A family connection to the 1949 tornado

For most of my life, I didn’t know that my family suffered any loss in the tornado that devastated Cape Girardeau on May 21, 1949.

My parents, Louis and Frances Sanders, weren’t married yet. Mom was still living with her parents, Raymond and Clara Glaus Stehr, in their home in the 1200 block of South Sprigg Street. That was well away from the path of the twister.

Still, I grew up hearing my parents say the family stood in the yard at Grandma and Grandpa’s house watching the tornado attack the town. In the hours after the storm, Clara’s brother Frank Glaus, a resident of Commerce, tried to reach his sister by telephone. When he couldn’t get through, he drove to Cape Girardeau to check on the family. He had heard that Cape Girardeau had been destroyed.

Years later, as I researched my family’s genealogy, I realized that my father lost a cousin to the tornado.

Fred Wise, 38, was killed when his home at 800 Perry Ave. collapsed on top of him. A news article published May 23, 1949, in the Southeast Missourian, described the scene: “Fred Wise, boiler operator at the cement plant, was killed in the basement of his home when the floor of the two-story, frame dwelling at 800 Perry Ave., caved in. Mrs. (Azalea 'Laura' Nickless) Wise and son, Don, 12, were in the western corner of the basement, and Mr. Wise had gone to the east section of the basement to close the door. The entire eastern half of the basement was filled with flooring and rubble. Mrs. Wise and son were uninjured.”

Fred was the son of Walter E. “Pete” and Elsie Sanders Wise. I’ve written about “Uncle Pete” before.

The deaths of 21 persons are described in the article quoted above. A 22nd death was added May 24, 1949, when Canna Elizabeth Robinson Rose succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital. Her husband, J. Roy Rose, was among those who died instantly in the storm.

EIGHT KILLED IN SMALL DISTRICT

DEATH FROM WIND COMES IN 150-YARD AREA IN RED STAR

Eight of the 21 persons who lost their lives in the storm Saturday night were killed in a 150-yard area in the vicinity of Johnson and Rand streets at the east side of the Red Star suburb.

Three members of two different families, whose dwellings faced each other on Johnson Street, at the corner of Rand, were killed, and a man and a woman, each in their home 150 yards to the north and east, lost their lives when the houses were blown completely away.

Brothers are killed

Two brothers, Jack and Luther Welker, and Luther Welker’s son, Marvin Welker, were killed, and Mrs. Luther Welker and daughters, Bonnie and Patsy, and son, Tony, were injured.

Directly across Johnson Street, Mrs. Jewell Thorne, and her son, Merlin Thorne, 13, and daughter, Colleen Thorne, 11, were killed.

The Walker and the Thorne dwellings were in a ravine, and behind the Thorne home, on a hill, Parker Zimmerman, 100 block of Rand Street, was killed, and his wife was severely injured when the house was smashed.

Mrs. Bertha McCain who also resided in the 1500 block of Rand Street, was killed, and her husband, Bob McCain, and son, Raymond McCain, are in the hospital, the extent of their injuries not determined.

Besides these homes being destroyed, the Walter Sands residence, 1451 Rand St., was shattered, inflicting injuries on Mr. and Mrs. Sands.

The entire block, bordered on the north by Robert Street, Water Street on the west, Johnson on the south and Rand on the east, was blown away, the force of the wind even uprooting the grass and shrubbery, after the dwelling had been removed. Some 12 homes in the single block, and adjoining areas were completely demolished.

Three of those killed were ministers, the Rev. R.P. Basler, a retired Methodist pastor; the Rev. R.L. Liley, a minister of the General Baptist Church and the Rev. G. Jack Crowe, an evangelist of Middletown, Ohio, who was holding a revival meeting at the now destroyed Church of God in Marble City Heights.

Three churches were damaged by the 1949 tornado, including the Red Star Tabernacle and Third Street Methodist. Above is what was left of the Church of God in Marble City Heights on Emerald Street, after the storm passed. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

The Rev. R.P. Basler was fatally hurt at his home on North Park Avenue, when the house was wrecked as he started from the porch to the basement.

Buried in debris

Mrs. Helen Frey and small daughter, Peggy, 8, were fatally injured when the tornado struck their home on North Fountain Street. Mrs. Frey was behind her home and the girl’s body was found in a neighbor’s coal bin. Mr. Frey, who works on the river, was away on the job.

