Tornadoes and Other Storms

April 11, 1965

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the Palm Sunday tornadoes of April 11, 1965 in northern Indiana. I was 14. We got out of school on one or more days that week and were turned loose to help pick up storm debris. It was sad and remains a difficult memory. The tornado hopped over our farm and hit our neighbor’s barn, which my Dad never forgot his good fortune (to be missed).

The youth from church had gathered at our house that Sunday evening before the tornado fell. I remember that well, too. The youth group leaders and my Dad stayed outside to maybe help detect what paths the ornery wind was making, while they sent us younger people down to our meager basement. We gathered in a room where mom stored stuff like glass jars of peaches, apricots, applesauce, tomatoes, green beans and some meats. We were more excited than scared, I think. Especially with the grown leaders hanging around outside. In fact, a newspaper report later said that many people missed the tornado warnings because they were standing outside, waiting and wondering, I guess.

My other memory regarding that tornado was the fact that school was out on Monday, and Mom took us to town to buy some suitable clothes (jeans, maybe) … to help us with the clean up that was set other days that week. Mind you, in those days girls wore dresses or skirts to school—no pants, shorts, jeans or any outfits of that ilk. On our farm, we were allowed to wear jeans. So wearing jeans to school was like a “school day out” that turned the sadness into camaraderie and worries into flirtations with possible boyfriends or girl friends.

We lived not far from Elkhart, Indiana and I found this picture near some of our relatives in Dunlap, Indiana who were doubly scared and worried that day. Years earlier, their home had been struck and pretty much destroyed, and they started over. But it was something our larger family always remembered, and felt sorry for the Breniser family (correct spelling).

The double funnel shown in the picture below, was nabbed by a man named Paul Huffman working for The Elkhart Truth. President Lyndon Johnson even visited Dunlap to personally see the destruction of that storm. Just a year and a half earlier, our nation had gone through the trauma and drama of experiencing the shooting death of a president, John F. Kennedy, never to be forgotten.

I don’t think I’d ever want to see one of those single funnels, let alone a double or bigger storm coming our way. We lived through a bad storm that was named a Derecho in 2012, and after about three 3 days of no electricity (and melting ice in the freezer), we finally were able to borrow a friend’s generator to get our electricity back on the very day we had hoped to leave on a vacation.

Be safe and well, my friends. And when we have the opportunity, help with clean ups or donations to those who have not been as fortunate. Blessings and prayers.