Comments on: Oklahoma's Deadliest Tornado http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oklahomas-deadliest-tornado From the World's Largest History Magazine Publisher Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:24:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Janet Welsch http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-743502 Janet Welsch Sun, 11 Sep 2011 02:39:52 +0000 #comment-743502 I was five and a half, mom was in the hospital after having my brother on the second of April, at that time women were kept at least a week after birth. Dad and I had gone to the hospital, after supper, for a visit. I remember the trees whipping in the wind, lighting flashing and the dark. Daddy walked downtown to Littles Drug store, the front window was out, he gathered all the flashlights and batteries he could find and returned to the hospital where he worked along side one of the doctors the rest of the night. Momma brought my little brother, George, into her room where she bedded the two of us on her bed until morning. As soon as he could daddy took us out the back door and down the stairs then out to my grandparents who lived near the Sharon 'y'. The hallway was lined with people laying on the floor, head to toe waiting to be taken care of. One that still stands out in my mind was an elderly white haired man, his face looked like it had be pricked with a thousand pins. He had blue eyes that watched me as I walked between the two rows of bodies, with my folks. Later when we returned to town the house we lived in, next to the Presbyterian church, on Oklahoma, still stood. We took in a family to live with us. I do not remember how long they lived with us; but it was quite a while. It took years before the scars left by the storm disapeared. Years later someone told me they had watched the tornado, from the Sharon 'Y', as it traveled down Main Street. They described it as a large funnel with smaller funnels circulating around the outside. This type of tornado was not identified until many years later, in Kansas. I was five and a half, mom was in the hospital after having my brother on the second of April, at that time women were kept at least a week after birth. Dad and I had gone to the hospital, after supper, for a visit. I remember the trees whipping in the wind, lighting flashing and the dark. Daddy walked downtown to Littles Drug store, the front window was out, he gathered all the flashlights and batteries he could find and returned to the hospital where he worked along side one of the doctors the rest of the night. Momma brought my little brother, George, into her room where she bedded the two of us on her bed until morning. As soon as he could daddy took us out the back door and down the stairs then out to my grandparents who lived near the Sharon 'y'.
The hallway was lined with people laying on the floor, head to toe waiting to be taken care of. One that still stands out in my mind was an elderly white haired man, his face looked like it had be pricked with a thousand pins. He had blue eyes that watched me as I walked between the two rows of bodies, with my folks. Later when we returned to town the house we lived in, next to the Presbyterian church, on Oklahoma, still stood. We took in a family to live with us. I do not remember how long they lived with us; but it was quite a while.
It took years before the scars left by the storm disapeared.
Years later someone told me they had watched the tornado, from the Sharon 'Y', as it traveled down Main Street. They described it as a large funnel with smaller funnels circulating around the outside. This type of tornado was not identified until many years later, in Kansas.

