In the June 11, 1953 Bristol Herald Courier, Jimmy Carson wrote a front page article entitled “Store, House Damaged at Mendota.”

When I was a little girl, Oscar Cross had a store in Mendota, and any time there was a storm on the horizon, he shut that store up tight as a tick, put his hat on and walked down to his house. Mother explained that his store had been “hit” by a tornado at a past time, and he remained afraid of storms.

I found the storm that frightened Mr. Cross so much in the June 11, 1953 Bristol Herald Courier. Jimmy Carson wrote a front page article entitled “Store, House Damaged at Mendota.”

And they were. The picture below is of Mr. Cross’ store and a nearby house following a June 10, 1953 storm. (Note…I never knew Mr. Cross operated his store out of this building. When I was a child, he operated in a small structure beside his house or in what we know as the Reynolds building.)

The caption under the two pictures read:

Mendota Storm Damage — what appeared to be a slight twister struck Mendota in Washington County, VA, some 12 miles Northwest of Bristol, about 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, damaging the store building and home pictured. The winds of “whole gale” strength lifted the roof from the two-story store and hurled it some 100 feet across a vacant lot onto the roof of a two-story house, scattering crumpled tin roofing and broken roof eaves other a 300 foot area. The picture shows fallen bricks and debris and a broken power line. Note hole in top right of house through which a loose board apparently hurtled. Persons in both buildings miraculously escaped injury.

6/11/1953 Bristol Herald Courier

The picture is what I have known as Nunley’s store building; but, apparently, it also belonged to Mr. Cross at one time or another. I see the side steps, etc.

And here’s the house…

Does anyone recognize the house? The article states that it is the home of Garland Nunley, but I did not realize the Nunleys lived anywhere other than the store building. Is it Edna Linnen Parker’s house or is it a house no longer standing?

“According to O. M. Cross, who operates a general store and gas station and who occupies the second floor of the store building as his residence, winds in the Mendota area seemed to change their course shortly before 3 pm after heavy rains had subsided.

Cross said, “I had just opened the front doors of my store and had sat down when the doors slammed closed and bricks began to fall. My wife, who was upstairs, came running down the steps and I grabbed her and my 14-year old son who as with me in the store, and we ran two doors down the street into the basement of a vacant house. By this time, it was over. “

A customer in the store at the time, Jeff Banner of near Mendota, left the building, too, and with the Cross family miraculously escaped injury.

The article goes on to say:

The slight twister carried the roof of the Cross store some 100 feet over a vacant lot and onto the roof of the Garland Nunley residence, sending debris and shattered timbers over a 300-foot area.

In the Nunley home at the time were: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Nunley, parents of Garland and Bernard Nunley, J. A. Statzer, a neighbor, Mrs. Garland Nunley, two children of the Garland Nunleys and three children of the Bernard Nunleys.

The article goes onto talk about damages in other areas such as Norton, VA. When Mendota wasn’t the subject, I lost interest. Please leave a comment below if you know anything else that you can add to this piece of Mendota history.

So, this was appropriate as today I purchased a new Midland Weather Alert radio to notify us of storms.

Update: I did find out where the house pictured above was located. It was located where today’s Baptist Church parsonage is located. It subsequently burned down.