Historical Reminiscing with Robert B. Hitchings
Lightning, Thunder and Balls of Fire
Chill and mirk is the nightly blast,
Where Pindus’ mountains rise,
And angry clouds are pouring fast,
The vengeance of the skies.
Lord George ByronLast week, July 27, 2025, I along with my young friend James Whetstone were invited to the celebration of the Lake Drummond Baptist church, 175 years of worship. Our NCHS was invited but no others could make this event. However, since we had done the historical research and the background of the church, I felt like we should be there. I was pleased that I could decipher the old handwritten documents from 1850 for them.
After the service was over, a delicious pot-luck lunch followed that only the Baptists can provide. After lunch James said our goodbyes and left. I quickly noticed a storm was approaching. The clouds got dark as we were traveling through the long and winding roads of Chesapeake, Virginia. James and I quickly noticed the intense lightning, followed by loud thunder. Being out in vacant farm land, one notices these things. I quickly remembered reading how many humans have been struck by lightning.
A lightning strike is a powerful force of energy. It is an electrical discharge that occurs between the atmosphere and the ground, originating from cumulonimbus clouds. We all know these lightning strikes can be dangerous, causing fires, severe injuries and even death. Seeing the strikes of lightning in the sky and followed by thunder, I remembered a little girl named Becky Godwin, the adopted daughter of our Governor Mills Godwin (1914-1999) being struck by lightning in Virginia Beach. Camp Pendleton was where the Godwins were staying at a small cottage. The date of this horrible accident was September 4, 1968. Mrs. Godwin (1917-2015) was devastated. Little Becky was immediately rushed to Virginia Beach General and remained in a coma for four days, breathing with the help of a respirator. She passed away and the Commonwealth of Virginia went into mourning.
Over the years the newspapers reported intense lightning and thunder storms. One of the worst storms that I read about and recall occurred was on August 21, 1820. The Norfolk & Portsmouth Herald reported that Norfolk and Portsmouth were visited about 1 AM in the morning with heavy showers accompanied by considerable thunder and streaks of lightning in the skies. This was a powerful electric storm.
During this storm lightning struck the house of Mr. & Mrs. John Widgen, at the corner of Cove and Cumberland. Today this sight is the parking lot of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Mr. & Mrs. Widgen woke up to find several of their rooms were filled with splinters of wood, fragments of the chimney, plaster and sulfurous vapor. As the newspaper reported, it’s a miracle they escape unharmed. Fortunately no one was hurt, but this was a terrifying experience.
In Portsmouth, Virginia, the storm left considerable damage to the house of Mrs. Ward. Portsmouth too experienced the heavy downpour of rain and Mrs. Ward sustained damage to her home but no one was hurt.
On August 20, 1846, Norfolk County experienced a terrible lighting and thunder storm. Mrs. Russell, a native of Elizabeth City County was visiting and residing by the Black River when she was struck by lightning and killed. There was a gun in the room near where she was sitting and the lighting apparently struck this metal object. According to the newspaper account, the lightning was attracted to the metal which struck the deceased.
Many a schooner and other vessels have been struck by lightning, having their masts shattered and splintered in harbors.
In April 1893, the Norfolk Virginian newspaper reported another powerful storm. Many people of Norfolk witnessed and believed this was a tornado. The storm was followed by heavy rain, thunder and lightning in the Brambleton section of Norfolk. Three little Smith children were standing on the porch of Mr. Sterle, their uncle, when lightning struck a tree which had a wire connected to the porch. One of the Smith children was instantly killed, one paralyzed and one made deaf. Dr. Morgan of Berkley was quickly summoned.
In December 27, 1913, the Virginian Pilot reported the first known thunder storm ever on Christmas Day. Never before in the history of Norfolk’s weather bureau, which covered about 43 years, had a thunder storm that occurred on Thursday, Christmas day. The disturbances started at 8 PM and continued for about two hours. Lightning flashed throughout the sky followed by loud thunder. Heavy downpours of rain were everywhere. During the storm, one of the lighting circuits in Ghent was put out of commission. Many Ghent residents were thrown into total darkness, thus putting a damper on their Christmas holiday. Many folks stayed home with candles, bringing out kerosene lamps and other illuminants on Christmas day.
But the best article on old storms was the one when a lightning bolt hit house dwelling at 622 Boissevain Avenue. The date was July 15, 1928. This house is still standing today.
According to the Virginian-Pilot Norfolk and its surroundings areas had five days of rain. At 3 PM an electric storm hit the city with a loud bolt of lightning struck a chimney on Boissevain Avenue. Lucky the house was vacant. A blinking flash was followed by deafening claps of thunder. This, as one can imagine, caused quite excitement in the city. Witnesses said they saw a huge “ball of fire” that flashed and was gone within seconds.” Fire officials were called to the scene. The damage was slight, but several bricks were loosened from the chimney. Soon another sharp clap of thunder followed and shook businesses in the Ghent area. Streets became flooded due to the downpour of rain. Traffic moved at a snail’s space in Ghent that day, a very wet month in July.
We all have stories we can share about storms, but I remember as a young teenager around 1963 I was in the living room of my grandparent's home, 828 Spotswood Avenue, and between my grandfather and myself there was a distance of 3 feet when a violent storm came up. To our surprise, a flash of lightning shot between my grandfather and myself before it escaped through the window. It was so fast. Lucky no one was hurt and no broken glass. But it was a scary moment for all of us.
It is amazing what triggers the mind when one witnesses certain weather events. And it all started riding back from Lake Drummond’s Baptist church anniversary and witnessing streaks of lightning in the skies on the back roads of Chesapeake, Virginia, farm land.
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Robert B. Hitchings is a seventh generation Norfolk resident, graduating with an Associate's Degree in Biology from Old Dominion University and BA in history from Virginia Wesleyan University. During his studies he was awarded a scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England, and he was an exchange student at Brooks-Westminster College, Oxford, England. From 1999-2014 he worked as head of the Sargeant Memorial History Room at Norfolk Public Library, and since then has headed the Wallace History Room at Chesapeake Public Library. He is also the President of the Norfolk County Historical Society, and for six years was a columnist for The Virginian-Pilot. Robert may be reached at nchs.wallaceroom@gmail.com
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