1919 Hurricane Centennial for Several Weeks the Word Has Been by Jim Moloney Occupants to the Winds and Waves
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Inside the Moon Music Video Shoot A2 TGSA Texas Championship A2 On the Rocks A11 Fires A12 Live Music A18 Issue 804 The 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Photo by Scott Ellwood Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 September 12, 2019 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Around Padre Island The Island is Worth $2.2 By Dale Rankin Billion What a week it's been on our little By Dale Rankin sandbar. We got enough rain to wash The most recent valuation by the the sand off our cars and just enough Nueces County Appraisal District thunder to send Island dogs under puts the market value of real property the bed. As we sit here Wednesday it on Padre Island at $2,204,359,535. looks like we're about to play chicken with a storm system with the ominous name of 94L. We're not sure why the National Hurricane Center named it that but simple math tells us it must be twice as bad as 47L. The Weather Wonks say it will be in the eastern Gulf of Mexico by this weekend. It's not time to start gassing up the car yet, but it might be a good idea to check the battery supply as there is a 60 percent chance of it becoming a hurricane over the next five days, up from a 30 percent change on Tuesday. And then there's this… Across Nueces County the district Islanders literally "jumped ship" for Stevie Start's "Thank God It's Padre" video last Saturday. placed the net taxable value of property at $27.88 billion as of January 1, 2018, up by 4.43 percent Study Identifies Area Speed Traps from 2017, more recent figures were not available. Five in local area, two on route to San Antonio If anyone is missing a washer you can find it on the beach in Kleberg By Dale Rankin The two most travelled by Islanders Driscoll collected $270,333, $715 on their way north to San Antonio County. We didn't catch the brand but A national study released this week for every resident the price is right. are George West which collected tabs 161 cities across Texas as speed $216,727 and Three Rivers which Refugio $247,694 $113 per resident traps which collect large portions of Packery collected $484,516. But others close Freer $356,282 $177 per resident their city revenue from traffic tickets City staff told the Island Strategic by include Refugio, Driscoll, and with nine of them in or near the Freer. Encinal $179,229 23.4 percent of Action Committee last week that Coastal Bend and two on the route total city revenues there is shoaling in Packery Channel Currently the total market value of between Corpus Christi and San The collectors Carrizo Springs $369,465 10 near the boat launch area and city Antonio. real property in the City of Corpus engineers are looking at that along Here are a list of the towns in percent of total city revenues Christi is $25,510,160,970, according with the slope of the boat launch. It The study by the magazine South Texas where you are most Lytle $247,492 11.9 percent of total to the Appraisal Districts findings for is possible that some changes in the Governing the States and Localities likely to get pulled over for a traffic city revenues the 2019-2020 fiscal year. ramps on the Zahn roadside could be found that in 2018 90 Texas towns violation. garner more than 10 percent of their La Vernia $110,722 7.5 percent of Closer to home the total market included in the repairs of the Packery Three Rivers $484,516 $344 for value of property in the Flour Bluff Channel jetties. The plans to repair revenue from ticket fines, 39 get 20 total city revenues percent or more, 22 get 30 percent or every resident Independent School District for 2019 the jetties after Hurricane Harvey is $4,285,748,687. damage are still a work in progress more and 10 get more than half. George West $216,727 $119 per with the city staff saying that FEMA resident has indicated, but not promised, they will fund the work. Rumor Department A little Island history We don't normally comment on rumors around the old Word Factory but sometimes if there's enough smoke we start looking for the fire. 1919 Hurricane Centennial For several weeks the word has been By Jim Moloney occupants to the winds and waves. that Margaretville, Jimmy Buffet's On September 14, 1919 Corpus People who failed to evacuate took company, is looking at coming to shelter in their homes and were Padre Island. We could not get a Christi suffered its worst disaster, the Hurricane of 1919. It is hard stranded in the buildings. As homes comment from the company but we began to disintegrate around 3:00 did come across a reliable piece of to imagine the circumstances under which this storm hit the city. p.m. they found themselves in thrown information that the company has into the flood tides or trapped in secured a "6.2-acre piece of land on The storm formed on September 2 out in the Atlantic Ocean. By buildings surrounded by the water the water" somewhere here on our and waves. Island. Word came from the Padre the 7th it was a Category 2 in the Isles Property Owners Association Bahamas. On Sept 10th it was near Around 5:00 p.m. there were three that they received written notice Key West and sank the steamer great waves. Water was rushing like a that a parcel of land on the Michael Valbanera carrying 488 people. All mighty river. The roar was deafening J. Ellis Seawall has changed hands, perished. Then the storm was lost and the waves seemed mountain high. and that parcel just happens to be 6.2 in the Gulf of Mexico. On the 12th From about 10 o'clock to 2:30 a.m., acres. Stay tuned. storm warnings were issued for the storm reached its greatest fury. the Gulf Coast from Pensacola to Water on Chaparral Street stood 10- Water Exchange Bridge Mobile. On the 13th warnings were 1/2 feet deep. In the Nueces Hotel Storm surge damage in Corpus Christi. Image credit L.M. Gross Bids on the proposed Park Road 22 extended to the entire Texas Coast. lobby, it was even with the top of the Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Water Exchange Bridge are still set On Saturday, Sept 13 Corpus desk. After 2:30 the barometer began Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. to be opened next week, September Christi rumors had the storm to rise, wind shifted to the southwest 29. Bid openings were originally hitting Louisiana. The Weather and the water began to recede rapidly. supposed to be way back in mid- Bureau took down storm warnings Around 3:00 a.m. the wind quieted August have been postponed twice. that afternoon. As late as 11:00 down and the water went out of the City sources say the delay was due p.m. that evening the Bureau houses that had stood the storm. Most to a geotec item, having to do with assured a caller there was no had not. The morning light revealed the solidity of the soil at the bridge danger, just a 35 – 45 mph gale. As that the pretty town now lay in ruins. site, and to allow for an alternate the barometer began to fall, at 9:00 Many people living on the bluff supplier for bridge components a.m. on the morning of the 14th, were unaware of the horrors in rather than a sole source supplier, to hurricane warnings were issued. Beach Section and North Beach. reduce the price. We will attend the Fire trucks went through the town The storm did little damage on the bid openings, assuming they happen below the bluff and North Beach bluff. Most houses did not even have as scheduled and have a full report. telling people to evacuate to higher missing shingles or broken windows. Newspaper headline the day after the hurricane from the Ballinger Island Moon Music Series ground. Trolleys ran to North Some people only realized what Daily Ledger. beach offering rides to the bluff at had occurred when they walked Our friends Randy and Russ Toman, no charge. Despite the warnings, to Broadway and gazed on the the Toman Brothers band, will be at some people decided to ride out the wreckage below. Streets and lots Waves on Thursday, September 19 storm or evacuated too late. were full of cotton bales, boards from for the Music from the Moon Concert Around noon tides began to cover buildings and wharves and debris Series. The shows start at 6 and are free. low areas up to 18 inches deep. At from houses and stores. Buried in The Indian names for the September 1:15 p.m. streetcars were stranded. the rubble were bodies of the people Full Moon are Full Harvest Moon, Water in the streets rose to 6 feet who did not make it to safety along Full Turning Color Moon, Full Cool deep in 20 minutes, stranding with the belongings and furniture of Moon. We put out a Full Cool Moon everyone. Wooden buildings began the wrecked houses. The downtown every Thursday. We'll see you at the to float and disintegrate leaving was still covered with water as storm Toman Brothers' show and in the meantime say hello if you see us History cont.