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Weather Forecast
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By Quimby Melton
Sixty-nine years ago — in 1900
—a hurricane swept out of the
Gulf of Mexico and struck the
small port of Galveston, Texas.
Sunday night another hurri
cane swept up from the gulf and
hit the Mississippi coast.
Reports of the 1900 hurricane
tell of 4,500 people being killed,
and it has been said that this fi
gure, large as it is still falls
short of the actual number who
perished. It was also estimated
more than 2,000 buildings were
destroyed and property loss ex
ceeded S3O-Mililon.
Sixty-nine years have passed
since the ‘‘Galveston Flood” as
the 1900 disaster was commonly
called, and the Sunday hurricane
known as Camille. Sixty-nine
years ago there was little known
about hurricanes except that
when they hit one could expect
great damage. The speed of the
winds had to be estimated and
everyone did his or her own
estimating, so there is no way
of knowing how hard the wind
blew that day in 1900. But the
winds of Camille, according to
scientific estimations, hit 190
miles per hour, the strongest
winds ever recorded in the west
ern herisphere.
Latest estimates are that 100
persons are known to have died
as a result of the hurricane and
the path of Camille is one of to
tal destruction for mile after
mile.
One is apt to ponder why loss
of life in the latest hurricane has
been little more than 10 percent
of that when Galveston was hit;
especially since the winds blew
at the rate of 190 miles an hour.
The answer is simple. In t h e
sixty nine years since the Gal
veston Flood many things have
happened. Today we are better
prepared to know when a hurri
cane is forming, predict its
course and when and where it
probably will strike. The federal
weather department has the best
modern equipment, including air
planes and helicopters to scout
the spawning of and course of
the storm and to estimate the
force of its winds, and, then
thanks to modern communica
tions can pass this information
on to the people in time for them
to get out of the danger zone.
Had this system not been
in effect it is highly possible the
loss of life this time could have
exceeded the 4,500 lost in t h e
Galveston Flood.
Everytime a disaster hits this
nation of ours one cannot help
but be impressed with the way
certain organizations immedia
tely go into action to bring re
lief to the stricken people. The
American Red Cross was on the
scene in short order, Red Cross
workers from Georgia as well
as from many states were
flown there to help. And there
were other organizations as well.
The State of Georgia played a
part in bringing relief to the
area. The Georgia Air National
Guard and the Air Force Reser
ve Monday began an emergency
airlift of food and medical sup
plies. The Georgia Power Com
pany sent many linemen to help
restore power lines, as did the
telephone company.
Say what you please about this
nation of ours being made up of
people who don’t care what hap
pens to the other fellow; when
a disaster like Camille comes,
notice how concern for others is
manifested!
Speaking of hurricanes: One
of the most freakish ones of all
times hit Florida in 1928. The
high winds leap-frogged t h e co
ast then hit in the middle of
Lake Okeechobee lifted the wa
ter in hugh waves, swept it out
of the lake and across ranch
lands. More than 2,000 persons
were killed.
Now that Hurricane Camille
has lost its force and is blowing
itself out inland, another hurri
cane is “coming”. This one is
called Debbie. It is in the Puer
to Rican area and is being wat
ched and plotted every minute.
The Country Parson
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“The trouble with success
is that it gives a fellow a
place from which he can look
down on others.”
GRIFFIN
DAILY NEWS
Daily Since 1872
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Hurricane Death Toll
100 And Still Rising
By WILLIAM L. VAUGHN
GULFPORT, Miss. (UPD—
Receding waters uncovered
dozens of bodies today as
rescue workers plodded through
the rubble left by killer
hurricane Camille on her
rampage through Mississippi’s
Gulf Coast playground. The
death toll mounted to at least
106.
Wade Guice, civil defense
director in Harrison County,
said the toll was “at least 100
and rising” in Gulfport, Biloxi
and Pass Christian. More than
50 bodies were found sprawled
in the mud and debris in one
residential section of Pass
Christian.
“It appears that the tide was
greater than 20 feet,” said
Guice. He said the bodies were
found in an area which had
been believed safe. The res
idents were warned to leave
their homes, but not ordered to
do so, before Camille struck
Sunday night, he said.
