1906 Tornado, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Mar. 2007
Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives.

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KILLER TORNADO STRIKES A CENTURY AGO

BY JIM PERRIN, Local Historian

Thirty-one year old Mrs. Albert Gookin Howes arose early on the cloudy Friday 
morning of October 5, 1906, and went into the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast 
for her family.  She worked quietly in her rural east Ponchatoula home so that she 
would not awaken her eight month old daughter Daisy, who was sleeping in the next 
room.  Alberta's husband, George Howes, was in the front room of their home with 
their three older children.

Without any warning except for a sudden roaring sound, the family home exploded as 
a massive tornado hit the home with full force.  Within a second the fragments of 
the attractive farmhouse and its residents were swirling in a black cloud of 
debris. 

When Alberta regained consciousness she was bloody, bruised, wet, and muddy, lying 
near where her home had once stood.  The house was gone and even the supporting 
pillars were toppled over.  A large elm tree had been twisted from its base and 
flown a quarter of a mile and landed near the home site.  Alberta didn't notice 
these details however, for her first thoughts were for her family.  Injured and 
dazed she staggered around the debris looking for her children.  She found her 
eight month old daughter Daisy crying and half buried in the mud and rubble.

Alberta's nephew, Matt Howes, who lived nearby then appeared and helped Alberta 
pull Daisy from the mud.  Alberta held Daisy, and Matt led them to a nearby spot 
where they could stay.  Alberta was screaming for someone to find the rest of her 
family.  As other neighbors began to arrive Matt found the mangled body of 
Alberta's eleven year old son George S. Howes and carried his lifeless body to a 
grassy area that was not covered with debris.

Friends and relatives arrived and aided Alberta and her baby, while others 
continued the search for the missing family members.  Matt Howes borrowed a 
neighbor's horse and rode as quickly as possible into Ponchatoula to seek medical 
assistance.  Responding to help the Howes family and other storm victims in 
Ponchatoula were local physicians: Dr. H. H. Gates, Dr. C. M. Abbott, Dr. E. H. 
Williams, and Dr. John A. McCorkle.

Before medical help could arrive at the scene of the disaster, the bodies of 
Alberta's husband George, and her three year old daughter Truby Howes were found in 
the rubble and laid beside the body of her son George.

When the doctors arrived, Alberta was found to have cuts on her forehead and hip 
and numerous severe bruises.  Little Daisy Howes had a broken arm and assorted 
bruises.  Alberta's other surviving child, thirteen year old Clinton L. Howes, 
suffered a broken leg, dislocated shoulder, and unknown but serious internal 
injuries. 

The tornado which struck the east side of Ponchatoula did not single out the Howes 
Home for destruction.  Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Shelton, who lived in the same area, 
were injured by flying timbers and debris.  Their home sustained about $1,500 in 
damages.  All the members of the Cutrer family, and a Miss Lanier were also injured 
in the storm.

After initial treatment at the site, the surviving Howes family members and some of 
the other storm victims were transported by wagon to the train depot in Ponchatoula 
and then by train to a New Orleans hospital.  After arriving at the hospital, 
thirteen year old Clinton L. Howes died from his injuries.

The same tornado which had devastated the Howes family and their neighbors had 
struck the southern edge of Ponchatoula just minutes earlier.  The storm ripped a 
path of destruction through a largely African-American neighborhood destroying 
about fifteen to twenty homes and damaging others.  There were no fatal injuries 
reported but about twenty residents were injured including Mary Winder, William 
Elliott and his child, Amanda Elliott, Nancy Norman, Aaron Haynes and his wife, 
Penny Smith, and Mary Jane ______.   Among the homes severely damaged or destroyed 
were those of Jeffery Johnson, Jane Truitt, Mary Winder, William Elliott, Burt 
Oliver, Jasper Haynes, ______ Jackson, and _____ Scott. 

This working class neighborhood composed mainly of teamsters and mill workers was 
devastated by the storm.  At a time when few families, especially working class 
families, had any form of insurance the survivors worked with their neighbors to 
comfort the injured and rebuild the homes and lives of the victims.

Other tornadoes that morning struck the city of New Orleans, destroying 200 homes, 
injuring 21 persons, and inflicting about $500,000 in structural damages.  
Additional storms the same morning killed two women in St. James Parish and injured 
several others.

As for the Howes family, Alberta Gookin Howes had lost her husband and three of her 
children in the storm.  She later married a man named James Stewart, and died in 
1954 in New Orleans.  Alberta's only surviving child, Daisy Olive Howes, married in 
1926 to Eugene Helgenson, and after his death to Peter L. Myers.

The killer storm which stuck Ponchatoula without warning in October 1906 is a 
century removed from the present and no one now alive remembers that terrible day.  
Recalling that sad date in our community's history should serve as a reminder for 
us to heed warnings of approaching storms and do that which is possible to lessen 
the chance for a similar tragedy to again occur.

Anyone with questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles, may contact 
Jim Perrin at 386-4476.