]]> By: Frank Walters http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-573382 Frank Walters Thu, 26 May 2011 04:57:06 +0000 #comment-573382 My father was a construction worker on a project at Ft. Supply near Woodward. I was five and he took me and my mother and shoved us in a closet then brought the matteress from my bed, stuck it in the closet, shut the door and pulled it down on top of us. The tornado passed without hurting our house as we were in that portion of the town that was not destroyed. Just before we went into the closet, I remember blue balls of static electricy pouring out of the wall outlets near the floor. As the tornadoe passed, our place shook violently and it did sound like a train but as if one was right up next to the track. All my mother's dishes were shaken out of the cabinets and everything in the house was moved about from the shaking. Afterwards, mom found some candles and lit them. Later, dad went out to see if he could help. When mom wasn't watching, I snuck out to folow him and caught up as we came to the main North-South street. Across the street there was hardly anything standing. On our side, things were pretty normal. In the lightening strikes, I could see the destruction. Dad had a flashlight and I remember seeing a woman's leg with the shoe and hose still on it. We saw her body later, minus the leg. As long as I live, I will never forget that night. It is one of my earliest and most vivid memories. My dad knew the man at the power plant and said he was a hero for shutting down the power and might have survived but for his unselfish act to save what was left of the town. We stayed for a while longer and then went back to Oklahoma City and were frightened by a tornado alert near our house there. The rental place in Woodward, where we stayed was still there 25 years later and my wife and children and I lived there briefly, when like my father, I was temporarily employed there. Now, I have seen so many OK tornadoes. I was on my cousin's farm and saw the Tushka Tornado and my own house near Oklahoma City was narrowly missed by about 7 blocks last night. Thanks for the article. It brings back a lot of memories. My father was a construction worker on a project at Ft. Supply near Woodward. I was five and he took me and my mother and shoved us in a closet then brought the matteress from my bed, stuck it in the closet, shut the door and pulled it down on top of us. The tornado passed without hurting our house as we were in that portion of the town that was not destroyed. Just before we went into the closet, I remember blue balls of static electricy pouring out of the wall outlets near the floor. As the tornadoe passed, our place shook violently and it did sound like a train but as if one was right up next to the track. All my mother's dishes were shaken out of the cabinets and everything in the house was moved about from the shaking. Afterwards, mom found some candles and lit them. Later, dad went out to see if he could help. When mom wasn't watching, I snuck out to folow him and caught up as we came to the main North-South street. Across the street there was hardly anything standing. On our side, things were pretty normal. In the lightening strikes, I could see the destruction. Dad had a flashlight and I remember seeing a woman's leg with the shoe and hose still on it. We saw her body later, minus the leg. As long as I live, I will never forget that night. It is one of my earliest and most vivid memories. My dad knew the man at the power plant and said he was a hero for shutting down the power and might have survived but for his unselfish act to save what was left of the town. We stayed for a while longer and then went back to Oklahoma City and were frightened by a tornado alert near our house there. The rental place in Woodward, where we stayed was still there 25 years later and my wife and children and I lived there briefly, when like my father, I was temporarily employed there. Now, I have seen so many OK tornadoes. I was on my cousin's farm and saw the Tushka Tornado and my own house near Oklahoma City was narrowly missed by about 7 blocks last night. Thanks for the article. It brings back a lot of memories.

]]> By: Rita (Fails) Walker http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-547207 Rita (Fails) Walker Tue, 03 May 2011 18:50:11 +0000 #comment-547207 I was born in Woodward at Memorial Hospital, I was 5 years old. My mother was playing bridge, and my dad was at work. I think that he was the only left alive in the building he was in and he crawled to the highway or road for help. My mother was in a house that was blown away and they had heard it coming and they went down to the room in the basement were people had the furnace. She jumped over live wire running home to see if me and my sister was ok. I remember that they baby setter put me & my sister in front of her and held on to the door facing, I thought a bad person was coming to get us with all the noise that was going on outside. I remember being really scared, Mother got there ok and when they took daddy to the hospital he would not stay and they flew him to Oklahoma City. He said it reminded him to much of WW2 there was so many people laying all over the lawn in front of the Hospital. I was born in Woodward at Memorial Hospital, I was 5 years old. My mother was playing bridge, and my dad was at work. I think that he was the only left alive in the building he was in and he crawled to the highway or road for help. My mother was in a house that was blown away and they had heard it coming and they went down to the room in the basement were people had the furnace. She jumped over live wire running home to see if me and my sister was ok. I remember that they baby setter put me & my sister in front of her and held on to the door facing, I thought a bad person was coming to get us with all the noise that was going on outside. I remember being really scared, Mother got there ok and when they took daddy to the hospital he would not stay and they flew him to Oklahoma City. He said it reminded him to much of WW2 there was so many people laying all over the lawn in front of the Hospital.