Swept Away
“There’s an area south of the
railroad where you just see a
vacant slab and piles of
lumber. House after house after
house—even the plumbing—is
gone, swept away,” Guice said.
“I heard them blowing the
sirens there Sunday night,”
Guice said. The residents
apparently ignored them, think
ing they were safe.
As workers poked through the
rubble, Guice ordered a meet-
They’re Safe
Ex-Griff inites
In Hurricane
A former Griffin family visit
ing here rushed back to their
Gulfport, Miss., home during the
weekend where they rode out
Hurricane Camille. Their
home is two blocks from the
beach.
The only damage to the house
was from two feet of water that
collected on the floors.
Mr. and Mrs. Bill King, how
ever, said that a new equipment
business building several blocks
which they had constructed was
damaged.
Mr. King was in the grocery
, (Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
Kathy Biles and Gail Bunn get ready to return to campus.
ing later today of all rescue
agencies. “We need to get
coordinated, and it’s a matter
of life and death for the people
who are left,” Guice said.
Food and water were scarce,
although emergency supplies
were en route, Guice said.
Power and communications
were nonexistent.
Damage was estimated con
servatively at $250 million.
There was no electrical power
or water pressure. Officials
said, though, that advance
warning probably saved “thou
sands of lives."
“It’s the most devastation
I’ve ever seen in one place,”
said Gov. John Bell Williams,
following a six-hour survey
Monday. “It’s going to take
years and years to recover
from this.”
Declares Disaster Area
President Nixon declared the
Mississippi coast a major
disaster area and authorized an
initial $1 million for relief.
Rescue workers finally were
able to push into the area
Monday morning, many hours
after the strongest hurricane
ever to hit the U.S. mainland
had slammed ashore with 190-
mile-per-hour winds just below
Gulfport. They found villages
virtually destroyed, survivors
staggering in shock.
Half the stores in Bay St.
Louis, a seafood packing
community, had been pushed
into the water. The business
business in Griffin several years
ago with Lofton and King. He
is in the heavy equipment busi
ness at Gulfport now.
His wife is the former Mary
Crowder of Griffin. She is the
daughter of Mrs. Collie Crowder
of Zetella and the brother of in
surance man Al Crowder of Grif
fin.
The Kings finally talked with
Mrs. Crowder in Griffin by
phone yesterday afternoon. They
had tried to make contact many
times before then but this was
the first time they could get
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Tuesday, August 19, 1969
district of nearby Waveland
was largely smouldering rubble.
Harrison County, which in
cludes Gulfport, Biloxi and
Pass Christian, apparently bore
the brunt of the season’s third
tropical storm. Forty-four of
the dead were in the county.
Maj., Mrs. Israel
Will Transfer
To Valdosta
Maj. Travis Israel who has ser
ved as head of the Salvation
Army center in Griffin six years
will be transferred to Valdosta
Aug. 27.
Capt. Owen Gilliam of Atlan
ta will succeed him.
Maj. Israel and his family
have headed activities of the
Griffin post probably longer than
any other officers. Both are ca
reer members of the Salvation
Army.
Maj. Israel said the transfer
would take place next Wednes
day.
While in Griffin, Maj. Israel
was active in the Griffin Rotary
Club and participated in many
civic activities. His wife, Mira,
was active in the Spalding
Cancer organization and is past
president of the Pilot Club.
through.
Mr. and Mrs. King arrived
here last Friday for a visit
with relatives. When they learn
ed that Hurricane Camille would
strike in their home town, they
headed home. They wanted to
board up the house to protect it.
Mrs. King described the hurr
icane as ‘‘something terrible”.
Mr. and Mrs. King have three
children, Joe 21, Joni 13, and
Sheri, 23, who recently married.
The King family got together
in their home just two blocks
from the beach and stayed there
until the storm was over.
Griffin Man
Dies Os Knife
Wounds
Several people were question
ed by Spalding Sheriff Dwayne
Gilbert and other Spalding offi
cers today in the knife slaying
of a Griffin man yesterday.
Clomer Conger, 68, of Griffin
was found dead in a house three
miles north of Griffin off North
Hill street extension. He h a d
been slashed about the face and
neck.