Mrs. Malissie Boldrey, neighbor of the Roy Rose family on North Fountain Street, reported that she was the first to reach Mr. Rose, who had been hurled by the wind onto the Boldrey lot from his home. He was dead when she reached him. Hearing calls from Mrs. Rose, who was lying on the ground on a lot directly behind the Boldrey dwelling, Mrs. Boldrey ran to her and found she had been badly injured.

Home for visit

R.L. Liley, a machinist at Western Cartridge Co., East Alton, Illinois, who had come home for a weekend visit, was fatally injured when the front porch of the Liley home, 1033 N. Sprigg St., fell on him. He was in the basement at the time. Also in the basement, but in the west end and uninjured, were his wife, and Mrs. Mildred Williamson and son, Darrell, 2, Mrs. John Bilauski and son, Bobby, 3 1/2, and Mrs. Jewell McLain. The house was ripped from its foundation and blown across the street. Outside the house were John Bilauski and Milford Riley, who received injuries when tree limbs fell on them.

Killed on Perry Avenue

Fred Wise, boiler operator at the cement plant, was killed in the basement of his home when the floor of the two-story, frame dwelling at 800 Perry Ave., caved in. Mrs. (Azalea “Laura” Nickless) Wise and son, Don, 12, were in the western corner of the basement, and Mr. Wise had gone to the east section of the basement to close the door. The entire eastern half of the basement was filled with flooring and rubble. Mrs. Wise and son were uninjured.

Not a dwelling in the area between Perry Avenue and West End Boulevard between Pemiscot Street, at the left, and Dunklin Avenue at the right, escaped the storm, as this aerial shows. In those spots where piles of rubble may be seen, there were once homes. Now only smashed lumber remains. Note the shells of houses, unroofed by the twisting cloud, and those which were smashed practically to the ground. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

Glenn Huckstep, who owned the house and who, with Mrs. Huckstep and daughter, Phyllis, lived on the first floor, while the Wises lived on the second story, said he and his family were downtown when the tornado hit. He estimated the total loss at between $12,000 and $13,000.

Mrs. Ida Hahn, 81 years old, of Illmo died at Southeast Missouri Hospital at 7:30 a.m. Sunday (May 22, 1949). She was injured in the destruction of the Airline establishment (on U.S. 61), where she was visiting a nephew, Weldon Ruebel, who was employed there and who lived in a house on the property.

Boy is killed

Jerome Foeste, 6, son of Mr. And Mrs. (Elmer and Ruby) Foeste, 620 Emerald St., apparently was thrown from the home onto the street, the body being found there. His mother also was hurt. Mr. Foeste was not at home at the time.

The Rev. G. Jack Crowe, 63 years old, of Middletown, was also instantly killed when the residence of the Rev. and Mrs. J.H. Shirrell, 1113 N. Middle St., with whom he was residing while holding a revival meeting at the Church of God, was demolished.

The body was taken from the Walter Funeral Home to Middletown this morning by airplane and was accompanied by Homer Leffler of a funeral home there who came here for the body. He was born Sept. 1, 1885, in Bath County, Kentucky, and had been at Middletown for the past 28 years. He was an evangelist and had been in Cape Girardeau 10 days.

Mrs. Eva Hayes, (Black), whose home on Emerald and North Frederick streets was completely demolished, was found dead near a fallen tree north of the Hayes home. Rodney Hayes, (Black), 13 months old, grandson of Mrs. Hayes, was found lying to the south of his grandmother, and also covered with wreckage. The mother of the small baby, and daughter of Mrs. Hayes, was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.

Mrs. Hazel O’Bannon, 40, a (Black), who resided at Emerald and Sprig streets, died Sunday morning at San Francis Hospital. Mrs. O’Bannon was blown into a ditch 350 feet from her home.

Published May 23, 1949, in the Southeast Missourian:

FRED WISE

Fred Wise, 38 years old, 800 Perry Ave., was instantly killed Saturday night (May 21, 1949) in the storm which demolished the family home.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 o’clock Wednesday afternoon at the Haman Funeral Home with the Rev. Earl Fisher of the Church of God Mission in charge. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery at Commerce.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Laura Wise; two children, Donald Ray and Eloise Wise at home; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wise; two brothers, J.B. Wise and Paul Wise of Commerce; three sisters, Mrs. L.A. Bom of Benton and Mrs. Horace Clark and Mrs. Marion Jacobs of Cape Girardeau.

Born June 29, 1919, in Scott County, he was married to Miss Laura Nickless on Dec. 7, 1945. He served in the Navy in World War II. He moved to Cape Girardeau in 1935 from Commerce and was employed at the cement plant for a number of years.

Read more about the 1949 tornado and view a gallery of photographs here.