]]> By: Don Rhudy http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-541565 Don Rhudy Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:03:16 +0000 #comment-541565 I was nine years old when the tornado struck. My mother and I were scraping paint for the floor of my bedroom, which we had just painted, when the windows blew in on us. She screamed, "It's a clyclone, Don, let's go to the basement!" We stopped in the kitchen so she could turn off the gas behind the stove, and started out onto the back porch to the stairs to the basement. Hundreds of bricks were flying into the back porch and slamming against a wall, and I knew we would die if we went out there. I grabbed her skirts and refused to go out there and she relented. We went in the living room and sat on the couch, praying aloud, until the tornado ceased. It was the loudest noise I have ever heard, including artillery shelling later in my life. As soon as the tornado ended we nailed blankets over all the windows, to keep out the rain that mother said would soon arrive. Then we gathered up a few clothes and walked to my Aunt's house two blocks north on Thirteenth, one house from the corner of Thirteenth and Oklahoma. She had lost the roof on the front part of her house and we spent some time moving furniture back under the part of the house that had roofing. About ten-thirty my uncle Hurley Newcomb arrived, loaded my mother, Aunt, myself, and my two cousins up and took us to his home at Eighth and Oak, but not before we passed by his store (Newcomb & Frost Department Store) and Adams Grocery, where we saw people looting inside, illuminated by the fires in the city. We also went past the Memorial Hospital, where bodies were accumulating on the front yard, and walked among them looking for someone we thought would be there. When we reached the safety of his house, we all went inside. He left to go help with the volunteers. Sometime before dawn my father arrived from Alva, where he had been working as a salesman. There was another pool hall not mentioned in the story above, called Cattleman's Cafe. My uncle Raymond Kysar, husband to my Aunt whose home we had gone to earlier, spent the tornado under a pool table. I had a number of school friends who were in the Woodward and Terry Theaters during the tornado, and they told me about walking through the brick-littered streets getting home. For seeks after the tornado we had my Aunt and Uncle and cousins living with us in our home, and two other families living in lour basement. I knew Gaynor McClaren and Mrs. Boatman mentioned in the story above, and a girl from my class, Betty Cooley, was killed in the tornado. Of course, most of the schools were damaged or destroyed, and the school year was suspended. When it began again in September we attended schools in church basements and other buildings, until barracks were delivered and set up and later, schools restored or built anew. Everyone from the school classes of 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956 were especially united as a result of that tornado. I expect that was true of classes earlier than that. I was nine years old when the tornado struck. My mother and I were scraping paint for the floor of my bedroom, which we had just painted, when the windows blew in on us. She screamed, "It's a clyclone, Don, let's go to the basement!" We stopped in the kitchen so she could turn off the gas behind the stove, and started out onto the back porch to the stairs to the basement. Hundreds of bricks were flying into the back porch and slamming against a wall, and I knew we would die if we went out there. I grabbed her skirts and refused to go out there and she relented. We went in the living room and sat on the couch, praying aloud, until the tornado ceased. It was the loudest noise I have ever heard, including artillery shelling later in my life.

As soon as the tornado ended we nailed blankets over all the windows, to keep out the rain that mother said would soon arrive. Then we gathered up a few clothes and walked to my Aunt's house two blocks north on Thirteenth, one house from the corner of Thirteenth and Oklahoma. She had lost the roof on the front part of her house and we spent some time moving furniture back under the part of the house that had roofing. About ten-thirty my uncle Hurley Newcomb arrived, loaded my mother, Aunt, myself, and my two cousins up and took us to his home at Eighth and Oak, but not before we passed by his store (Newcomb & Frost Department Store) and Adams Grocery, where we saw people looting inside, illuminated by the fires in the city. We also went past the Memorial Hospital, where bodies were accumulating on the front yard, and walked among them looking for someone we thought would be there. When we reached the safety of his house, we all went inside. He left to go help with the volunteers. Sometime before dawn my father arrived from Alva, where he had been working as a salesman.

There was another pool hall not mentioned in the story above, called Cattleman's Cafe. My uncle Raymond Kysar, husband to my Aunt whose home we had gone to earlier, spent the tornado under a pool table.

I had a number of school friends who were in the Woodward and Terry Theaters during the tornado, and they told me about walking through the brick-littered streets getting home. For seeks after the tornado we had my Aunt and Uncle and cousins living with us in our home, and two other families living in lour basement.

I knew Gaynor McClaren and Mrs. Boatman mentioned in the story above, and a girl from my class, Betty Cooley, was killed in the tornado.

Of course, most of the schools were damaged or destroyed, and the school year was suspended. When it began again in September we attended schools in church basements and other buildings, until barracks were delivered and set up and later, schools restored or built anew.

Everyone from the school classes of 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956 were especially united as a result of that tornado. I expect that was true of classes earlier than that.

]]> By: Don Rhudy http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-541522 Don Rhudy Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:36:29 +0000 #comment-541522 Category 5 tornadoes may not reach 440 mph but are classified up to that high. I was in that tornado, and I think you are nitpicking. Category 5 tornadoes may not reach 440 mph but are classified up to that high. I was in that tornado, and I think you are nitpicking.

