By Jessica Gorman
On 1 May 1933, around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Minden was struck by what is estimated to have been an EF4 tornado. Areas affected included Crichton Hill, Bayou Avenue, Minden Cemetery, from Shreveport Road up Broadway, City Park, Harrell Heights, and Warsaw.
Reports of the number of dead and injured vary from one publication to the next. Some have suggested a much greater number than reported, even into the hundreds, but for the most part, that would be speculation and conjecture. It is important to note that by 1933, death certificates were mandated. That considered, we have some pretty solid records available.
The stories of the white deaths have been well-told over the years. They were reported in the newspapers and their stories shared by family members.
On that fateful afternoon, Julia Tinnell was celebrating her 11th birthday. It was a party that would end in tragedy. She and her seven-year-old sister, Kathryn, were both killed. The sisters were, at the time, the only children of Conde and Orilla Tinnell. The couple had a son, Conde, three years later. The girls are buried in unmarked graves in the Minden Cemetery.
Gwendolyn Haynes was a guest at the party. She was the eleven-year-old daughter of William Auby and Saleta Ora Haynes. She was buried in the Old Shongaloo Cemetery.
At the McCollum home at 506 Bayou Avenue, six people were killed. Mrs. Edna McCollum and two of her children, Elsie Rae, 11, and Lee Earl, 6, were killed. Her sister, Bertha Reeves, and two brothers, Cecil, 7, and Sechem, 11, were killed as well. The only survivor in the home was Elvis McCollum. All six family members were buried at Bistineau Baptist Cemetery.
S. A. Owens was a neighbor to the McCollum and Reeves families at 407 Bayou Avenue. He was a salesman for an oil company. He left behind a wife and two daughters. A week after the storm, his commission card appointing him Special Deputy Sheriff was found by J.W. Hudson five miles north of Farmerville. He is buried at Mt. Lebanon.
Another victim was Dave W. Cook. His wife had died just a few months before. He was misidentified as a Mr. Hicks in the immediate aftermath of the storm. When Mr. Hicks, his brother-in-law, turned out to be alive, the deceased was determined to be Dave Cook. He is buried in Macedonia Cemetery in Claiborne Parish.
Loren C. Allen lived at 408 South Broadway. He was 65 years old and had worked as a foreman in the L&A Railway shops for over 20 years. He received injuries to his head and back and remained hospitalized until his death on May 22nd. He was buried in Pittsburgh, Kansas.
Much of the destruction that day occurred in the black neighborhoods of Minden. It is recorded that around eighty homes were destroyed in the original Miller Quarters alone. The newspapers didn’t record their stories. Sometimes, they didn’t even list their names and when they did, it tended to be inaccurate.
Two-year-old Willie A. Anderson was killed. At this point, no other information is known about him. The 1930 Minden city directory lists William Anderson at 218 East Street. I would think it likely this could be Willie’s father. Newspapers also listed an Anderson Woody who I have not been able to identify and wonder if this name incorrectly refers to Willie Anderson.
Another child that I have not yet matched to a family is twelve-year-old Henry Jones. This is one of those times that I wish I had more time to work on a story. I would have sent for death certificates to hopefully answer some of these questions. So, for now, I’ll add death certificates to the to-do list. My hunch is that he may have been Harold Jones, found in the household of Willie Jones on Bayou Avenue in the 1930 U.S. Census.
“Aunt Jo” Josephine T. Jefferson was 68 and lived at 201 East Street. She is buried in the Sheppard Street Cemetery. Newspapers identified a Joe Jefferson as a victim of the tornado, but may have referred to Josephine, as no death certificate is listed for that name.
Laura Moore, 77, lived at 204 East Street and was a neighbor to Josephine Jefferson. She died the next day. Newspapers also list a Laura Moreland, but I find no death certificate listed for that name. I suspect this could also refer to Laura Moore.
John Houston was a farmer on the Dixie Overland Highway (East Union). He was taken to Shreveport for treatment but died the next day. He was 40 years old and left behind a wife and six daughters.
Ray Manley, 32, was misidentified by the press. Newspapers reported his name as Roy Manning. He lived at 317 Morrow Street and worked at a saw mill. His four-year-old daughter, Velma, was killed as well. He left behind a wife, Birdie, and at least one son, Nathaniel, who was eight years old. His neighbor, Nora Williams, at 318 Morrow, was taken to Shreveport for treatment where she died the next day.
Frances Moody Brown was identified in the paper as simply Frances Moody. She was 26 years old and worked as a cook in a private home. She left behind two young sons, Leroy & Elroy. Mabel Moody was listed as well. So far, I have found no record of her.
Josephine Allen, 62, was a resident of Miller Quarters. She was taken to Shreveport for treatment and died the next day.
Robert Smith & child were listed among the deceased but have not yet been identified. No death certificate is listed for either.
If you have any information that would help fill the gaps of who these people were, I would love to be able to better tell their story.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)