Friday, April 10, 2009

We're still standing

The tornadoes came within a couple of miles of Afton but did not reach the ground there, so we were spared. On the other hand, they skipped over to the Arkansas border and wreaked havoc on the little town of Mena. I understand that several citizens died there, and a friend who was born there (and whose parents were editors of the town newspaper for many years) said that the 100-year-old courthouse was severely damaged. I haven't verified this yet, but I trust his information. Also in Oklahoma, wildfires raged through Midwest City, near Oklahoma City. The combination of severe drought, high winds, and lightning can be so devastating. My heart goes out to those who were affected by all of this madness.

I didn't go to Afton today, but instead spent some time scanning some more old Afton postcards from my collection. Here are a few:
Livingston's Dry Goods. It's so hard for me to imagine that a large department store like this ever existed in Afton. Clint's/Davis Cafe. This building has been many things since I moved to Afton. It appears to be empty now. But long before my time there, the cafe apparently changed ownership, and changing the name on the sign was the only obvious difference. And here's the old high school, long gone.

Probably due to unfavorable weather (storms yesterday and very cold and windy today), I have seen no progress on the Meadow Gold sign since Wednesday. When more of it is put up, you'll be the first to know.

2 comments:

Beth said...

This sure seems early for tornado season, but I guess anything can happen at anytime. I'm so sorry to hear about the devastation and deaths. Very tragic.

Hugs, Beth

Trevor Hilton said...

Glad you're safe, Laurel. I heard on the news that the fire in Midwest City was ARSON! I sure hope the creep responible for is caught, and hanged!

Too bad about Mena, AR. I've been there driving the Talamena Drive. A pretty little town.