To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.

Raeburn, Hastings
Nov 6th 1955

My dear Freida,

This is a very long overdue letter but I know you will understand, I have been through such a terrible ordeal for my age, what with the storm and a few days after we had a downpour of rain and the roof poured like a tap turned on.  I lost my nerve and had a hearty cry. 

 

The hoods to the windows blew off and broke the Everite of the roof and glass window.  They went in Miss Chandler’s yard.  Crowds of shingles blew off, gutter-heads, down pipes all blew down and broke.  

 

The downstairs door - the break water iron and big stones dashed against the door and broke it open and the sea all came in.  We did not have light for eleven days, only 2 lamps and torches.  No telephone, the well to the toilets all filled up with sand and choked one.  I had to pay $15.00 to 2 men to clear it.  I had to put on 16 bundles of shingles.  I had 3 workmen for 4 weeks from one thing to the other, but it could have been worse.  The church got hit the hardest, I believe 5 out of every 6 houses were flat, thousands are homeless.  Plenty of nice new houses in Marine Gardens the roofs came off and the people had to run for shelter.  You remember Kenneth and Reyland Davis’s house Santa Neta opposite The Rocks, well that has only the 4 walls standing.  They had to run next door, lost everything.  Frank came over to see what had happened to us 2 days after, because no planes were flying during that time.  He stood a day and a half and brought over plenty groceries for me knowing we may have been short and he said the water came to his eyes coming over the island to see the houses flat.  He would not even go any further he said his nerves wouldn’t stand it.  All the beautiful trees blown down and the leaves scorched.  We are all bare now.  If it had have lasted 1/2 hour longer our gallery roof started to lift.  The wind was 125 miles an hour.  Outside sounded just like a lot of cats howling.  Poor little Marilyn threw up 3 times for the day.  And then trees across the streets, telephone posts . . .