In the Grip of the Whirlwind: The Armistice Day Storm of 1940

by Tom Powers

Overview

Author Tom Powers presents a book filled with incredible stories of great courage, narrow escapes, tragedy, faith, odd twists of fate, and the dogged perseverance of those who were caught in the hurricane-like storm that ripped through the upper Midwest. From lonely motorists in Minnesota, to duck hunters across the Midwest and sailors on Lake Michigan, the storm took 154 lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933272207
Publisher:	Thunder Bay Press Michigan
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Pages:	178
Product dimensions:	4.96(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Tom Powers retired from the Flint Public Library in 1999, after 31 years of very rewarding work, in order to devote the appropriate amount of time that writing, reading, traveling, grandchildren, procrastination, nature, and hockey so richly deserve. His previous books include Natural Michigan; Michigan in Quotes; Audubon Guide to the National Wildlife Refuges: Northern Midwest; Great Birding in the Great Lakes; Michigan Rogues, Desperados and Cutthroats; and In the Grip of the Whirlwind: The Armistice Day Storm of 1940. Among his other stellar achievements is the creation of the worlds first Mime Radio Show and the Julia A. Moore Poetry Festival, which honored Americas worst poet. He steadfastly denies the Mime Radio Show was in anyway instrumental in the radio stations demise. Barbara, his wife of 50 years; their two children and their spouses; and five grandchildren are a constant source of joy. As always, once a book is published it is out of date. Camping and admission prices will change and new services will be added before a new edition finds its way to print. Keeping up with our state park system is like trying to roll an egg uphill with your nose, it needs constant attention. Until the next edition hell be keeping his nose to the shell.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Author's Note xi

Sunday

Chapter 1 "A Climatological Ménage à Trois" 2

Monday

Chapter 2 "Steaming Toward Disaster" 8

Chapter 3 "The Maelstrom Hit Chicago Like a German Bombing Run Over England" 16

Chapter 4 "Many on Shore Thought They Had Set Out on a Suicide Mission" 19

Chapter 5 "The Boat Turned Everything But Upside Down" 26

Chapter 6 "The Storm Broke The Ship" 35

Chapter 7 "Their Uncertain Future" 43

Chapter 8 "The Worst Windstorm in Milwaukee's History" 49

Chapter 9 "The Ducks Came and Men Died" 54

Chapter 10 "A Cataclysmic Bang Was Heard Over The Shrieking Wind" 64

Tuesday

Chapter 11 "A Near Miraculous Crossing" 80

Chapter 12 "Their Salvation Now Rested in the Hands of Strangers" 87

Chapter 13 "The Bodies Floated to Shore Intermingled with the Wreckage" 96

Chapter 14 "It Looked Like the Parting of the Red Sea" 100

Chapter 15 "One of the Most Unheralded & Amazing Air-rescue Feats in Civil Aviation History" 107

Chapter 16 "Spam Fans Were as Ubiquitous as Snowflakes" 114

Chapter 17 "Their Calmness Averted Any Threat of Panic" 122

Chapter 18 The Fisherman Refused the Offered Bankroll and Told Steip, "Hell No, Captain. Glad to be of Service" 128

Chapter 19 "The Thomas F. Cole was Literally Coming Apart at the Seams" 137

Chapter 20 "Reiser was Surprised Everyone Survived the Night" 147

Friday & Beyond

Chapter 21 "The Three Sailors Have Never Been Identified" 154

Chapter 22 "Finding Of Facts" 159

Maps 165

Notes 168

Bibliography 172

About the Author 178