Every year around this time, we remind our readers, many of them relative newcomers, that the second greatest single event in U.S. history in terms of lives lost took place on Sept. 16, 1928, right here in Palm Beach County.
That day, a massive hurricane smashed the coastline from the Treasure Coast to Miami, then moved inland and washed out what then was a flimsy dike around Lake Okeechobee, sending a wall of water into the countryside. The official death toll is 2,500, but it could be as high as 3,000.
With 86 years now having passed, finding anyone who survived the storm, and was old enough at the time to have any memories now, has become nearly an impossible task. We were thrilled when longtime reader John Weigand of Delray Beach directed us to retired shop teacher Leslie Douglas, now living in Ocala.
Click title for link to complete article. Here is a picture of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the aftermath of the storm. The church was rebuilt at it's current location after the storm.
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| St. Andrew's Episcopal Church after the 1928 hurricane, Lake Worth, Florida. Credit: State Archives of Florida. |
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
