Singing For Better Weather

 This post on the weather comes from previously published posts of the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog. Somehow it seems appropriate. The only thing missing was a pandemic.

After a couple of years with mild winters, those of us living in the middle part of our country had almost forgotten what a real winter was like. Mother Nature hastened to remind us the middle of this month when she sent us bone-chilling temperatures and several inches of snow. 

The winter of 1950 cut a swath of destruction across the country– from  tornadoes in the south, a paralyzing blanket of slush in the midwest and  snow and ice dumped on the northeast.  The tornadoes killed 48 people and injured hundreds.

When two large rain-swollen rivers meet and merge, a flood is sure to happen. The result in 1950 was an inundated business district with part of the residential area being covered by water, too. Part of Smithland had been flooded since early January. [1]

The residents of Smithland, Kentucky knew how to deal with disaster when their options were few.

“From the Pacific Northwest to New England, the northern half of the nation was barraged by almost every weapon in winter’s book – snow, rain, freezing drizzle, high winds and sub-zero temperatures.

“Flood refugees at tiny Smithland, Ky., held a community sing to bolster their spirits. More than 200 people sang “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More” and “River Stay way From My Door” as the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers, which join near the town, climbed steadily higher …

“The Red Cross served coffee, donuts and punch, and county clerk Gabe McCandless reported, “Yes, sir, everybody was kinda cheered up and felt much better when the thing was over.”[2]

---

[1] “Where Cumberland Meets Ohio,” Evansville Press, Evansville, Indiana, Thurs., 16 Feb 1950, page 1.

[2] “Tornado – Battered Southern Sections Get Flood Misery; All Northern Half of U.S. Feels Winter,” Clinton Daily News, Clinton, Oklahoma, Tues., 24 Feb 1950, p. 1, Newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2021.

p.s. Don't expect new posts from now on. Maybe cabin fever is getting to me or perhaps this is a way to entertain myself on a quiet winter day.