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.

Severe weather report, among other things

I'm writing this from home. We (Ron and I) drove through a bad thunderstorm and hail (thankfully small) on the way home from Afton Station. As soon as I got home I turned on the TV news and they're talking about a tornado on the ground a few miles from Afton. As you can imagine, I'm watching carefully. It's south of Afton now, out in the country where it will probably cause little damage, but you never know. The stormchasers sound very nervous. Frankly, so am I. I'll let you know what happens. My thoughts are with folks in the path.

Meanwhile, it was a perfectly lovely day at Afton Station. We had 12 visitors, coming from Ohio, Los Angeles, Minnesota, North Dakota, Chicago, and several from Oklahoma. The Los Angeles guy was a filmmaker looking for locations for a documentary about Route 66, with an emphasis on "Muffler Man" statues and other "big" things. He said he was definitely considering Afton Station as a location. Cool! A fellow from Vinita OK is a builder, seller, and flyer of small planes, and he offered to fly over and take some aerial photos of Afton Station.... free of charge! Yes, I'll take that! A cattleman from Lenapah OK came in with a female friend. He was the perfect image of a cowboy -- tall and lean, big cowboy hat (which he tipped when he came in the door -- when was the last time you saw that?), boots of course, and a twang that made his speech almost unrecognizable. Really neat guy... I love cowboys! The folks from Ohio were doing the full Chicago-to-LA Route 66 tour.

Looks like the twister is starting to drift toward Afton. It's 5 miles west of Afton now, and there's still rotation, but it's not quite as strong, and possibly lifting. Pardon any typos, because I'm typing with my fingers crossed.

Betty arrived in the afternoon bearing some more Amish butter as an Easter gift. She's so sweet and generous. She stayed for a while, and I'm always happy for that. I took some photos of the bathroom because I've entered the Best Bathroom Contest sponsored by Cintas. They emailed and asked for photos. Ok, whatever.

Now they're reporting a huge wall cloud about 3 miles east of Afton, but nothing on the ground. I'm sure we'll have some slight damage from the wind, but as of now it appears we've dodged the bullet. It's heading for Miami now, and since Betty lives there my thoughts will turn to her until it's gone past. Living in Oklahoma is always interesting.

The tornado has weakened and is moving out of the state, but it has left some damage between Afton and Miami. There are other threats further south, however, and massive fires in other parts of the state. Living in Oklahoma is a thrill a minute.

This must be Oklahoma

We're under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Tornadoes in February? Yep, this must be Oklahoma. It should be a long night tonight.
This is a generic picture. It was not taken here, so no worries. However, a tornado did touch down this afternoon in Edmond, near Oklahoma City. This isn't supposed to start until April. We're still in Ice Storm season. :-(