It has been said that history is all in the mind of the teller and truth is all in the telling.
It has been said that history is all in the mind of the teller and truth is all in the telling.
Myrle Goddard, 87, wasn't born yet when his family had a truly electrifying experience 90 years ago at their farm located about six kilometres northwest of Olds.
But he still has a pair of relics from that time that played a big part in the story.
It was about this time of year in 1924, Myrle said, when his father, Floyd, was out in the farm's field and rain began to fall.
When booms of thunder and veins of lightning started to come from the sky, Floyd tied up his horses and headed for shelter in the family house.
"Dad was a big guy, tall guy, probably six-foot-three," Myrle said. "With nothing better to do— my mother was there, my brother was there and my sister was there— I guess dad figured he didn't have nothing else to do so he just laid down on this couch and the couch wasn't long enough for him. And I guess he no more than got down on it with his legs hanging over the end of the couch when the old lightning snapped before you could say holy smoke."
The bolt struck the house, he said, and the power of the lightning blew dishes out of the cupboards, killed the family dog outside and charred nails in the walls.
And because Floyd was wearing a brand new pair of shoes with metal tacks in them, the lightning found its way to his legs and heels as well.
"In those days, the heels were tacked on, they weren't glued on like they are nowadays," Myrle said. "The lightning actually attracted those nails. It drove the charge through his heels. It left them looking like grape jelly."
He added that when his father stood up and picked up his sister Opal, he discovered the lightning had temporarily blinded her and her vision did not return for two days.
Myrle also said he believes the lightning strike injured his father's legs in a way that may have ultimately contributed to his death in 1955 at the age of 66.
He emphasized that since he was born two years after the incident, he was told the tale of the lightning strike later in life—although he can't recall who told him.
Myrle does have the pair of shoes his father was wearing when the lightning struck, two tattered pieces of leather missing parts of their soles that were, like the jolting tale, passed down to him.
He said he believes parts of the singed shoes were cannibalized over the years for the repair of other shoes.
"At that time, I would say they figured what good are they? Let's just take what's good off them."
Myrle said he can't remember who gave him the shoes or when they came into his possession and whether he passes them on to younger generations of his family depends on "if they want them."
When asked why he wanted to share the story of his family's lightning encounter, Myrle said recent stormy weather in the area made him think of the incident.
"It just sort of struck me what had happened back then."
He added he is a history lover—which is also a big reason he has kept the shoes— and his family has deep roots in this community from the time they moved to Alberta from Missouri in 1917, to their migration to the Olds area in 1920 to their eventual settlement in the town of Olds in 1936.
Many people in the community know his family's name and recognize their contributions to the town over the years, Myrle added, and he doesn't want that recognition to end.
"I like a little attention once in awhile. Maybe that's a bad thing to say about a guy. But if nobody mentions you, then who the hell is going to?"
[email protected]
CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK!
