50 Years ago Today...

.....tornadoes. Above is the now famous picture taken by Paul Huffman, Elkhart Truth Photographer, driving on highway 33 between Goshen and Elkhart, Indiana.

The double funnels had just gone through the Midway Trailer Park (called "Midway" due to its location between Goshen and Ekhart). As terrifying as this image is, there was more to come.

A huge tornado tore through the Sunnyside housing addition (approximately in back of the right funnel, but further down the highway). A school friend, Debbbie Forsythe Watters, recalls that horrible evening. All the pages of the article are short; it is well worth the read.

Debbie has been instrumental in setting up a memorial to that day, and to the people who died.

Palm Sunday, 1965, saw many more tornadoes than the three I've mentioned; you can read about their paths, here.

But for the "I was there" perspective,  personal recollections are always best. These are short and to the point. All the more hard-hitting in their stark brevity.

There weren't cell phones to capture on-the-scene video, but a few photos were taken.

We lived a mile or so from Sunnyside addition. Church had been cancelled and we were home, listening to weather reports (such as they were) and the occasional TV spot. One of my older brothers had posted himself on the upstairs landing, looking out the west window. Suddenly he called, "Hey....there's a little tornado!"

We went tearing up the steps and gazed in wonder at a skinny, little, twisty thing, harmlessly passing by over the trees. Pretty clear it was incapable of doing damage.

Wow. We had seen a real tornado! This was a huge deal and were we ever thrilled. I think most of us went downstairs again.

In a little while, there was another call from upstairs and back we charged to the landing.

Instead of another snaky smudge in the air near our house, we saw a huge, dark column, directly west, perhaps a mile or two away. There was no "funnel" shape. It looked like an upended rectangle, attached to the earth and the clouds.

I recall simply staring at in in shock, and then my father said, "I believe we'd better get to the basement."

At least we had a basement. Not everyone did.

It was absolutely terrifying. But we suffered no real damage. Certainly no loss of life. And I know I've written and talked about this before, but it was the kind of experience that will always remain frighteningly fixed on my personal timeline.

That's why I'm thinking of my friends in the Elkhart/Dunlap area today.

God bless you, Debbie! And all the others, as well.

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