Museum Exhibit Recalls 'The Tornado'
April 4, 2009
By R. SHAWN LEWIS
Index-Journal Managing Editor
Greenwood, SC - The winds of history are blowing through The Museum in Uptown Greenwood.
The renovated facility debuted its latest exhibit, “Legacy of Disaster: The Greenwood Tornado, 1944,” during First Friday activities. The display, which includes newspaper accounts and artifacts from the period, refreshes old memories in long-time residents and creates visions of yesteryear for those new to Greenwood and the Lakelands.
- “We wanted to put more local history into our exhibits,” said Shelley Gilchrist, president of The Museum’s board of directors.
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- "This is the start of doing more local (and state) history shows. It's important that people new and old make a connection to Greenwood."
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- The April 16, 1944 tornado, arguably the worst natural disaster in regional history, is a fitting starting point. Forty-one people were killed in Georgia and South Carolina, according to the National Weather Service, and more than 300 were injured.
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Karen Wilson, of Greenwood, looks Friday evening at an old copy of The Index-Journal detailing the April 16, 1944, tornado that ripped through the city. The natural disaster is the subject of a new exhibit at The Museum in Uptown Greenwood. (Staff photo by R. Shawn Lewis.)
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Property damage by the twisters (there actually were two - only one hit Greenwood) was "in the hundreds of thousands of dollars," the United Press reported. The path of destruction started in Elbert County, Ga., and ripped through the lower Piedmont of South Carolina.
Eyewitnesses told the United Press that the tornado tore through the stretch of farming communities "with express train speed," crumbling homes and buildings like matchboxes, uprooting trees, overturning cars, and disrupting communications.
The heaviest death toll was in Franklin and Hartecos, Ga.
"I always heard my mom talk about the tornado," said Karen Wilson, of Greenwood, who toured the exhibit with her husband, Wayne. "When we heard there was going to be a display, we certainly wanted to come and see it."
Published accounts say doctors and nurses worked by candlelight to administer aid to the injured. The tornadoes left the towns and villages almost in shambles. Many homes were roofless, automobiles were overturned on the streets, and some sections virtually were demolished.
A Greenwood 12 year-old, Emma Jean Willingham, was killed when the wind destroyed her home and blew her 100 feet across the street.
"The twister, which lasted less than five seconds, left Greenwood's streets cluttered with debris," the United Press reported.
"A woman's slip was seen fluttering from the topmost branch of a tree, and paper money blown from a bureau drawer was found scattered in another street."
The Museum display features several reports from The Index Journal that recall the disaster in great detail, including photographs.
"We had a gentleman here that was born two weeks after the tornado," Gilchrist said. "It's real interesting to hear the stories (from survivors)."
The Museum is even pondering a listening project to record those stories. Today, children ages 6 to 12 can learn about the tornado and how to prepare for future disasters in a workshop from 10 a.m. to noon at The Museum.
"We're going to make a tornado and dress up like tornadoes," Gillchrist said. "It's going to be fun."
Other First Friday activities included:
- "Art Goes Global" exhibit at the Arts and Visitors Center at the Federal Building
- Lance Anderson as the featured artist at Greenwood Community Theatre's "Art in the Lobby," with caricatures of cast of characters from "The Misanthrope" by Timothy Mooney. The display was capped by a performance of the comedy. Additional performances will be 2 and 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday. Call (864) 229-5704 for information.
- Uptown Sushi featured tree paintings by B.J. Turner. Turner is a member of Laurens Artist Coop.
- "Photographs of Satin" by Faye Edge were displayed at Howard's On Main. Edge is a member of the Laurens Artist Coop.
- Meridian hosted an art scavenger hunt with a drawing for door prizes from those participating. The HANDS gallery exhibited recent raku (pottery) works by Bob Taylor and Dohnna Boyajian.
- Two Old Bags and Beaded Palm Studio had a bead trunk sale.
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