1961 - was it Hurricane Carla? It came in at Port O'Connor and was a biggie (slightly before my time, but people here still talk about it.
I go though Refugio on my way to Corpus Christi and used to have a great aunt and uncle who lived there. It IS a small town. Good little Mexican food restaurant there - Moya's? or is that in Tivoli?
Prolly Celia
Hurricane Carla was September, 1961. I lived in SW Houston and my Dad boarded/taped the windows as needed. We lost power for a short time and ended up losing a small tree in the front yard.
I was young enough I thought it was great fun and I remember playing with my Barbie doll in the dark den.
Here's a link about Carla:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/docs/research/hurrhistory/Carla/carla.html