It’s not a distinction that anyone wants, and Ray McElhaney says it is a day he would like to forget. But when the house McElhaney and his wife, Clara, had lived in for 36 years was destroyed by a tornado on April 27, it was the second time the house had been in the path of a monster storm.
On April 3–4, 1974, a super tornado outbreak slammed through the United States. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it was, at the time, “the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history, with 148 twisters touching down in 13 states.
Before it was over 16 hours later, 330 people were dead and 5,484 were injured in a damage path covering more than 2,500 miles.”
The 1974 tornado hit on a Wednesday night. At the time, McElhaney had been the bivocational pastor of First Baptist Church, Tanner, in Limestone Baptist Association, about four years. He was preaching a revival at another church, and church members gathered for prayer meeting in the sanctuary of First, Tanner, took shelter under the church pews as the storm struck.
The church’s educational building was lost in that storm, but the sanctuary and all who were in it were spared.
McElhaney said he could not name all the people who came to help in 1974, but there were many from all over the country. One of the most significant memories he has of that time is of holding Sunday School classes the following Sunday in a tent loaned to the church by the National Guard.
“We just continued right on. God blessed us in all of it,” he said.
When the owners of a house near the church that had been damaged in the storm decided to sell, the church bought the house and rebuilt it for use as a pastorium. The McElhaneys moved into the house, which Ray and Clara would call home for the next 36 years, even after his retirement after 38 years as pastor of the church.
The storms that hit Alabama on April 27, 2011, followed a similar track to the 1974 storms. Like many of their neighbors, the McElhaneys spent most of the day watching the weather and taking shelter in the safe room of their daughter’s house nearby.
“My son-in-law and I could actually see the storm as it passed over the neighborhood. I have never seen a cloud change colors, brownish to black to bluish green,” he said.
As he watched the storm, McElhaney had a feeling his home was in the path of the monster cloud. He was right. When they got out all they saw was destruction.
“What had been a thriving little community there where we lived was total devastation,” he said.
But in the aftermath, McElhaney saw the work of disaster relief volunteers first hand.
On Thursday morning, volunteers already were clearing trees and debris and more followed in the days ahead.
While the McElhaneys, who are now members at First Baptist Church, Athens, in Limestone Baptist Association, said they all had shed a few tears over their losses, they also share a feeling of gratitude for their safety and the few possessions they were able to salvage from their home.
“We all agreed it was just earthly stuff, passing things,” Clara McElhaney said.
The McElhaneys expect to buy another house in Tanner within the next few weeks, but Ray McElhaney said what he will remember most about this time is the overwhelming response to the needs of his community.
“People come together in a time of need, and it brings out the best in most,” he said.
Share with others: