Hurricane Fran: "That was a dreadful night" and other disaster ballads

It's abbreviated but still long! You can listen while you read.

The editor, Genevieve Lehr, noted that the Norwegian schooner Snorre was wrecked on the shores of Bonavista on 19 September 1907. Two young Norwegian boys were drowned, and the four others on board were rescued through the bravery of J. Louis Little, Robert Brown, James C. Little, William Ford, and Eli Paul, all men of Bonavista; they afterwards received recognition from the Carnegie Hero Commission. Lehr concluded by noting that A & B in the song is an abbreviation for able-bodied seaman.

Note: The Daily News (St. John's) featured a photograph on May 12, 1908, of Governor MacGregor at Bonavista, distributing medals granted by the Norwegian Government for service in connection with the wreck of the schooner Snorre.

The Loss Of The Snorre

Around the coast of Newfoundland, brave fishermen reside,
Who spend much time upon the sea, subsistence to provide;
But often times a gale swaps down, brings havoc to our shore,
Bereaves our homes of loved ones, makes many hearts feel sore.

On the eighteenth of September at ten o'clock that night,
The elements of nature broke forth with fearful might;
Everything was in commotion by the bursting of the gale,
Which brought distress to many hearts and caused many a wail.

Many happy ones returned home back from the Labrador,
They prosecute the fisheries, oft-times have done before;
With loaded schooners full of fish, the commerce of our land,
How glad we were to greet them and shake them by the hand.

But on this memorable night around Bonavista shore,
The destruction of the elements the like unknown before;
Here many a fine and sporting craft this time did meet its doom,
Some with their summer's catch on board lately arrived at home.

The fishing schooner Harold F. became a total wreck;
The Olive Branch and Planet too were smashed from keel to deck.
The foreign going Reliance to the waters edge cut down;
And many of our small fishing boats next morning were not found.

It was not on the sea alone but on the land as well,
The gale caused much destruction, it's hard for one to tell;
How many of our small fishing boats were smashed upon the shore,
And down went flakes and stages which caused a great uproar.

Out by the old familiar spot well known as Squarrey Head,
Where foreign ships do anchor out by the old boatstead;
To take the produce of our land unto some foreign shore,
With skillful navigators and daring sailor men.

On Tuesday eve at three o'clock, a vessel hove in sight,
Which proved to be a Norwegian sloop which anchored in our bight.
The Snorre was the vessel's name, she was chartered by J. Ryan;
A brand new ship on her first trip to stay here for a time.

Ah! Little did these seamen think on reaching port that night,
With happy hearts and merry jests, their spirits gay and light;
Thinking of their beloved at home, those noble seamen brave,
That soon two of their number would meet a watery grave.

On Wednesday night at ten o'clock the Snorre burst her chains,
Through foaming seas was swept away in darkness and in rain.
Rockets were fired into the air, a signal of distress;
Their blooming shots flashed o'er the sea, 'Help' that was their request.

A group of men stood on the bank they all seemed stricken dumb.
They all stood up like statues, like men that had no tongues.
Until out stepped Ford among the crowd and tears stood in his eyes;
'My God,' he shouts, 'can nought be done to save those sailor boys.'

A rope he grasped into his hand followed by three more men,
And rushed toward the stranded with shouts, 'We must save them.'
Out, out into the raging sea those heroes quickly went,
To save those drowning seamen, it was their whole intent.

A rope Littles threw across the wreck which men held fast on shore;
Until one by one they passed o'er it 'til the saved ones numbered four.
But oh, alas, unfortunately two sank beneath the waves;
Fate had its way and doomed those boys to meet a watery grave.

One of the two ill-fated lads was thirteen years of age,
Who left his home in Norway on the Snorre did engage.
Methinks I see the mother now as she bade her lad good-bye;
As he took her hand on leaving home saying, 'Mother, don't you cry.'

The tears streamed down that mother's cheek as she held him by the hand,
Saying, 'Now, my boy, be always true and do the best you can;
May God protect you on this voyage, His blessings follow thee,
And keep thee from all dangers that do attend the sea.

The other lad was older and shipped as A & B,
Who supported his aged parents by his earnings made at sea.
Oh, little did these parents think as they bade the lad good-bye,
How soon the news would reach them of the drowning of their boy.

All praise to Bonavista sons for saving these four men,
To brothers Ford, Littles and Paul, all praise be given them.
May this brave act go down for years, may it resounded be,
How brothers Ford, Littles and Paul saved four lives from the sea.

Another heroic rescue took place down on the rocks at Canaille Point in Bonavista harbour... Ryan and Company were in those days operating a merchant trade between Bonavista and Europe. They were exporting the products of the cod and seal fishery...

In the fall of 1907, they had consigned a great white clipper ship Snorre with the bulk of their winter supplies. On September 18, the brand new ship arrived off Cape Bonavista, her graceful bow cutting easily through the sea swells that were building in advance of a fall storm.

She moored safely... most of the crew went ashore to enjoy a home-cooked meal. Five men remained on board to watch the ship.

During the evening, the storm worsened into a raging gale. The exposed harbour provided no protection from the enormous sea that was sweeping in...

The stress was too great for the anchor chains to bear. At midnight, first one, then the other, parted. The Snorre was cast free and drifted downwind towards the doom of Canaille Point.

