It is hard to remember when in life I became aware of certain aspects of the world around me. I am not sure what I knew about tornados early in life but I know exactly the day I learned about their destructive force and that it was a force that was to be respected and even feared.
That day was exactly 50 years ago yesterday, Wednesday, April 3, 1974.
YouTube Video
It was dark in the afternoon at our house in Waynesville, Ohio. It was frightening. However. it was much worse in several states and perhaps worst of all less than 15 miles away from us as a storm cell with an F5 tornado decimated Xenia, Ohio.
The tornado was part of the largest supercell known at that time and the most destructive single day of tornado outbreaks for several years after that. It was a horrific day.
When the storm was gone from Xenia 32 residents were killed, over 1000 were injured and hundreds of houses were completely destroyed. Schools were hit directly and the downtown area was devastated. The tributes I have read and watched this week about those who died have touched me deeply. May God bless their families.
If I had not realized the power of the weather by age seven, I knew it that day and the days following. 15 miles is close enough to shake people up and I remember the emotional impact.
Kids at school had family there or they went to church or shopped or ate in Xenia. The teachers talked about the storm and all of that brought the possibility of trouble much closer than it seemed before.
Of course, there was no internet and the pictures and news spread much slower then but the Xenia tornado was the main topic of conversation for days and weeks.
Near the 25th anniversary of the Xenia tornado, we visited a temporary museum display with hundreds of pictures, videos, newspaper articles and archived news broadcasts. It was moving and nearly overwhelming. One of the most moving parts of the museum was the personal accounts of survivors.
I have always been glad that we took the time to visit that display at the 25 year mark. I had never seen or heard much of what we saw and heard that day in 1999.
I was kind of taken back Tuesday when I realized that Wednesday was the 50th anniversary of the Xenia tornado. Yes, it does seem like a very long time since I was seven but the last 25 years have passed in a moment or two.
Several states, dozens of towns and cities and thousands of people were directly affected by the storms that day, but the knowledge that emerged from the intensive research that followed the tornados has saved many thousands of lives since that day. It really is an amazing story.
Maybe there really is a silver lining in the dark clouds of life.
Thank you for reading today.
Davy
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