from the research of Lewis Long Brown, Jr.
These pictures were originally photographed by Genevieve C. Bobbitt Brown in 1952 following the devastating tornado that struck Chesterfield and continued through the Bible Hill Community. Lewis Long Brown, Jr. compiled the index and captions for these pictures. His complete index is available in Adobe PDF Format.
Very interesting photos. My step-grandmother’s brother, Almon DeLong was killed during this tornado and his son, Ralph, was seriously injured. there seemed to be nothing much left of their house and little store. It was a terrible tragedy. We lived at Sugar Tree at the time and the storm there was scary. Fortunately, the tornado missed us but we had tree limbs, debris, and many storm related pieces of things on our farm including tin roofing from buildings and pieces of cloth hanging in trees. Thank you for putting this information on line.
Thanks for posting these pictures, my grandfather Almon DeLong was killed in this tornado, my Uncle Ralph was seriously injured and my mother and grandmother had some minor injuries. My grandparents on my fathers side, Russ and Laura Long also had damage to their house and barn, the Russ Long family did not have any serious injuries. I was born and raised in Bible Hill and have heard many stories about the storm thru the years, I had seen a few of these pictures but no where near all of them and didn’t know these pictures existed, my daughter Lacy found them on line and sent me the link. It was very interesting to look at the pictures and be able to view the images behind the stories I heard for so many years.
In 1952, my Dad and Mom ,Amon and Velma Bowman my siblings Henry and Sandra and I had just gone to bed when Mother said it sounds like a freight train coming toward the house. When the tornado hit I remember the only thing left was the five of us huddled under a mattress and the rain pouring down and Dad walking to the field to pray for help. God miraculously spared all of us with Dad and Henry receiving minor injuries. Mom began teaching that night “we can never be thankful enough!” God is so good! Wanda Joy Bowman White