Alma Tuey Watland 1891-1946

WATLAND, TUEY

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 12/29/2014 at 23:54:46

Storm Victim Formerly of Armstrong, Ia.
Mrs. Watland Killed by Tornado
Mrs. Alle [Allie] Watland [Alma Tuey], 55, formerly of Armstrong, was one of seven persons killed Saturday [August 17, 1946] night by a tornado at Mankato, Minn.

Mrs. Watland and her husband moved to Minneapolis this spring and were enroute from Minneapolis to Armstrong for a visit when the storm overtook them at Mankato. They sought shelter in the tourist camp which was demolished by the wind. Mr. Watland was slightly injured.

Mrs. Watland’s body was brought to Armstrong and funeral services will be held there Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The Watlands have one son, Lloyd, and had lived on a farm 3 ½ miles north of Armstrong until their retirement this spring.

Seven Killed
Mankato, Minn., Aug. 19 AP - Death separated a honeymooning Iowa couple who had been married just one day when the tornado struck the Green Gables tourist camp on the edge of Mankato Saturday night.

Gerald Nurre, Bancroft, Ia., was killed in the storm and his bride of one day suffered injuries.

A village policeman was hailed today as a cool-headed hero who possibly saved many lives during tornadoes which struck two communities Saturday night, killing seven persons and injuring about 75.

As the twister approached Wells, Minn., Patrolman Arthur Banks was standing in front of the village theater. He ordered the theater doors closed and then asked the 400 patrons in the theater to remain seated. The tornado swept along the three-block main street, damaging every building. The rear part of the theater collapsed, but no one was injured.

Elsewhere in the town, about 25 persons were injured. Many persons escaped by fleeing to basements when the first gust of strong wind followed rain and hail. The tornado struck during the Saturday night shopping rush.

The seven fatalities were all at Mankato, where a twister dipped momentarily from the sky to completely demolish a 22-cabin tourist camp, and damaged several farm buildings. About 50 persons were injured in the Mankato area.

Killed in the Mankato storm were: Gerald Nurre, Bancroft, Ia., Donald Nelson, Butterfield, Minn.; LeRoy Nelson, 22, Welcome, Minn.; Donald J. Wirig, Mankato; Mrs. Alle Watland, Minnepolis; Sydney Casper, Mankato, and Roy Melvin, 53, Mankato. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, August 19, 1946)

Per ancestry.com, dob April 22, 1892 [1891 per gravestone], Howard Lake, Wright County, MN; parents: Delorme Tuey and Lucy McAllister