]]> By: Melvin Baker http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-537579 Melvin Baker Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:32:47 +0000 #comment-537579 On the night of the Woodward tornado I was still four months shy of my fifth birthday. However the events of that night will be forever lodged in my memory. I remember my grandmother waking me up and taking me to the front room of our home where she sat with me in her over stuffed chair and told me there was a bad storm outside but not to worry. I remember her either opening or the door blowing open and seeing things blowing through the air and the rain going sideways. When the storm had passed we went out in the back yard and saw our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs Geo. Scott and they were pointing towards the down town area which was lit up with fires. At this time I remember my grandmother becoming quite upset because my mother, Birdalee Baker, and my cousin, Alberta McMullen were working at Gills cafe in the down town area. Mr Scott put us in his car and we headed to the downtown area where he also had a egg business that needed to be checked on. Even though his building was destroyed, his truck with a load of eggs had little damage. I remember Mr. Scott pointing at a telephone pole besides his building that had a piece of straw or small stick in-bedded in it. We could not find my mother or cousin so we returned home where we found them. They had rode out the storm hunkered under the booths in the cafe, my mother always credited Gill Gilland for getting people under cover. We were extremely lucky that our home and all of our family were safe. On the night of the Woodward tornado I was still four months shy of my fifth birthday. However the events of that night will be forever lodged in my memory.
I remember my grandmother waking me up and taking me to the front room of our home where she sat with me in her over stuffed chair and told me there was a bad storm outside but not to worry. I remember her either opening or the door blowing open and seeing things blowing through the air and the rain going sideways. When the storm had passed we went out in the back yard and saw our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs Geo. Scott and they were pointing towards the down town area which was lit up with fires. At this time I remember my grandmother becoming quite upset because my mother, Birdalee Baker, and my cousin, Alberta McMullen were working at Gills cafe in the down town area. Mr Scott put us in his car and we headed to the downtown area where he also had a egg business that needed to be checked on. Even though his building was destroyed, his truck with a load of eggs had little damage. I remember Mr. Scott pointing at a telephone pole besides his building that had a piece of straw or small stick in-bedded in it. We could not find my mother or cousin so we returned home where we found them. They had rode out the storm hunkered under the booths in the cafe, my mother always credited Gill Gilland for getting people under cover. We were extremely lucky that our home and all of our family were safe.

]]> By: Rozann Hunter Taylor http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-536302 Rozann Hunter Taylor Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:58:49 +0000 #comment-536302 Thank you for sending this fascinating account of the tornado, Joe. I was five years old, and remember the night vividly....my sister and I were in the living room of our home. She was reading (I believe a Hardy Boys book) "The Vanishing Floor." Later, to our horror, we looked up, and our roof had vanished!!! We heard the very loud sound of what seemed like a train...then.our Dad (Mom was at church) quickly placed us in a closet. I remember wanting my shoes, crying out for my shoes, then looking up and seeing stars in the sky instead of our ceiling. The tornado had demolished our house, but we felt relief that none of us were hurt. My brother was visiting friends nearby, and he was all right. Although our Mother had been pinned between the pews at Church, not one person in that service was seriously injured. I have had a lingering distaste of strong wind since this devastating event...the Woodward tornado of 1947!. Thank you for sending this fascinating account of the tornado, Joe. I was five years old, and remember the night vividly….my sister and I were in the living room of our home. She was reading (I believe a Hardy Boys book)
"The Vanishing Floor." Later, to our horror, we looked up, and our roof had vanished!!! We heard the very loud sound of what seemed like a train…then.our Dad (Mom was at church) quickly placed us in a closet. I remember wanting my shoes, crying out for my shoes, then looking up and seeing stars in the sky instead of our ceiling. The tornado had demolished our house, but we felt relief that none of us were hurt. My brother was visiting friends nearby, and he was all right. Although our Mother had been pinned between the pews at Church, not one person in that service was seriously injured. I have had a lingering distaste of strong wind since this devastating event…the Woodward tornado of 1947!.

]]> By: Joe T. Irwin http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-536230 Joe T. Irwin Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:49:19 +0000 #comment-536230 There are several things to consider regarding wind speed, damage, etc. True, we don't have a lot of testing, but we do have many observations. GENERALLY, the wheat straw, grass, and phonograph records in telephone poles can be explained by the wind twisting the top of the pole and opening the grain of the wood such that OBJECTS can be trapped and pressed to remain there. However, there are examples of things that just sat harmlessly and untouched throughout the whole thing. I'm sure there are scientific reasons, but i have no idea how to formulate them. There is so much that we know and don't understand and a lot more that we don't know ! There are several things to consider regarding wind speed, damage, etc. True, we don't have a lot of testing, but we do have many observations.
GENERALLY, the wheat straw, grass, and phonograph records in telephone poles can be explained by the wind twisting the top of the pole and opening the grain of the wood such that OBJECTS can be trapped and pressed to remain there. However, there are examples of things that just sat harmlessly and untouched throughout the whole thing. I'm sure there are scientific reasons, but i have no idea how to formulate them. There is so much that we know and don't understand and a lot more that we don't know !

