The 1951 Tornado
Afterwards, it seemed like our Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood had been bombed. Walking through the streets the day after, one could see fallen trees everywhere, and even into the bedrooms of homes where roofs and walls had been split open.
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Here are some pictures of the aftermath, taken in front of the family home at 5025 Vincent Ave. South:
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Our house is on the far right, with the uprooted tree resting on the roof.
Dad, in Tarzan mode.
As we children cowered in fear in a basement room as the roaring winds could be heard above us, Mom told us we were experiencing a tornado, and it could blow the house away.
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Not reassuring. But here she is, a survivor, along with Baby Rick.
Uncle Harlan, Aunt Vivian and cousins Nancy and Barbie (now Fawn) picked a lousy time to come visiting from Michigan. They drove through the storm from the airport and could probably have been killed by a falling tree right in front of our house if, as Harlan stopped the car, the wind was so strong it pushed the car back a few feet, just enough before a huge tree fell on the spot where the car had just been.
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Vivian's dress was so soaked that she took it off down in the basement laundry area so Mom could put it through a clothes ringer (no dryers then as we have today). Seared into my memory is Vivian standing there in bra and girdle, waiting to get her wet dress back. That was quite a risqué sight to see for a little boy back then.
Grandparents Nana and Babu came to survey the damage.
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Photo taken in the back yard, facing the neighbor's house.
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Sisters Sue and Sylvia are in the front, with Paul and Larry behind them. Nancy is on the far left, and Barbie on the right with Dad's hands on her.
Looking south down Vincent Ave.
