The Journal-Record - Bicentennial Edition Thursday, July 1, 1976 Section D, Page 10 TORNADO RAVAGES MARION COUNTY IN APRIL 1974 [Editor's Note: Below is a story that was printed the week after the devastating storm of April 3rd 1974 struck Guin] GUIN, ALA. - Funk and Wagnall's dictionary defines the word "disaster" as a crushing misfortune; a calamity. Even the word disaster cannot begin to describe the scene of last Wednesday night in this town of some 2,000 inhabitants. The cries of help from people who were caught inside of or under what once had been their homes. The anguished, heartbreaking sound of someone who had just found a loved one dead. The sounds of rescue trucks and men and women yelling into the night, "Help, over here. There's someone trapped," or "Has anyone seen my son, my daughter, my wife, my mother, my husband, my father?" All these sounds and many more were heard that night, but until the morning came and the first gray light of dawn began to brighten the sky, did the full realization of what the tornado had done to the city of Guin become visible. Where once there were homes, businesses and churches now could only be seen foundations or leaning walls or just a few concrete steps leading into emptiness. The tornado touched down a few miles southwest of Guin and before it left the ground again a few seconds later, the damage it did amounted into the millions of dollars. The first warning of what was to come happened around 7:00 o'clock when hail the size of golfballs(sic) began to fall in Guin. Guin was, for all practical reasons, wiped out that terrible night, but material items such as clothing, furniture can be replaced. Businesses can rebuild. Cities can grow again. But death takes the heaviest toll, and loved ones cannot be replaced. As the Journal goes to press, 22 persons have lost their lives. Those killed in Marion County were: Trevor THOMPSON, Mrs. Mary Lou HARP THOMPSON, Mrs. Jimmie Sue BALLARD, Mark TODD, Paul TODD, Mrs. Lem BAIRD, Sr., Jimmy HERON, Billy Joe BROWN, Mrs. Virginia BROWN, Miss Janet BROWN, Joseph Emmet SHIREY, Mrs. Joseph Emmet SHIREY, Preston MARTIN, Mrs. Robert PENNINGTON, Mrs. Winnie Ellen GILMORE, Howard CALVERT, Mrs. Virginia CALVERT, Mrs. Orville J. HESS, Sr., Raymond Raiford EDWARDS, Mrs. Rosie Belee BURLESON, Maggie Lee FISHER, and Miss Suzette BALLARD.