Aubrey Rickman of 1442 Ex
periment street, Griffin, is being
held in connection with the slay
ing.
Sheriff Gilbert was question
ing several people today.
A deputy said a warrant was
expected to be taken against
Rickman. He said he did not
know what the charges would
be.
One deputy, who is aiding in
the investigation, said Ric k
man, Conger and several other
men were at the house when an
argument started. He said they
had been drinking.
The house is on a field road
north of the Dobbins Mill road,
the deputy said. He said Conger
was dead when deputies arrived.
Mr. Conger was a retired pain
ter and was a native of Palmet
to, Ga. He had lived in Griffin
for many years.
He is survived by a daughter,
Mrs. E. D. Rosenthal of Griffin;
a son, Sam D. Conger of Atlan
ta; three grandchildren, Gregory
and Rodney Rosenthal, both of
Griffin, and Denny Conger of
Atlanta; two sisters, Mrs. Clau
de Donehoo Sr., of Griffin and
Mrs. Nelvin Hite of Atlanta.
Funeral services will be held
Wednesday morning at 11 o’clo
ck from the chapel of Haisten’s
Funeral Home. The Rev. James
Herndon will officiate. Burial
will be in the Ramah Baptist
Church cemetery at Palmetto.
The rosary will be said tonight
at 8 o’clock at Haisten’s chapel.
Eight Youths
Get Jail Terms
Eight young Griffinites were
sentenced to terms in city jail
yesterday by Griffin Recorder’s
Court Judge Tom Lewis on char
ges of drinking under age.
Judge Lewis in the past had
been giving probated sentences
in such cases.
However, in the past several
months, drinking among teenag
ers has increased and resulted
in the straight time sentences.
The sentences ranged from 30
days to 120 days.
Officers said the sentence for
120 days was for drinking under
age and driving while drinking.
The officers did not Identify
those sentenced
Vol. 96 No. 195
School Officials
Estimate 9,000
Enrollment Here
Teachers Report
Here Next Monday
Teachers have less than a
week and students less than two
weeks of summer vacation left
before returning to classes in the
Griffin-Spalding System.
Some 400 faculty members will
report for their first day of work
in the 1969-70 school year next
Monday, Aug. 25. They will be
gin a series of meetings with
school officials and principals
for pre-school planning. The
planning will continue through
Aug. 28.
Students will report for the fir
st day of school Friday, Aug. 29.
Advance registration indicates
well over 9,000 students will re
port during the first days of sc
hool.
Aug. 29 will be a full day of sc
hool for all students except first
graders in non-transported sc
hools. They ill go for a half
day.
Monday, Sept. 1, will be a sc
hool holiday for the observance
of Labor Day. Students will re
turn on Tuesday, Sept. 2 and es
tablish study routines for the
year.
If enrollment this year follows
the pattern of previous years, se
veral hundred students will
report late. School officials have
experienced a daily increase in
enrollment during the first week,
based on past years.
It will take longer than that
for an average daily attendance
(ADA) to be established.
Buses will make regular
rounds on the first day of school
for students, Aug. 29.
School cafeterias will be in op
eration on the first day and re
sume regular schedules Sept. 2.
Fifteen schools will be in ope
ration this year.
They are: Griffin High, Fair
mont, Spalding Junior High,
Kelsey, Atkinson, Annie Shock
ley, Beaverbrook, Crescent, East
Griffin, Fourth Ward, Moore,
North Side, Orrs, Third Ward
and West Griffin.
This is expected to be the last
year the system will operate un
der this set up.
Beginning in 1970, the system
is scheduled to consolidate some
schools and classes. It is expec
ted to have a new elementary
school constructed on Jackson
road by then.
Faculty and students are ex
pected to lay preliminary plans
this year for the transition next
fall.
School officials today remind
ed parents that first and second
graders will be required under
state law to have immunizations
before they can enter school this
fall. Students who have transfer
red here within the past two
years also will be required to
have the immunizations.
Sacred Heart School on M a c-
Arthur drive which is operated
by the Catholic Church here,
will open Sept. 2 for a half
day. A full day of school will be
held Sept. 3 and continue on a
regular basis after that.
