On May 1, 1930, several tornadoes struck the area around the Midway Station on US 71 at the Bolckow Road. This image is an AI-generated depiction of Thompson driving away from the station after a tornado hit it. Here’s an account from the May 8, 1930, Barnard Bulletin
Tornado Toll in Property Was Big Thursday Evening. Witnessed Dozens of Twisters, One of Which Did the Most Damage. NO LIVES LOST IN THIS VICINITY. Crowds flocked to the scene of Distruction That Night and the Next Few Days From all Parts of the country. Last Thursday, May 1, the weather was good in the morning, with lowering clouds and showers in the afternoon. A very heavy shower, followed by hail and a temperature change, marked the late afternoon. The rain stopped, and several dozen tornadoes wereseen in various parts of northwest Missouri. Only one did any damage in Nodaway County, having come down west of here, with minor damage. As many as eight tornadoes were seen in Andrew County, one of them causing significant harm that nearly everyone saw in this part of the country in the next few days. With the first tornado attack, telephone and power lines went out, and it was only after seven o’clock that news of the disaster reached us. The first information about the disaster was that Midway Filling Station, operated by Harvey Thompson, had been blown away. Several people went from here to the scene that night, and over the next few days, a steady stream of people from across the country came to see the storm’s ruins. One tornado passed through Andrew County and caused most of the damage, while another caused eight minor damages between Rosendale and Savannah. The one that just missed Bolckow seemed to have begun its havoc at the Elias Woods home about nine miles west of Bolckow, making a broken path about 100 yards wide northeast to the road near Midway, wrecking the school house and the filling station, and going on northeast until it struck the home occupied by Chas. Purdyman, from which point it turned southeast through the feed lot of the Montgomerys, crossing the road and the river, and striking again at the Chas. Hale place south of Bolckow on old Highway 71, thence veering east and a little north until it touched the John McKee farm east of Bolckow: From this point, the tornado went into the woods nearby, where its strength was dissipated, and it was broken up. The track of the tornado seemed to run about eight miles nearly due east by northeast to the filling station, and a little beyond, and from that point describes a letter “S” one curve of the ** g 1) barely missing the town of Bolckow. Damage Was Great At the Elias Woods home, where the tornado seemed to have first struck. The house was unroofed, the barns torn down, and the trees uprooted. Some hogs and a horse were killed by the storm, principally by flying timbers. Practically all the windows in the house were broken out, and the rest of the house was severely damaged. One incident worthy of notice is the fact that Mrs. Woods, who has had a disability for about nine months, narrowly escaped death, according to reports. A heavy 2×6 was hurled through the house, passing through the bed on which she was accustomed to lie. Had she been in bed during the storm, the piece of timber would have struck her. Although she had not walked for 9 months before the storm, it is reported that when her wheelchair became fastened in the door, she walked to save herself from the storm. At the Sam Smith farm, a long porch that reached around half the concrete house was torn away, the roof badly damaged, and the outbuildings twisted. Workers are now on site getting their buildings ready for use this summer. Considerable damage was also done at the Chris Helm farm in that neighborhood. The tornado apparently lifted somewhat and then struck the house in which Pete Link now lives, due west of Bolckow and west of the Midway Filling Station. The barn was demolished, the house twisted badly, and the windmill was torn down. Family Held Cave Door. The Link family was safely in the cave when the storm struck. It is reported that Stoughten Hazlett, of near Grahan, in company with one or two other men, was passing when the storm hit the Link home. They abandoned their car and applied at the cave door for entrance. The Link family, thinking it was the force of the wind trying to raise the cave door, held all the harder, so the men were compelled to seek other shelter, which they found under some hedge, where they held on with might and main until the storm passed. The car in which they were riding was lifted over the fence and demolished. School House Demolished. The Montgomery schoolhouse on Highway 71 was a complete wreck. Part of the building was carried away, leaving only one side partly standing. The floor was shifted several feet on its foundation, but the school desks were unharmed. The Midway Filling Station was a complete loss. The filling station was a dwelling house remodelled for its new purpose. It was utterly blown away, the pumps were pulled up by the force of the tornado and broken, and the merchandise was scattered all over that part of the country. Some new furniture had been put in the station just a short time before the storm. This was broken up and scattered, as were the stocks of tires. Ran Away in