We once lost the roof of our house in a hurricane. There was no warning service then. The day of the storm we had some company for dinner (noon), among them Mrs. John Cleare who later became [my sister] Senie's mother-in-law and Alex Conrad whom I later married. The wind got so strong the house shook and we felt it was going to pieces. The men decided the safest place was in the orange grove so they carried a mattress and put it under a tree and we all huddled there for several hours in the wind and rain. We watched the roof of our house go sailing away. When the wind subsided the only dry place we could find was an empty stall in the barn. It was growing dark so Alex Conrad hitched up the wagon and took us to the Mishlers where we were given shelter, dry clothes and food. The next day my brothers started putting on a new roof.
Copyright 1957
Historical Association of Southern Florida
Editor's
Note:
Mary Douthit Conrad settled in Lemon City, Florida in 1892. She originally wrote this story as part of "Homesteading in Florida During the 1890's" in Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, No. XVII, 1957. The article came into my hands via my grandmother, who knew Mrs. Conrad in the 20's.
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