The townsfolk of Bonavista ... watched in horror as the Snorre crashed into the rocks stern first.

The five crew climbed the rigging as huge twenty-five-foot waves broke over the ship.

A group of fishermen ... organized a rescue; they formed a human chain out into the surf. In the blackness of the night, with the wind howling around them, these courageous men made repeated attempts to get a line aboard.

As one of the crew attempted to swim ashore, he was crushed by the waves against the jagged reef...

The remainder of the crew began to make the arduous transfer to shore. They drew themselves along the line, hand over hand, as the seas pounded and buffeted them. One man lost his grip and fell into the sea. Lewis Little, at great risk to his own life, entered the water and saved the man...

Within an hour there was nothing left of that great Norwegian Clipper ship. These humble Bonavista men were honoured as heros in Newfoundland by the Carnegie Foundation. In Norway, King Haarkon decorated them for their acts of bravery in saving his countrymen.

THAT WAS AN AWFUL NIGHT

Twas on a dark September night in 1996
When central Carolina got into an awful fix
When all the kids had gone to bed
There came a driving rain
And so, that night, our town was hit
by Fran the hurricane.
That was an awful night, that was an awful night.

That rainy night the power went out,
the radio wouldn't play,
So no-one knew the awful storm was
heading straight our way.
Louder, louder howled the wind,
the trees bent to the gale,
Till finally, we heard a crash,
The house did shake and wail.

Then my son Ezra's ceiling buckled
And he rushed out through his door.
The sheetrock broke as water poured in
and splashed onto his floor.
We shivered in the darkness
Of our wild and shrieking hell -
The house we always thought so safe
Was now a watery shell

When we awoke the windows glowed
A most peculiar green
'Gainst every one the trees were pressed
In an eerie jungle scene.
The blue sky shone through Ezra's roof,
Now a tangle of twisted board.
The attic sloshed where I had kept
some very important stuff stored...

The power lines were on the ground,
their wires were all downed.
The roads were blocked by twisted trees,
we could not drive around.
Then Robbie brought his chainsaw,
cutting up the tangled piles,
And he told us the dreadful mess
went on for many miles

No gas, no news, no radio,
No power and no phone,
Except for neighbors close at hand
We surely felt alone.
For two whole days we lived on crackers,
bread, and ginger ale,
We bathed beside a washed out bridge,
hauled water in a pail.

Chuck Collicut climbed on my roof and
saw the mess up there.
He sighed: "these trees have got to go
before it can be repaired."
So my friend Loye brought all his trucks
and helpers every day,
We all pitched in to cut the limbs
And cart the mess away

Then I found Randy and David,
The are carpenters brave and true
And they agreed to fix the mess
My roof had gotten to.
So day by day the work got done,
The trouble did die down,
But we will never forget the time
The hurricane came to town.
That was an awful night, that was an awful night.

That Was an Awful Night - Anita's version

I too survived the hurricane
And have a tale to tell,
Of how my dogs and I survived
That windy, watery hell
A mighty oak fell on my house
With a resounding boom,
The rafters broke, and glass flew 'round.
Limbs speared into my room.
That was an awful night,
That was an awful night.

Sweet Tagger hound and Elvis pup
Were frantic in their fear.
And I myself, I must admit,
Was far from cavalier.
But worse than wind and worse than rain,
And the loss of power and phone:
A guy I knew - The Date from Hell -
Got stranded at my home.
That was an awful night,
That was an awful night.

He stamped and swore and tore his hair, he wouldn't pee outdoors.
He didn't want the dogs inside. He was a klutz with chores.
He clung to me like Kudzu vine, a whining sniveling simp.
And though he stood o'er six feet tall, he was a total wimp.
He was an awful jerk, he was an awful jerk.

Dead trees and limbs and power lines lay all across the road.
so I was stuck there at my house with this obnoxious toad.
It took three days with saw and ax to cut an egress out.
When finally he drove away, my sanity was in doubt.
He was an awful jerk, he was an awful jerk.

Eventually Jim Walker came and cut the tree away.
The State Farm guy, after a look, agreed that they would pay.
Roy Davis and his good friend Stan rebuilt my northern wall.
A new roof, and, in eight short weeks, I had water, lights, and all.
That was an awful night, that was an awful night.

I'm older now, and wiser too, from living through the storm.
For now I know that misery can take more than one form.
And so I give to all you gals this caution about men:
If you couldn't spend a week with him, don't even let him in!
He was an awful jerk, he was an awful jerk...

Loye had pictures of his antique trucks in his wallet the way other people have pictures of their grandchildren. He had had heart trouble and the doctor had told him he needed to rest, but Loye was not able to rest. He told me an amazing story of his escape across country and hitching somewhere to get his truck back.

Over many years, he helped me out on so many projects. He always had a good play, or an innovation. He knew how to get around pesky regulations.

Helping me dig out from under the hurricane was the last adventure we shared. Not so long afterwards he had a heart attack and quadruple-bypass surgery and his wife took the keys to all his vehicles away.

Chuck was a member of the three-man framing team led by Tripp Wrenn that had just finished building my new house (the one I live in now) when the hurricane hit.

Everybody who knew how to hold a hammer was terribly busy but Chuck took the time to come over and see how I was doing. He is an incredibly calm guy and he layed out a course of action that reduced my panic, and then he helped me see it through. Thanks, Chuck!