I was in one of the worst tornado’s in my state’s history and I have never gotten over it. Fridley, MN. I tried really hard when my boys were small, not to show how scared I was as I didn’t want them to suffer the absolute fear I had. I respect them and know first hand what they can do. It was 43 years ago today and I was 7 years old.
There were 7 that night. I won’t ever, for the rest of my life, forget that day. My dad had taken a bunch of us kids to the Dairy Queen and we were sitting and eating our ice cream on one of the neighbors swing sets. My dad came running to get us and I remember thinking how funny the sky looked. It was a really weird light green and it was suddenly very still. He took us home and we went downstairs. After the first one went through my dad knew he would have to leave. He was a volunteer fireman and he saw us safely to our neighbors and then went to help people who were trapped and worse, dead. One lady right on my street died. She was the grandmother of one of my friends. 13 people died in them totally. My parents and the neighbors tried putting on a brave front but I don’t know who they thought they were kidding, they were scared. Maybe having to be in front of kids helped them stay calm.
I can remember after the last one hit. It got eerily quiet. The air was different too. We went upstairs and it was the strangest thing. Our neighbors curtains were just kind of waving in the little breeze that was left but they were on the outside of the house. There was no glass in any of their windows. Half my block was gone. Can you imagine, there were no houses there anymore. I remember everyone just meeting in the middle of the street and the grown men were crying.
Our house only had minor damage. I also remember the National Guard was there and it was very unnerving having them drive up and down our street in those jeeps. We had to show ID to even get around. My school was also blown down so I remember having to finish the year at the high school. Take a look a few of these photo’s.
I’ve seen the movie Twister and I heard snickers that it was fakey. That nothing could fly through the air like that and not be hurt but that’s true. Our neighbors were finding things that belonged to other people for months afterward that wasn’t hurt in the least. Picnic tables, toys, lawn chairs….all kinds of things.
I know a lot about tornado’s because I’m so afraid and because I respect the damage they can do.
So, please take care and watch the sky when storms are coming. I still get scared. Really scared and I hate it when my husband and son’s go outside to “watch” them move in. I can’t seem to help it.
Stay safe.
Wow, that is scary. Here in northern Ohio, we get tornadoes sometimes, but in my lifetime we haven’t gotten one that bad. If you opened your door and the other side of the street was gone, I could see how that moment would be permanently etched in your mind.
The weird thing about tornadoes is that you just never know until it’s too late. You don’t know they’re coming, where they’re going to hit, what kind of damage they’re going to do. Maybe this is God’s way of keeping us Midwesterners humble and on our toes. And praying.
SKL, yes, it really did scare me and it defiantly taught me to stay on my toes when the weather turns this way.
I think one of my clearest memory’s are of the adults. They just didn’t know what to do or what to say. The men hand their hand in their pockets and were looking down. Men crying, not sobbing like women do but quiet crying. My dad was “funny” for years after this. He saw death and so many tragedy’s. It’s funny how kids look to adults to see how they’re acting and then react to that.
That tornado seemed to move direction when it got to our house so I lived with the fear that “it would come back and finish us off.” I lived with that as a child and have always been afraid of that. I don’t live now directly in a tornado path like that area is because they fuel up on water and if you know MN, they refuel over Lake Minnetonka and the next stop is the Mississippi River and Fridley is right on that.
They know a lot more now but now they scare the bejesus out of you and then it will move a little north or a little south and I’m nervous all day. The funny thing is I can tell. I can tell by the temp and the air and the humidity. I just get a feeling.
Oh, I can not believe those pictures!!! You have told us so many times about the tornadoes that day, but those pictures make it easier to understand why you are so scared. I’m with you though. I am scared of them too, but I don’t hide my feelings as well as you do! Sometimes my kids think I’m nuts! Thanks for sharing such a personal experience.
That brought me to tears. I hope I never have to go through that. Like Sue said we heard the stories but those pictures say it all!! I grew up in California so tornados were new to me.. But from the beginning I never underestimated their power. I’m already ready. Pillows and blankets are in the basement under the desk waiting for us. It drives me nuts when my husband and brother go outside looking for them. And of course my son wants to be right there with them. ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I’m sorry you went though that and still have such horrible memories. I can’t imagine.