a Car. When the storm was approaching, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Skidmore and Sam Sith were on their way home from St. Joseph. They stopped at the Midway to have their chains put on, as it had been raining. But the oncoming clouds forced Skidmore to pull back into the ear and step on the gas, never stopping until Pumpkin Center, about seven miles farther north, was reached. Thompson, upon seeing the tornado approaching, locked up his store after hiding his money, some $10 in a sack in the building, and jumped in his car and headed south, thinking to get away from the storm. He was accompanied by his son, his wife having gone to a neighbor’s eave. After going south at a high rate of speed for some distance, he saw another twister, apparently headed his way. He attempted to turn the car around and go back, but only overturned it, then abandoned it and drove into the ditch for shelter. After the storms passed, he righted his car and came home to see the ruins of his popular store and filling station. Killed Stock and Chickens Passing from the filling station, the tornado next struck the barn on the Wm. Jackson farm, now occupied by Buck Elliott. The barn’s roof was crushed in. A feed lot nearby contained a large number of hogs on feed and some cattle. Flying timbers struck this stock, killing 34 hogs and four head of cattle, and injuring many more. It is reported that splinters of wood were driven through large hogs, that some were badly cut from flying boards, and otherwise damaged. At the Chas. Purdyman home, better known as 88, the Jones farm, the house and outbuildings were destroyed, and the large new barn was destroyed. It was severely damaged. A large shed on the barn was torn away, and the upper part of the hayloft was carried away, as well as the hay in the loft. No stock was killed here, but many chickens were destroyed. Passing the Purdyman place, the 5-10-ton veer to the southeast, passing through the Montgomery feedlot. The roots along the tornado’s path tore up large trees. Some 54 head of hogs were killed in the Montgomery lot, and several head of cattle were killed. Stockmen say the cattle left were so damaged that they were worth about one-half their original value before the storm. Crawled in the Tube. Two men were coming west from Bolckow in a touring car just as the storm struck the Montgomery feed lot. This •ar had been repaired in the Bolin garage in Bolckow, and the men were anxious to get home as early as possible because of the approaching storm. When they reached a point several hundred yards west of the road coming from Barnard, their car had stalled, having been shorted out by the rain. The men raced back to the intersection of this road, where there was a large tube, and, despite the torrent of water pouring through it, crawled into it for safety. Their car was carried south into the field, i.e., the running gear. The body had not yet been found. Worst Effects of the Storm The violence of the storm seemed most incredible at the Charles Hale farm on old Highway 71, south of Bolckow. Here, the house and all buildings were demolished. Water was sucked from wells, heavy machinery bent and twisted, and more splinters in evidence than at any other place. Out of some 100 chickens, only about two dozen were ‘eft, the dead ones having been plucked by the fury of the storm. From this point, the storm changed direction to the northeast and hit an old barn belonging to John Metee east of Bolckow. From here, it struck in the woods nearby and splintered a few trees and seemed to have worn itself out—telephone Lines and Fences Torn Up. Telephone lines, wire fences, and the like were torn up and twisted into an almost-unbelievable state. Many fields are strewn with broken timbers to such an extent that farming them will be impossible until the boards are picked up. Tin from sheds and barn roofs is in evidence nearly everywhere. Several freakish instances are shown in which splinters were driven into trees, posts, and the like. A tornado was seen over near the Missouri River, and F. W. Campbell drove over there Friday to see if it had damaged a hunting lodge he has there. It was found that minor damage was done in the vicinity of Fortesque. Another Tornado in 1919. It will be remembered that another tornado went through this territory back in 1919. It is interesting to note that this tornado occurred on May 3. This is the one that destroyed the Lark Mendenhall home and caused extensive damage northeast of Barnard. It is reported that tornadoes and hailstorms are occurring across different regions of the country at this time of year, when such storms typically happen. It is exceedingly fortunate that no lives were lost and no one was injured during the storm last Thursday evening in our community. Several lives were lost in other parts of the country due to tornadoes. Large Crowd Saw Ruins Sunday. From 2,000 to 3,000 people saw the ruins on Sunday, from all parts of the country. Midway Filling Station was open for business, with a counter serving cold drinks and candy bars to the crowd. Thousands of curious people viewed the ruins on Sunday.
Report on the storm from the Barnard Bulletin (1st page) from Newspapers.com
Report on the storm from Barnard Bulletin (2nd page) from Newspapers.com