That happened at my home. It's creeping fig. Looks really cool; covered one side of the house uncomplainingly for years. One day I walk outside and it's curled up in a ball on the ground. Cut off the fallen sections and it's grown back to cover the wall once more. The dogs loved sniffing at it, what with the scent of birds' nests, rodents, etc.

Methinks Annie O. attempted to enlist in 1898, rather than 1989. If memory serves, 1989 marked the lead-up to the first Gulf War (by which time Ms. Oakley was long dead), not the Spanish-American War.