With two squall lines passing through here witnin the last two weeks, bringing some rain and a lot of wind, we want to remember that it is the time of the year for storms.

Bill Hamilton suggested that I tell you something about the part that the Hamilton Fire Department plays in case of a storm. The Fire Department is notified by the National Weather Service anytime conditions are favorable for storms to form. Then should a tornado be sighted by someone or by radar, the fire department will be notified and they will sound the sirens. There are three sirens in Hamilton, one at the fire station, one at Horton Park and one in Littleville.

These sirens are tested every Friday at 12 noon ; should you hear them at any other time, you will know that a storm has been sighted, or there is some other threat. The sirens have not been used to indicate a fire in nearly two years, so a siren sounding is a sign of danger.

I grew up in southwestern Oklahoma where storms are much more numerous than they are here. Nearly every home had a storm cellar or dugout as most people called them. Dad dug one large enough to easily accommodate two beds, so when they would have to take us to the cellar at night, they would put us to bed for the rest of the night.

One morning we awoke to find strange things lying around in the fields. Investigation revealed that they were pieces of bedding, clothing, furniture and other things the storm had dropped. There were many, many pieces of red shingles that had come from a red topped school house that was destroyed about 20 miles away. No telling how many miles those shingles had actually traveled as they went around and around the center of that storm like a giant merry-go-round. Like dry corn stalk leaves in a big whirlwind on a hot, dry August afternoon.

The trips to the cellar never saved us from a storm, as none ever struck us, but it meant a lot to know that you had a dad and a mother with enough concern and love to stay up hours at night to watch the clouds.

Shared by Roy Ables