]]> By: Kendall Owens http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-454376 Kendall Owens Sun, 06 Feb 2011 02:50:00 +0000 #comment-454376 The highest wind speed recorded was a doppler "estimate" during the May 1999 Oklahoma City tornado. I am certainly no meteoroligical expert, but I am fascinated by tornadoes. I have been doing research, and most of the pictures I see, particularly of the more devastating tornadoes, show 2x4's through trees, straw in telephone poles, and in the tri-state tornado, a 2x4 driven through a 2x6, and the 2x6 was still standing! It seems to me, that wind speeds are being underestimated by the scientific community. Can you imagine the force it takes to put a phonograph record into a telephone pole? I imagine the only way to truly determine wind damage, is to do testing. What kind of testing? I don't know, perhaps use the jet wash of a jet airplane engine to generate different wind speeds, build a giant wall composed of different materials, such as brick, wood, etc. and drop debris into the jet wash. The amazing thing to me is that very fragile material can be imbedded into very hard material and not be shattered or destroyed.When I was 11 years old a tornado went through a community in Arkansas where I live. Years later I was painting a friends house on a street where that the tornado did damage. My friend told me he wanted to show me something. He took me out back of the house and showed me a huge tree. Toward the bottom of the tree, he pointed to a small piece of nylon string that had been imbedded into that tree. The diameter of that piece of string was about the size of kite string. He told me to grab hold of it and pull it. I pulled on it and it was thoroughly imbedded! The F rating system used today, in my opinion, is really just an educated guess. I will always have my doubts about it until someone can show evidence generated from actual wind speed testing. The highest wind speed recorded was a doppler "estimate" during the May 1999 Oklahoma City tornado. I am certainly no meteoroligical expert, but I am fascinated by tornadoes. I have been doing research, and most of the pictures I see, particularly of the more devastating tornadoes, show 2×4's through trees, straw in telephone poles, and in the tri-state tornado, a 2×4 driven through a 2×6, and the 2×6 was still standing! It seems to me, that wind speeds are being underestimated by the scientific community. Can you imagine the force it takes to put a phonograph record into a telephone pole? I imagine the only way to truly determine wind damage, is to do testing. What kind of testing? I don't know, perhaps use the jet wash of a jet airplane engine to generate different wind speeds, build a giant wall composed of different materials, such as brick, wood, etc. and drop debris into the jet wash. The amazing thing to me is that very fragile material can be imbedded into very hard material and not be shattered or destroyed.When I was 11 years old a tornado went through a community in Arkansas where I live. Years later I was painting a friends house on a street where that the tornado did damage. My friend told me he wanted to show me something. He took me out back of the house and showed me a huge tree. Toward the bottom of the tree, he pointed to a small piece of nylon string that had been imbedded into that tree. The diameter of that piece of string was about the size of kite string. He told me to grab hold of it and pull it. I pulled on it and it was thoroughly imbedded! The F rating system used today, in my opinion, is really just an educated guess. I will always have my doubts about it until someone can show evidence generated from actual wind speed testing.

]]> By: Helen Harris http://www.historynet.com/oklahomas-deadliest-tornado.htm#comment-354283 Helen Harris Sun, 24 Oct 2010 01:16:47 +0000 #comment-354283 I was born in Woodward's hospital in 1945. My great grandmother lived there the last 2 years of her life as it was a senior citizen home, passing away on her 90th birthday. I t was eventually demolished. My mothers family, parents, 2 brothers, 1 sister and her grandparents lived thru the tornado of 1947. I heard their stories , it was hard for any of them to talk about. We were lucky they all survived when so many did not. In such a small town almost everyone knew each other and were greatly affected. I was born in Woodward's hospital in 1945. My great grandmother lived there the last 2 years of her life as it was a senior citizen home, passing away on her 90th birthday. I t was eventually demolished. My mothers family, parents, 2 brothers, 1 sister and her grandparents lived thru the tornado of 1947. I heard their stories , it was hard for any of them to talk about. We were lucky they all survived when so many did not. In such a small town almost everyone knew each other and were greatly affected.

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