Decatur Evening Herald
Decatur, IL
April 21, 1927
Another Cyclone Unroofs Houses
Durant, Ok. April 21- Sixty homes were demolished and a woman injured at Caddo, Ok. 15 miles northeast of here late Wednesday when a cyclone struck the town. No deaths have been reported.
The woman, Mrs. J. W. Overstreet, was not seriously hurt. Caddo is approximately 50 miles southeast of the territory near Hugo, Ok where 11 person lost their live in a tornado Monday night.
The Caddo Herald
April 22, 1927
A Tale of a Tornado
At 6 o’clock Wednesday afternoon a cyclone traversed the west portion of town, doing a great deal of damage to property. No one was seriously injured. Mrs. J. W. Overstreet was slightly hurt by a falling brick flue.
A careful check of the storm damage at Caddo reveals the following houses damaged:
J. M Bardwell barn, mile west of town.
Martin home and barn, half a mile west of town.
J. W. Overstreet, three houses and three barns badly wrecked.
H. W. Thompson, shingles off large house; barn and garage wrecked as were other outhouses.
M. A. Linch, house skewed around and parted, porch roof off, barn wrecked.
Mr. C. V. Ellis, house and barn wrecked.
Harve Phelps, house wrecked.
Mrs. J. B. Lyle, barn wrecked.
John C. Hogan (old place), shingles off houses, barn wrecked.
Mrs. Hensley, house badly wrecked.
J. T. Petty, barn and garage gone.
W. A. Robinson, house skewed around, barn gone.
Lafferty home twisted around and parted.
J. A. Davis house badly twisted, barn gone.
H. A. Costello, house twisted, barn wrecked.
M. B. Taylor barn wrecked.
L. M. Wood, north of town, house wrenched, barn gone.
Amos K. Bass, house twisted and barn gone.
Tom Boydstun, barn damaged.
George Cobb, barn demolished.
A part of the barns of Granville Moman and J. L. Sargent were damaged. These were not in the path of the storm.
Considerable damage was done to shrubbery and trees. Several beautiful cedars are pitiable.
Clouds forming in the southwest looked like smoke belching from a large factory chimney. They swirled for ten or fifteen minutes then a cone shape began to appear, darker than the rest. At first it was indistinct, then gathering form, it began its short but destructive journey toward town. Nearly everybody burrowed into the ground. Standing room in cellars was at a premium.
A rushing, mighty wind swirled through town with the speed of a racing automobile and played havoc with everything in its path. Houses were twisted like paper boxes, roofs torn off and shingles sent flying through the air like flocks of birds. Timbers and parts of roofs were carried far from their original places of abode.
The twister struck the ground a half-mile west of town and business picked up. The garage of J. W. Overstreet was broken into kindling wood, his car taken to the middle of the street and left with its wheels dangling in the air. The home of Overstreet was a wreck, but he and his wife remained in the house, with but a slight injury to Mrs. Overstreet, who received a blow on the hip by a brick from a falling flue.
The home of H. W. Thompson was almost divested of shingles, like as if someone had picked them off one by one. The sheeting and rafters were left intact.
Thomas F. Smith, an invalid from the world war was seated in a car in front of the home of Harve Phelps. He sat through the cyclone without injury, though the top and windshield were torn from the car. His wife and child ran into a garden nearby and received only a soaking from the torrential rain.
After going through town the cyclone stopped several minutes on a hill north of town and there toyed with the debris it had picked up. The air was filled with whirling shingles, tree limbs, parts of roofs, and planks.
Then the twister vanished to give place to rain and hail. Some stones as large as hen eggs fell, but little damage was done by them for not much crops have been planted.
Within a hundred yards of the path of the twister one could get a fair idea of its modus operandi. The circle was a block wide and resembled much the ordinary whirlwinds one sees in the summer playing down the roads spinning like a large top.
For six hours after the cyclone a torrential rain fell. The streets were young rivers.
Those left homeless were gladly welcomed into homes of their neighbors.
Lights were out so the little town sat in darkness, or by candle light, thankful that no one was killed, sympathetic in each other’s company.
An hour after the main storm, lightening struck the home of W. C. Smith just out of the path. Mr. Smith had gone to succor any who might have suffered, and his home was consumed. Such a downpour of rain prevented any aid coming to him. He had some insurance.
