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    Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967
    Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967
    Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967
    Ebook179 pages55 minutes

    Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967

    By Kevin Korst

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    About this ebook

    The morning of April 21, 1967, was crisp and clear, marking the arrival of spring. As the day progressed, dark clouds covered the skies over Oak Lawn, and a deadly tornado touched down in the village just before 5:30 p.m. Cutting through the intersection of 95th Street and Southwest Highway and striking elsewhere, the storm left mountains of debris and over 30 people dead in its wake. Oak Lawn Community High School, St. Gerald Catholic Church, and the Fairway Super Mart were among the structures damaged or destroyed by the high winds. After the disaster, rescue workers and volunteers poured into Oak Lawn to search for survivors, while Christ Community Hospital and other institutions treated more than 400 injured people. The immense cleanup, which took weeks to complete, saw debris hauled out or disposed of in controlled fires. Despite the scope of the devastation, many of the affected structures were repaired or rebuilt within 12 months.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJan 6, 2014
    ISBN9781439644461
    Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967
    Author

    Kevin Korst

    Kevin Korst is the local history coordinator for the Oak Lawn Public Library and the author of Images of America: Oak Lawn. He holds a bachelor�s degree in American history from the University of St. Francis and a master�s degree in American history from Eastern Illinois University.

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      Book preview

      Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967 - Kevin Korst

      Unit.

      INTRODUCTION

      In the midst of an unseasonably warm spring, Oak Lawn residents awoke on the morning of April 21, 1967, to beautiful sunny skies. While the weather in Chicagoland remained calm and clear, a massive line of thunderstorms was developing over northeastern Kansas and western Iowa. As the front pushed east, gathering in strength and producing damaging winds, the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) issued a tornado watch at 1:50 p.m. for much of central and northern Illinois. Two hours later, the town of Belvidere, located 65 miles northwest of Chicago, was struck by a deadly twister, while the communities of Fox River Grove, North Barrington, and Lake Zurich were hit by a second F4 tornado at 5:03 p.m. Causing more than 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries, these tornados were among the 17 reported to have touched down throughout Illinois that day. With chaos erupting at distant points across the state and a tornado warning now in full effect, residents were leaving work, running errands, or preparing for the coming weekend, unaware of what would emerge from the powerful storm bearing down on them.

      At 5:15 p.m., 20 miles southwest of Oak Lawn in present-day Romeoville, an off-duty Weather Bureau employee was keeping an eye on the rapidly declining conditions. Looking up to the sky over his home, he noticed a rotating mass of clouds passing almost directly overhead. Minutes later, a Mr. Lace of the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, positioned near Ninety-ninth Street and Willow Springs Road, witnessed the still-rotating cloud move just south of him. As the storm rumbled by, the changing pressure popped his ears, the building in which he stood shook, and cars in the parking lot bounced off the pavement. Running to the phone as large hail began to fall, Lace contacted the Weather Bureau to let them know of the impending danger. His call was the first official indication of a tornado, but the report was never forwarded, as the bureau office lost telephone service shortly after it was received.

      Moving on a northeasterly course, the now-visible funnel gradually lowered until touching down at 5:24 p.m. just east of Eighty-eighth Avenue, near the current site of Moraine Valley Community College. Unleashing blinding rain, golf ball–sized hail, and winds approaching 200 miles per hour, the twister picked up mud and uprooted trees until making contact with its first structures on Eighty-third Avenue. Damaging or destroying a number of houses, it crossed the Tri-State Tollway into Chicago Ridge before colliding with the Starlite Drive-In and moving into the heart of Oak Lawn.

      At Ninety-fifth Street and Southwest Highway, shoppers and diners filled the stores and restaurants while a number of motorists waited at stoplights. Without warning, the tornado crashed through, ripping apart the nearby buildings and tossing cars in every direction. Oak Lawn Community High School, Shoot’s Lynwood Lounge, Fisher’s Motel, the Fairway Super Mart, Sherwood Forest Restaurant, Basil’s Service Station, and the Standard Service Station were among the structures heavily damaged or destroyed in this area alone.

      Continuing northeast, the tornado tore apart the Suburban Transit Company, leaving 19 mangled buses in its wake, and wrecked numerous homes, along with much of St. Gerald. Although the path narrowed considerably at times, its full might was brought down on Cicero Avenue between Ninety-first Street and Southwest Highway, leaving the Airway Trailer Park, the Oak Lawn Roller Rink, the Oak Lawn Dairy Basket, McDonald’s, and other buildings in utter ruin. Traversing the boundaries of Oak Lawn, the twister relentlessly threw itself into the neighboring communities of Hometown and Evergreen Park, leveling dozens of houses and businesses before working its way into Chicago and eventually disappearing over the waters of Lake Michigan.

      Moving on the ground at roughly 60 miles per hour, the tornado traveled 16 miles in approximately 15 minutes, creating a swath of destruction up to 600 feet in width that left at least 33 people dead and nearly 500 injured. In the minutes and hours that followed, countless rescue workers, volunteers, engineers, repairmen, soldiers, and government officials arrived in the village to offer support. With many feverishly digging through the mountains of rubble in search of survivors and victims, stories of heroism, compassion, and determination poured in from every corner of Oak Lawn. Mayor Fred M. Dumke, village clerk Ernie Kolb, director of building and zoning Karl Faitz, fire chief Alan Hulett, police chief Gerhardt Hein, Cook County sheriff Joseph I. Woods, and others worked for days to organize relief efforts and utilize available resources.

      Within a week, much of the debris had been cleared away and regular electric, telephone, and gas service had returned. For the estimated 600 people left without a place to stay, temporary trailers were established near Christ Community Hospital, and low-interest loans were made available to those replacing homes or businesses. Despite the unimaginable scope of the devastation, which totaled more than $20 million, the people of Oak Lawn pulled together and worked toward the common goal of recovery. Over the next 12 months, the afflicted structures were repaired or rebuilt, and on April 21, 1968, a memorial ceremony was held at Oak Lawn Community High School. Marking the tornado’s one-year anniversary, the service honored the men, women, and children who lost their

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