The Ruskin Tornado--50 yrs ago (Greensburg, Green: house, building, event)

[Versatile]

Gone but not forgotten by a long shot. I was almost 5 at the time and with my father at the store in Martin City. As my father held me in his arm's he talked with the people in front of the store. A big black headed Belguim man ran the store and i remember him standing on the loading dock as the storm approached. He stated the storm wasn't going to be much. My father said"Were leaving". The storekeeper was killed in the tornado. Across the road a group of people were playing cards and when it got really bad they abandoned an old man in a wheel chair. The tornado passed thru and tore the house down and left that old man sitting in the wheelchair unharmed with the west wall of the house left standing. On that wall was a picture of Jesus! Just to the west about 300-500 ft was the grain elevator. Afterwards there was a railroad box car sitting on top of it. We lived just to the south ad had no basement. We all got in the car and went south about 1&1/2 miles and we could tell we were out of it's danger.. I don't remember when the storm was it's closest but i do remember we could look to the NE and see it when it hit the Ruskin area. That would be about 5 miles as the crow fly's.
We could see the tornado and it was black and dirty looking and then it looked as if another funnel appeared that was white. The two joined together and then it really got bigger and meaner looking with everything rotating around. We eventually went home and all was OK and then went to Martin City. Looked alot like Greensburg. One building had a lumber yard smashed up against it and i couldn't figure out why they had built a damn there.
Later that night while my brother and i were in my parents bed with no elecrticity with a kerosene lamp we got pretty upset whe mom told us that you couldn't kill it with dynamite or a cannon! We were scared it was going to come back! After all these years it still upsets me to talk about it much.
Here is a good link about it.
www.kansascity.com | 05/13/2007 | After 50 years, Ruskin tornado’s horror still seared into memories (broken link)

[redbird4848]

Thank you for sharing your memories on that occasion.

I also remember seeing a tornado firsthand when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. It is etched in my mind.

We were on Route 66 around TX/NM border area on the way to OK from CA. The tornado was running parallel to the hwy and my Dad pulled off to the side. My mom had him pull off to a house that was in the middle of nowhere. We kids were scared. There was an old lady who lived by herself and she took us in until the storm passed.

[crashcop]

Originally Posted by Versatile

Gone but not forgotten by a long shot. I was almost 5 at the time and with my father at the store in Martin City. As my father held me in his arm's he talked with the people in front of the store. A big black headed Belguim man ran the store and i remember him standing on the loading dock as the storm approached. He stated the storm wasn't going to be much. My father said"Were leaving". The storekeeper was killed in the tornado. Across the road a group of people were playing cards and when it got really bad they abandoned an old man in a wheel chair. The tornado passed thru and tore the house down and left that old man sitting in the wheelchair unharmed with the west wall of the house left standing. On that wall was a picture of Jesus! Just to the west about 300-500 ft was the grain elevator. Afterwards there was a railroad box car sitting on top of it. We lived just to the south ad had no basement. We all got in the car and went south about 1&1/2 miles and we could tell we were out of it's danger.. I don't remember when the storm was it's closest but i do remember we could look to the NE and see it when it hit the Ruskin area. That would be about 5 miles as the crow fly's.
We could see the tornado and it was black and dirty looking and then it looked as if another funnel appeared that was white. The two joined together and then it really got bigger and meaner looking with everything rotating around. We eventually went home and all was OK and then went to Martin City. Looked alot like Greensburg. One building had a lumber yard smashed up against it and i couldn't figure out why they had built a damn there.
Later that night while my brother and i were in my parents bed with no elecrticity with a kerosene lamp we got pretty upset whe mom told us that you couldn't kill it with dynamite or a cannon! We were scared it was going to come back! After all these years it still upsets me to talk about it much.
Here is a good link about it.
www.kansascity.com | 05/13/2007 | After 50 years, Ruskin tornado’s horror still seared into memories (broken link)

I have also seen two tornados up close, and hope to never repeat the experience.

Just curious, why did you not post this under Missouri?

[Versatile]

Because it related to Greensburg so much.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by Versatile

Gone but not forgotten by a long shot. I was almost 5 at the time and with my father at the store in Martin City. As my father held me in his arm's he talked with the people in front of the store. A big black headed Belguim man ran the store and i remember him standing on the loading dock as the storm approached. He stated the storm wasn't going to be much. My father said"Were leaving". The storekeeper was killed in the tornado. Across the road a group of people were playing cards and when it got really bad they abandoned an old man in a wheel chair. The tornado passed thru and tore the house down and left that old man sitting in the wheelchair unharmed with the west wall of the house left standing. On that wall was a picture of Jesus! Just to the west about 300-500 ft was the grain elevator. Afterwards there was a railroad box car sitting on top of it. We lived just to the south ad had no basement. We all got in the car and went south about 1&1/2 miles and we could tell we were out of it's danger.. I don't remember when the storm was it's closest but i do remember we could look to the NE and see it when it hit the Ruskin area. That would be about 5 miles as the crow fly's.
We could see the tornado and it was black and dirty looking and then it looked as if another funnel appeared that was white. The two joined together and then it really got bigger and meaner looking with everything rotating around. We eventually went home and all was OK and then went to Martin City. Looked alot like Greensburg. One building had a lumber yard smashed up against it and i couldn't figure out why they had built a damn there.
Later that night while my brother and i were in my parents bed with no elecrticity with a kerosene lamp we got pretty upset whe mom told us that you couldn't kill it with dynamite or a cannon! We were scared it was going to come back! After all these years it still upsets me to talk about it much.
Here is a good link about it.
www.kansascity.com | 05/13/2007 | After 50 years, Ruskin tornado’s horror still seared into memories (broken link)

How absolutely terrifying. It is said not to try to outrun a tornado in a vehicle but in this case, several people were able to do so. I read the articles in the paper via your link. I am so afraid of those storms and luckily as yet, I've never been in one during the past 28 years I've lived in Texas.

The story about the man in the wheel chair gave me chills. It's hard to believe that the others actually left him there, but thank God (literally), he was spared the storm's wrath.