MORE FROM THE 1941 EASTERN STAR SCRAPBOOK:

THERE ARE 3 MORE PAGES LEFT IN THE SCRAPBOOK AND WILL BE POSTED LATER...

SUNDAY DRIVE- ROBINSON, IL:

DOWNTOWN-

WEST SIDE OF THE SQUARE-

NORTH FORK OIL OFFICE-

TELEPHONE OPERATOR- WORKING FROM HER HOME-

CRAWFORD COUNTY COURTHOUSE-

STORAGE TANKS IN THE OIL FIELD-

NORTHEAST FROM THE COURTHOUSE-

COUNTRY CLUB-

COUNTRY CLUB SWIMMING POOL-

AD WITH THE ROBINSON ADDRESS AT THE BOTTOM-

DOWNTOWN STREET VIEW-

THE WOODWORTH HOTEL- BIG FOUR DEPOT-

CRAWFORD COUNTY COURTHOUSE- 1910'S

LINCOLN AND GRAND THEATRE PROGRAMS- I THINK FROM THE 1950'S

WOODWORTH HOTEL-

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS AND POST OFFICE-

AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR TRIP TO ROBINSON...

Oakland Train Depots:

Ad for the Terre Haute and Peoria- do not have the rest of the ad.

Traveling out of town:

HINDSBORO SCHOOL:

ON THE SQUARE- PIKE STREET:

INTERIOR OF A STORE ON THE OAKLAND SQUARE- POSSIBLY ON PIKE STREET.

1910- OPERA HOUSE WAS UPSTAIRS IN THE RE MOORE BUILDING- BOUGHT BY CONAGHAN IN 1885 FROM HIRAM RUTHERFORD AND JH BUSBEY.

THE RIPLEY/MOTLEY BUILDING WAS A DRUG STORE OWNED BY DW CRAWFORD AND THE NORTH SIDE WAS LEASED AS A BAKERY AND RESTURANT.

LEWIS KEYS HAD A DRY GOOD STORE AND LATER CHAS CLEMENT HAD A BARBER SHOP WHERE THE ALLEY IS NOW.

THE CARPET CENTER WAS ONCE A LEATHER-HARNESS SHOP AND A HARDWARE STORE.

WHERE THE PUBLIC RESTROOMS ARE WAS ONCE THE TELEPHONE EXCHANGE AND BEFORE THAT DAVID WINKLER WAS THERE AS A TIN AND IRON SMITH SINCE THE 1860'S.

DUZAN'S FURNITURE AND CARPET CENTER TODAY:

TIBBS WAS THE FURNITURE STORE OWNER AND ALSO THE UNDERTAKER.

THE VIEW TODAY:

1914 STREET SCENE- NOTICE THE STREET WASN'T ONE WAY THEN AND THE BUGGYS ARE PARKED IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

NEED YOUR HELP:

THE BLOG IS NOT GETTING THE RESPONSE I WAS HOPING FOR- BUT THERE ARE A FEW LOYAL WATCHERS THAT ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
DOING THE BLOG IS A LOT OF WORK AND I AM GOING TO CONTINUE IT FOR ANOTHER MONTH TO SEE IF THE FOLLOWING INCREASES. IF IT DOES NOT, I WILL THEN MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT TO CONTINUE WITH IT.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR KNOW MORE ABOUT- LET ME KNOW. IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH PAST POSTS OR YOU HAVE SOMETHING I HAVEN'T POSTED YET- LET ME KNOW.
IF I DON'T RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON A POST, I ASSUME ITS SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN, SO IF YOU LIKE SOMETHING, LEAVE FEEDBACK.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO TO MAKE THIS BETTER- SO IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, I'M LISTENING...

