Sunday morning at 5 o'clock on the return trip.

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Repairs to the damaged structures began immediately. By June 1924, work on St. Vincent's College was nearing completion.

Published June 21, 1924, in the Southeast Missourian:

ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL IS BEING IMPROVED

Extensive improvements upon the chapel at St. Vincent's College are nearing completion and when finished will make the wing as modern and well equipped as the other wings of the large building. Cost of the improvements is given at approximately $8,500 and the work was done by Herman Pape.

A new roof of composition shingles has been put on the building to replace the old one of sheet iron which was literally torn away by a tornado several months ago, as was a large brick chimney at one end of the wing which has now been rebuilt.

Other improvements are the re-plastering of the walls and ceiling, laying of new floors, installation of new electrical fixtures and complete renovation of all furniture.