Bill Dalton
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On Aug. 31, 1954, Ruth Stanley was sent home from her job in the Musgrove Building. She was a telephone operator, and most telephone lines in Andover were downed by falling trees and branches. As she drove home with violent winds thrashing her car, there was a frightening crash and she was surrounded by shuddering leaves inches from her face. She was trapped in the car for several minutes before being released through the assistance of others. Ruth was taken to her house uninjured.
Two days later a picture of her car with a tree on top of it appeared on the front page of the Andover Townsman under the banner headline: "Andover Recovering From a Heavy Tropical Storm."
Throughout the paper were similar pictures of destruction and stories about the storm. One story compared the storm to the Great Hurricane of 1938, saying that the majority of residents agreed this storm caused more havoc than the storm of '38; another mentioned the fire alarm going off several times due to short circuits caused by falling trees and branches ripping down power lines; a third story mentioned the huge amount of spoiled food caused by the loss of power.
Plate glass in newer houses that had "picture windows" had been blown in; leaves, interspersed with loose roof shingles, flew in the wind; a photo showed a giant elm lying on the big house and barn owned by Arthur Flynn on the southwest corner of Whittier and Summer streets. Another picture showed the destruction of the beautiful trees of Main Street. Years later it's hard to remember how nice those trees made the downtown look. Not in the lifetimes of those who witnessed the storm,would Main Street be so green again.
Deep inside the Townsman, we learned that the storm had a name: "Carol."
Hurricane Carol had isolated Andover from surrounding communities. Town officials reacted to the storm by walking to the Town Hall; they braved downed trees and wires, some of the wires dangerously dancing with electricity, sparks flashing from their broken ends. These officials all remembered the Great '38 Hurricane, which, unlike this storm, arrived without warning, causing the most damage and loss of life in New England and Long Island that the area had ever suffered. By contrast, Hurricane Carol came with much warning, particularly making Channel 4 television weatherman Don Kent famous for his forecast accuracy.
In spite of the warnings, most working people had gone to their jobs that morning, but because of the warnings had been sent home early, before the peak of the storm arrived at midday.
The Townsman credited the warnings for the fact that Andover had no loss of life nor serious injuries. By mid afternoon, some downtown stores were open and operating by candlelight. A few people recovered power the same day as the storm, but most of us waited days.
The Sept. 9, 1954, edition of the Andover Townsman announced: "Town Rapidly Recovering From Hurricane Damage," saying that most power had been restored. Unlike the '38 Hurricane, which cut a large swath of damage in New England, sparing only its northernmost areas, Hurricane Carol's intensity was a narrow band that included Andover. Power and telephone trucks were rushed to the limited area of destruction to speed the recovery. Andover's Board of Public Works hired an extra 60 men, making a total force of 85. For days, chainsaws buzzed without cease.
The people of the town were feeling good about the rapidity of recovery when Mother Nature lashed out again. The Sept. 16, 1954, Townsman headline read: "Second Gale Brings Costly Flood Damage." Once more, the paper was filled with pictures of destruction. The main story said, "Hurricane Edna lacked the gusty howl of Carol but brought 6 more inches of rain and caused fearful havoc to the already stricken community."
It was the second major storm in 12 days, requiring many people to be evacuated from their flooded homes. Some of the few remaining historical trees were toppled and tons of earth slid from Shawsheen Heights down to Williams Street.
From the Playstead through the Park to just beyond the intersection of Chestnut and Bartlet streets, Andover had a temporary pond caused by the overflow of Rogers Brook. I was 11 and was one of the kids boating on the pond. In fact, there are pictures of those boats in the old Townsman, and I think I can see myself.
Nothing like the summer of '54 has occurred since. It's been a long time since Andover had a bad summer storm, never mind two.
Bill Dalton writes a weekly column for the Andover Townsman and enjoys receiving readers' comments and e-mails at billdalton@andovertownie.com.