GAS STATIONS OF DAYS GONE BY:

FULL SERVICE STATIONS SERVED OAKLAND FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE CASEY'S CAME TO TOWN- ABOVE IS THE SINCLAIR STATION THAT WAS ON MAIN STREET- A PART OF BIRKEY'S NOW:

RANKINS GAS STATION ON THE CORNER OF RT 133 AND THE ASHMORE ROAD:

JUST FOUND THIS ONLINE- MORE ON THE 1917 TORNADO THAT HIT CHARLESTON AND MATTOON:

I THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING:

Oakland Movie House:

ca 1950- the movie theater is where Donna Hale's office is now at the Citizen's Bank. Does anyone remember the price of tickets and a bucket of popcorn? Humphry Bogart in Chain Lightning was playing at the time the photo was taken.

TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN MAY 26, 1917 IN CHARLESTON/ MATTOON AREAS:

The Mattoon/Charleston Tornado of May 26, 1917

Illinois' 3rd deadliest tornado disaster on record occurred on May 26, 1917. On that date, 101 people were killed across central Illinois, most of them in the Mattoon/Charleston area. Injuries totaled approximately 638.

Originally, this was believed to be a single tornado with a path 293 miles long, extending from the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, MO, all the way across central portions of Illinois and Indiana, ending near Mount Vernon, IN, over a total time span of 7 hours 20 minutes. This was later determined to be 4 to 8 separate tornadoes; the Illinois portion was approximately 155 miles (including times it was aloft), over a time of approximately 4 hours. The strongest part of the tornado, through Mattoon/Charleston, was later determined to be F4 intensity on the original Fujita scale. Click on the image below to enlarge.



In the days before aereal photography and aircraft surveillance, it was not unusual for tornadoes to be reported to have long tracks, on the assumption that the tornado remained on the ground constantly. Minor directional changes were also not well documented, with many tornadoes assumed to have traveled in a straight line.

Weather Overview:


The morning surface map showed low pressure centered in northwest Iowa; this had moved to west central Illinois by evening. Showers and thunderstorms had been reported overnight across central Illinois. The forecast called for additional thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon. (Map courtesy of the NOAA Central Library Data Imaging Project)




Tornado Specifics:

The first touchdown was shortly before noon on May 26 near Pleasant Hill, located in far southern Pike County. Three people were injured in Nebo, a few miles east, around noon. It then continued eastward:


Time Location Casualties Damage
1 PM White Hall
(Greene County) 3 injured Damage to farm properties
1:30 PM Modesto
(Macoupin County) 3 killed, 16 injured 30 homes destroyed, 35 badly damaged
2:20 PM Owaneco
(Christian County) 1 killed
2:50 PM Westervelt
(Shelby County) 5 killed, 25 injured 10 homes destroyed, 9 badly damaged
3:30 PM Mattoon
(Coles County) 53 killed, 409 injured 496 houses destroyed and 134 partially destroyed, leaving 2,500 homeless.
Nearly every home in the northern half of town was damaged or destroyed.
Near total destruction in a swath 2.5 miles long by 2.5 blocks wide.
Damage estimates $1.2 million (1917 dollars).
3:45 PM Charleston
(Coles County) 38 killed, 182 injured 221 homes destroyed and another 265 seriously damaged.
Damage swath 1.5 miles long by 600 yards wide.
Damage estimates $781,000 (1917 dollars).


Originally, it was believed this same tornado curved southeast and went through Clark County before moving into Indiana south of Terre Haute. However, it was later determined the original tornado curved northeast and ended near the Embarras River; a different tornado touched down 5 miles east-southeast of Charleston and moved southeast to Marshall, causing F3 intensity damage just north of Westfield.

The Mattoon/Charleston portion of the tornado track was surveyed by Clarence J. Root, the meteorologist in charge of the Weather Bureau office in Springfield. According to his report from the May 1917 edition of Climatological Data, the appearance of the tornado(es) changed over the course of the track:

Across the State from the Mississippi River almost to Mattoon, all eye witnesses agree that the storm had the typical funnel-shaped tornado cloud with the swinging tail, and east of Charleston the same type of cloud was reported, but the writer, who visited Mattoon and Charleston, failed to find anyone in those cities who saw a funnel-shaped cloud. Eye witnesses who were near the edge of the city, and had an unobstructed view, agree that the approaching storm appeared as a low, boiling mass of clouds, one part a little to the north and the other a little to the south. The parts seemed to roll toward one another, coming together and downward like the meshing of a pair of cog-wheels. There was an abundance of evidence of true tornadic action, ... it might be suggested that the cloud was so low that there was no room for the usual pendant portion.

