Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

The Golden Summers of the 1930s, Part XII
by H. Bishop Holliman 2011


The story of the West Florida hurricane of 1936 continues by H. Bishop Holliman.

“We learned through folks in the building that the railroad depot would be a safe place for us to go, once it was safe to get out on the street, so soon after daylight that’s where we went.  There was no chance of getting breakfast as the wind and rain continued in full force, and we knew we had better stay put.  So we did.

Taken from the Defuniak Springs, Florida history web site is this photograph of the L & N Railroad station where the Holliman family took shelter.  Hmmm....it does not look all that substantial as a structure.

All morning long the wind blew and blew and the rain poured and poured.  I remember seeing objects such as signs, limbs and other stuff flying through the air.  Up in the  morning the L & N passenger train that ran between Jacksonville and New Orleans pulled into the station.  Its appearance gave us some hope, as we believed if the train could get through maybe the worst was over.

In all the fury, there was no panic and no hysteria throughout our ordeal from the youngest to the oldest.  During the morning other refugees came into the building and one told us the gadget that measured the wind’s intensity was rising and that was a a good sign.  I remember Melton’s saying that he hoped it reached a thousand!  (Probably this was a barometer  indicating rising pressure; the storm was passing.)

Left, the young minister, Charles Ferrell holds his new son, Charles Halford Ferrell, the second grand child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman.

All during the morning, though, we were concerned about Loudelle and Charles and Euhal and Edna back in Birmingham.  There was no way to let them know what was happening to us and that so far we were safe.  Loudelle was just about a month from bringing Charles Halford into the world. And Euhal and Edna has been married only a month.  So our concerns were not confined to our fate there in the depot.  I know now that Mama and Daddy, especially, were carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders that we young ones could not realize.

Below Edna Westbrook Holliman, age 18, the new bride of Euhal Holliman, the third child and second son of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman. Edna and Euhal waited in Birmingham, worried about the family caught in the Florida storm.

Around one o’clock the wind seemed to have subsided a little, so Hoyt and Melton dared to go out in search of some food for all of us.  Maybe they found some, I don’t remember now from this this distant date.  But about mid-afternoon, the wind let up, the sun came out and we all seemed alive again.  We piled into the two cars and headed back to Panama City Beach, hoping Daddy’s car would still be there and that our belongings would also.


It was close to dark when we arrived at our destination.  Limbs and trees were strewn all along the highway on the way, but thankfully, the houses were still there with all our belongings.  The first thing we saw though was Daddy’s car, which had lost some paint due to flying sand.  It was still where we left it, but would it start?  It did, right off.  We immediately packed up, loaded the cars and headed north as the sun sank in the west, glad to be safe and sound and on the way home!

It was a Friday night and we drove all the way to Dothan, Alabama, before stopping to eat and/or finding lodging for the night.  We arrived home late Saturday afternoon, happy to be safe with lots to talk about."

Left, Melton and Ida Holliman were caught in the storm with other members of their family.


Next post, recording the story of the storm in newspaper and in print.....