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    Tornado: A Funnel of Fury
    Tornado: A Funnel of Fury
    Tornado: A Funnel of Fury
    Ebook137 pages1 hour

    Tornado: A Funnel of Fury

    By Irene F Bakker

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    About this ebook

    Tornado - A Funnel of Fury contains the entire first version of Irene F Bakker's first book, plus a whole new section containing more first hand accounts and updated photos. This book is a documentary of the 1968 F5 tornado that hit Tracy Minnesota on June 13, 1968. Nine people lost their lives in the storm, including a baby who was sucked out of her mother's arms, and many others were injured. The tornado ripped a path through the heart of town. This tornado was well documented and a photo of this storm remains today as one of the most seen tornado photos of all time.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateDec 15, 2011
    ISBN9781468507379
    Tornado: A Funnel of Fury
    Author

    Irene F Bakker

    Irene F Bakker has written and published five previous books, thousands of poems, and several songs. She wrote her first book about the 1968 Tracy Tornado that ravaged her home town and killed nine people. She writes this updated version of that first book with an added section with additional first hand accounts of the tornado and updated photos.

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      Book preview

      Tornado - Irene F Bakker

      Contents

      Dedication

      Preface

      Some Area Headlines

      A Little Of History

      And The Clocks Stopped

      Some Eyewitness Accounts

      Charlie & Ada Lone

      Neighbors

      Hotel Windows Broken

      Home Gone

      Cousins Give Accounts

      Prayed For Safety

      Notes Straight From the Hospital

      Took Home With Man In It

      Lost Mother, Home and Business

      The Holden Family

      The Tracy Tornado As I Remember It

      A Child is Dead

      The Pool Family

      The Alexander family

      Florence Smith

      Sadie Van Dusen

      We Have To Get Through

      And There Were Freakish Sights

      A Glimpse Of The Past

      Facts About The Tracy Tornado

      Hospital Spared

      Roll Of The Dead

      In Memoriam

      Other Tornado Disasters

      Some Interesting Facts About Tornadoes

      Characteristics Of Tornado Weather And Explanations

      The Tornado Of 1924

      In Case Of A Tornado

      Tracy Will Live Again!

      Epilogue

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to the many people who suffered loss of health, homes, and loved ones in the Tornado at Tracy, Minnesota, on the evening of June 13, 1968.

      To Dr. Lee and others of the medical profession who worked endlessly to save lives and to ease suffering.

      To those who came from near and far to aid in time of disaster.

      With united hands and hearts it can well be said, He hath loved his neighbor as himself.

      Image_3.jpg

      Preface

      A very violent and destructive windstorm hits suddenly and often with little, if any, warning. The funnel shaped cloud in this case was white, for it had swallowed up huge quantities of water from Lake Sarah.

      Thunder and lightning, rain and hail often accompany the rotary windstorm. Then roars the great sky like a million freight cars above. And then it hits, and whirls, and takes with it in a matter of moments, homes and cars, trucks and trains, and trees that have clung by their roots for hundreds of years previous.

      Worst of all, by far, the tragedy of human life lost, nine of them this time, and countless others wounded.

      It took years to work and build and gather together the material possessions that are now forever gone, claimed by the unwelcome funnel.

      Thus it was on that dark summer evening at Tracy, my hometown. Should you sense any sentiment ahead, then consider if you will, what you would feel if this were your hometown. For here I was born in a building damaged by this storm, and here I went to school in one completely destroyed by it. These people who suffered and some of them who died, I knew quite well.

      It has been said that one must go through a war to really understand war. I believe a similar statement could be said about a tornado.

      It is my desire to leave the pages of stories and photos in this book that it will not be forgotten what can happen anywhere, to anyone, at any time; with my sincere hope that all will be prepared for it, and my deepest prayer that it will not happen again to anyone.

      The author

      Driving down Highway 14

      West from the Twin Cities about the

      Distance of 150 miles, you come upon the quiet and still

      Beautiful city of Tracy. Here it was, unheard of most

      Likely to most people around the United States, until

      That night of June 13, 1968. The next day, however,

      The news flashed on radio and television stations

      Through the states and even overseas, of the

      sudden disaster that came and destroyed and

      killed and left homeless. People came and saw

      and helped, and helped more, until a town

      that looked hopeless and helpless

      turned into a town of many new homes

      and buildings; where love and hard work

      became mingled together to build again

      a place where people took up life again

      and lived neighbors again, trying to for-

      get the horror of that dreadful night. You

      will still find many here to jump when the fire

      whistle blows; who watch the sky for any sign of a

      storm. The imprint of this tornado on each individual is

      different–but none here will ever forget that night.

      Welcome to Tracy

      World’s Only Box Car Days

      Since 1927, Tracy has celebrated on each Labor Day. A colorful mile long parade starts at 1:00 sharp and is led by one of the town’s most prominent citizens, Dr. Warner Workman, M.D. who until the past couple of years, rode horseback.

      Beautiful floats and bands from nearby towns, as well as horse-back riders draw thousands of visitors each year. There are rides on the midway for the young, and the young at heart, as well. Food and carnival stands line the streets and old friends meet once more to reminisce. A big show with a well-known actor or musician may be the main attraction. The climax of it all is the crowning of Miss Tracy, Boxcar Day Queen, in all her beauty.

      Less than three months after the great tornado came to town, Tracy showed itself still capable of its yearly celebration. In fact, it was a bigger and better day than ever before!

      Yes, indeed, life must go on!

      Image_4.jpg

      Some Area Headlines

      Image_5.jpg

      A Little Of History

      Image_6.jpg

      Tracy is located in the southern part of Lyon County. It is in Monroe Township. It has a population of 2500. It was founded by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company in the year 1875. They called it Shetek Station first, but later named it Tracy after a director of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company.

      The railroad town had a population of 1210 in 1885. It consisted of a warehouse, hotel, store, hardware store and a millinery shoppe at that time. By 1890 it had grown to 1400.

      Much of the best farmland in the United States lay around the Tracy area. Many of the farmers in this part of the state lost their entire crops in 1873 when the grass-hoppers invaded the area.

      Today Tracy still grows, regardless of the setbacks

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