The tornado passed a mile north of the State Normal School (now Eastern Illinois University) in Charleston. There, barograph traces indicated the barometric pressure fell 0.27 inches, then immediately rose 0.40 inches, as the tornado passed. Winds were estimated to reach 80 mph, and hail of 2-1/4 inches in diameter was measured.

In early days, it was believed that tornado damage was caused by buildings "exploding" from the contrast in pressure. J.P. Carey, of the Department of Geography at the school, wrote the following in the June 15, 1917 edition of the journal Science:

The reason for the location of the area of complete devastation being to the right of the center seems to be plausibly explained when the agents of destruction are considered. On the right of the center there is the explosive action due to the reduced pressure on the outside of the buildings, the eastward component of the counter-clockwise wind of the tornado (probably over 400 miles per hour), the forward movement of the storm, and the west wind which was prevalent at that time all working in conjunction as agents of destruction...

Of course, later research determined that the wind speed in tornadoes does not reach as high as 400 mph, but much was unknown about tornadoes and meteorology in general at the time.

Aftermath:


The destruction in Mattoon and Charleston was overwhelming. In Mattoon, nearly 500 houses were demolished. The survey results indicated that this particular part of town, where the worst of the damage occurred, consisted of cottages or small dwellings with no basements. To the north of the worst damage area, two manufacturing plants, a school, and a couple stores were badly damaged. In the areas closer to the business district, damage was confined to broken windows and tree limbs. In Charleston, the path was closer to the business district, with 15 businesses badly damaged, and two lumber yards and 2 railway stations completely destroyed; the high school, power station, and gas reservoir were badly damaged. Over 220 homes were destroyed as well. J.P. Carey reported that in both cities, the parts of town with the worst damage "were more completely demolished than if a gigantic roller had passed over them, for the buildings were broken into short sticks, split into narrow pieces, and some parts carried rods and even miles eastward."



According to the Indianapolis Star, downed lines resulted in difficulties in getting outside help to the area:

For hours there was a confused rushing about of the survivors in the stricken area, seeking relatives and friends. Efforts to send for help were thwarted by the collapse of wires, but finally a messenger was dispatched to Champaign by automobile, so that a relief train arrived before midnight. Later an uncertain wire to Springfield was made workable and militia was sent to aid in guarding property and helping the homeless.

The force of the wind caused several notable occurrences, according to Root and Carey, as well as newspaper reports:

•A piece of wood was driven through a telegraph pole.
•Straw was driven 1/2 inch into a tree.
•Books, photographs, etc. were reportedly found in Bloomington and Greencastle, Indiana, a distance of 50 to 70 miles.
•A flagpole and flag was carried 4 blocks from its original location, and planted into the ground in an upright position.
•A pump and 14 feet of water were sucked out of a well.
•At one house, everything was pulled out of the 2nd story through broken windows, but the house itself was undamaged except for the windows.
•Many birds completely lost their feathers.

* FOUND THIS ON THE NOAA WEATHER SITE AT THE LINK BELOW- THERE ARE MORE PHOTOS THERE OF THE AFTERMATH- CHECK IT OUT.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/?n=mto1917

SUNDAY DRIVE- CHARLESTON, IL:

AD FROM 1909:

POST OFFICE:

LEWIS BARGER? AND FRIEND:

COLES COUNTY COURT HOUSE:

CHARLESTON TORNADO- MAY 26, 1917:

CHARLESTON TOWN HALL 1890:

MATCHBOOK COVERS FROM THE PAST:

LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE MARKER:

SEVENTH STREET CA 1930:

UNKNOWN STREET IN CHARLESTON CA 1910:

CHARLESTON DAM AND WATER WORKS 1909: CHARLESTON DAM 1907:

FIRST METHODIST CHURCH:

CHURCH PROGRAM: