The morning after: Counting blessings, counting the damage

This story appeared in the Anniston Star on 03-28-1994.

OHATCHEE – Ken Ingram sifted through the rubble of Ten Island Baptist Church this morning, constantly shaking his head in amazement.
The clock on a rear wall was frozen at 11:06 a.m. That's when 60 parishioners, who were about to sing their first hymn of the morning Sunday, heard the roar.
``It sounded like a freight train coming,'' said Ingram, relating the words of his wife.
The parishioners scrambled down a pair of stairways into the basement seconds before a tornado rumbled across Alabama 77, wiping out a pine forest and shredding the church. According to Ingram, aside from a few cuts and bruises, no one was hurt.
``We're just thankful,'' he said. ``If they had been singing, they would have never heard it.''
The parishioners of Ten Island were fortunate. Deadly twisters and violent thunderstorms battered churches, hundreds of houses and a nursing home on Palm Sunday, claiming 23 lives in northeast Alabama, 16 in Georgia, two in North Carolina and one in Tennessee.

This is a picture of the actual twister that struck the area (Anniston Star archives).

I came across this story while searching for infomation about Ten Island Baptist Church and cemetery. According to Paw, the tornado did a lot of damage to the church and cemetery.

To view the video below, you will need Windows Media Player. To download a free copy of the media player, use the link in the right panel.

Click here to launch a short video of Paw telling about the cemetery and church.

Go to the following site for a list of the permanent residents of Ten Island Baptist Church Cemetery.

List of Cemetery Residents