LIGHTNING STRUCK THIS HOUSE IN 1933

THE HOUSE SOUTH OF HOMER

The house shown above was where I was born and lived for the first 10 years of my life. It was built in 1890 and a show place in the country near
Homer, IL. It was a 10 room house with a basement, bathroom, built in China cabinets, beautiful woodwork and stairway. There was a stained glass insert at the top of the living room window. On Wednesday night, August 11, 1933, lightning in all it's fury, struck the house and burned it to the ground.

My parents and 18 month old Sister were inside (my six year old
Sister and I were away visiting an Aunt). My Mother was awakened
by the sound of voices yelling "your house is on fire, your house is on fire, wakeup everyone". She heard them and, in her nightgown, ran outside and could see large patches of the roof burning. Back inside she got my Father awake (he pulled on his overalls) they grabbed the baby
and ran outside. By that time, neighbors had called the fire department
and two men who had arrived ran inside and dragged out the baby bed, a small chest of drawers, Mother's Hope Chest, a rocker and a library table.
By then they could see the stairs burning, and could hear mirrors and windows popping and cracking, then the roof fell in and the house was totally destroyed.

The next morning, my Parents called my Aunt to bring us home. It
was such trauma for all of us. We could still see the smoldering ruins
and knew all our belongings were gone. My parents had such a small amount of insurance. We had great friends and neighbors and they brought money for clothes, and things we needed right away, then in a few days gave a shower with kitchen utensils, bedding, towels, and things we could use since we had to live in our garage for 6 weeks.

After the smoldering ruins cooled, we were allowed to go into the basement and as we dug through the ruins, found a doll's head, twisted knives and forks, some broken china. I remember seeing my parents cry for the very first time. It was heart rendering for a child of 10.

The man and woman who ran through the yard yelling "your house is on fire" were just driving down the road, when they saw a flash of lightning strike the house and then saw flames as it began to burn. They
saved my Parents and little Sister. Mother and Dad were told by a Doctor that the lightning had stunned them and they would have burned with the house without the man and woman, just mentioned. They said they were returning to their home from the Chicago World's Fair but did not give their names. To this day we do not know who the two people were, or where they were from. Mother always said, they were "Two Strangers in The Night.... Angels in Disguise".

The Summer of 1933 had been very hot and dry. The grass was burned brown and the garden had dried up. While we lived in the garage for the six weeks, it was terribly hot and my Mother cooked on a little oil burning stove. Someone brought us cots to sleep on and with the bedding, towels, etc. given to us we, were able to survive until a house became available.

The following is a poem I have written about "THE HOUSE SOUTH OF HOMER".

It was a lovely farm home on a knoll South of town
A show place in the country, fields all around
I was born there in 1922 on a cold November day
My folks were happy, I've heard them say

As time went on, two Sister's arrived
Making us a Family of five
The farm house was big, with plenty of room
We were happy there until the lightning boom.

Early one morning, August 9, 1933 to be exact
Things changed for this family of five, in fact
The house burned to the ground in a few seconds flat
And left us with no belongings, not even a hat.

Strangers awakened Mother and Dad from their sleep
To let them know, they no longer could keep
Staying in that house that was all a flame
With nothing but the storm and lightning to blame.

A few items saved, but most possessions were lost
Just a few things out the doors were tossed
Days later in the basement area, we found
Bent forks, doll heads...memories abound.

My life was changed from that moment on
The lovely house with stained glass window was gone
Some memories from my carefree days
Were lost because of that terrible blaze.

On the night of August 9, 1933
Quite a change seemed to come over me
I was no longer a little kid all protected and warm
But a more grown up gal, who would have to leave that farm.

From that day on, we moved many times
To different type houses, some not so fine
I grew up that day in 1933
When the House South of Homer burned
And life changed for me.