The school has a faculty of
five and an anticipated enroll
ment of 185. The school has
'J
rail ' It [
GULFPORT, Miss. — National Z
i ’ < * Guardsman surveys damage
done by hurricane Camille. Ca- * J ' JpJwZ Z " ’S ’ ’
tnille. the worst hurricane to
ever hit the United States’s
mainland, the
glittering Gulf Coast playground W
in
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classes from kindergarten throu
gh the sixth grade.
A new private school will open
at First Assembly of God on the
old Atlanta road this year.
The Rev. Leslie Grounds, as
sociate minister of the church,
will direct the school. It will be
called Griffin Christian School.
An enrollment of 66 kinder
garten students already has been
signed. Some 15 students have
enrolled for the first grade.
Only a few more can be accep
ted in the first grade and there
is a waiting list for kindergar
ten classes, the Rev. Grounds
said.
The church plans to expand
the private school each year as
the need arises.
Local Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
88, low today 70, high yesterday
87, low yesterday 71, rainfall
.42 of an inch; sunrise tomorrow
7:04, sunset tomorrow 8:10.
Camille’s Story
Told By Survivors
GULFPORT, Miss. (UPI) —
The real story of Hurricane Ca
mille was told by the people
who lived through it.
“The storm was like a woman
in labor—it just kept getting
harder and harder as the night
wore on,” said B. D. Johnson,
a Red Cross official.
Thomas Parker, an offshore
oil worker, was huddled in the
attic of a hotel, which shud
dered under the winds at Buras,
La.
“We watched trailers swap
ping ends—just spinning. It was
unbelievable. That’s the first
hurricane I’ve ever been
through and it’ll be the last if I
got anything to do about it.”
Wes McFarland, 16 - year -old
son of a doctor, fled his home
at Bay St. Louis, Miss., for a
nearby hospital. “The house
was shaking and falling apart.
The doors even started to break
off,” he said.
Hospital Chapel
At the hospital, Mrs. Gerry
Rewel watched the waters rise
and was afraid patients would
have to be taken to the roof in
100-mile an-hour winds.
“I went into the chapel for a
minute, but the chapel windows
blew out. Finally I just said
that if the Lord would save me
and my family, I’d never com
plain about what I lost.” Her
home was destroyed, but her
husband and two sons survived.
“The roof blew off our surg
ery building and we’re setting
up for temporary surgery in
our delivery room,” said Robert
Inside Tip
Vietnam
See Details age 10
Griffin Club
Sends Money
To Gulfport
The Griffin Kiwanis Club to
day sent $250 to the Gulfport,
Miss., Kiwanis Club to be used
to help victims of Hurricane Ca
mille.
Bill Gregory, past president
of the Griffin Club and past
governor of the Georgia dis
trict, said the money was sent
to Joseph L. Brown, Jr., presi
dent of the Gulfport club.
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7J h 2 d «g
g a S
A. Alexander, comptroller of
Memorial Hospital at Gulfport.
John Koshak of Gulfport
prayed that his.wife and seven
children would not be harmed.
They weren’t. “The good Lord
was with us. At 1:10 this morn
ing, I didn’t think any of us
would be here.”
Refuge in Jail
Mrs. Charles Johnson and
about 40 other persons sought
refuge in the courthouse at Bay
St. Louis. Jailers put them in
cells when windows in the build
ing shattered.
“They were real Southern
gentlemen. They put us in jail,
but we were glad to be there,”
she said.
At least 15 persons died at
Pass Christian. The victims in
cluded five couples who were
having a hurricane party in a
three- story apartment. Police
Chief Jerry Peralta couldn't
make them leave.
“The last time I went up o
try to get them out, the water
was just over the sea wall.
They were having a good time
and they wouldn’t leave. That’s
the last anybody saw of them,”
he said.
Wind whipped the roof off the
elementary school where 600
persons were hiding near the
little town of Lakeshore.
“Men broke down. There was
screaming and crying and pray
ing, just about everything a fel
low could think to do,” said
Principal Oren Seal.
Parents lay on their children
to protect them. Not one of the
refugees was hurt.