We live in MN, this happens every where, I wish it didnt happen at all. All you can do it be prepared and be aware of what is going on with the weather. I can remember when we had the sirens going off, about a week or so ago, and my children came running across the stickers, yelling mommy, mommy we need to go to shelter, there is a tornado coming, I guess i taught them well, as children are busy playing they do not think anything of it, well my children do, i taught them to be aware of the sirens and to come in. So be alert, and and knowledge yourself on the situation.
I live up almost to Canada and am in MN also and my parents still talk about those tornado’s and they are usually on the news on this anniversary. Sorry you had to go though that but it might have made you stronger. We don’t have them this far north very often and if we do, they don’t get the fuel to be that strong because like you said, they need water to get stronger. Thankfully you and your family were safe. To bad you had to be so afraid though as a child.
I live on the Texas coast.. I’ve been through several tornadoes in my life and sat through a few hurricanes too. I have seen destruction and devastation but not to that degree. It can be very traumatic.. After sitting through hurricane rita and seeing the destruction where I lived afterwards I take it very seriously. Atleast a hurricane you can outrun and get to safety. You don’t have that luxury with tornadoes. Tornadoes scare me. I’ve had several hit very close to me but not cause “me” any harm. They scare me because if one hits here there is no safe place to go. A few years ago one hit my back yard and everyone but me slept through it. It cut a clear path through my back yard which at that time was nothing but trees. My husband thinks i’m overly paranoid about the weather.. I don’t think I am.
I agree with you there is no such thing of being over paranoid, I am the same way. They are really scary.
How scary! Living in Minnesota I can imagine what that eery sky felt and looked like. Some of the storms here are amazing. I love a good thunderstorm but nothing beyond that.
Are you still living in Minnesota?
I’m so glad you were safe and can share this story with us.
Yes Christine, I still live in good old MN. Not in tornado alley anymore though. We raised our boys in Minnetonka and now live a little west of St. Cloud.
Just found this blog, and it brings back many memories. I too lived through both tornadoes. I lived right across the street from Hayes School. I was 4-1/2 years old at the time, but the memories I have are so vivid that the events could have happened yesterday. I remember that Johnny Quest was on TV and was wondering if the one-eyed creature threatening Johnny was causing all the problems ( I was 4-1/2). My dad was at work at Control Data. My mom kept pacing around looking out the windows and switching from watching the TV to listening to the radio. She got me and my two younger sisters into the basement just a few minutes before the first one hit. All the lights had been turned on downstairs, but as soon as the lights went out, it was the blackest black I’ve ever experienced. We had small windows at the top of the basement walls, and I could see many strange colors outside. The noise outside got very loud and our house literally shook, as in an earthquake. I remember sitting at the bottom of the steps after the first tornado waiting for my mom to check things out, and things were not good. We talked to our neighbor who had come over to check on us. I remember seeing piles of debris on Mississippi Street and cars maneuvering around them. All our windows were broken. My mom cleared out all the glass from her bed so we could lay down and sleep. I fell asleep and woke up when my mom was laying down on top of us trying to cover us with blankets and pillows. This occurred when the second tornado hit. We rode out the second storm in her bedroom. I remember it being very loud and noisy. Some time later my dad came home from work. He was forced to park his car at Spring Lake Park HS and walk home because the National Guard wasn’t letting anyone into the damage area. I remember leaving the house the next day in brilliant sunshine, and with a National Guardsman in the middle of Mississippi Street every half-block or so. The neighbor’s house didn’t have a roof. Our house had to be completely torn down and rebuilt because it had been lifted off its foundation and twisted. Here we are, some forty-odd years later, and it’s still one of the most significant memories of my life.
LMW, what a small world. I went to Hayes. Your the same age as my brother. My memories are more clear than his but we didn’t have the same kind of damage you did. We were on Pandora Drive. Did you stay in Fridley after this? My brother still lives pretty close to Mississippi and Central.