47 Miles

This is not a story (although I was here in '79), but a request to know where I can buy a couple of the t-shirts you had at Hotter-n-Hell.

Thanks in advance!

Sally Kern

I was only 7 at the time, but I remember that day. It hit about 6:00, p.m. and I was with my twin brother Michael, and my mom, and my dad was at work. My mom had us pray, I think, then we had to walk to a neighbors house to get into a storm shelter, and we walked in water that was up to our knees. It was dark outside, and my mom was upset because my dad was trying to get to us. We got to the shelter, and a lot of other people were in it as well, and the seller was dark and had water in it. Everyone was waiting for the storm to be over. My dad got there safely, and shortly after the tornado passed.

Sally,

Thank you so much in your interest in our project. We appreciate you. If you would like to order a T-shirt you can call me at (940) 631-7599. I would be glad to get you what you need.

Thanks

Cheri West
LWF Class of 2009

Thirty years ago one of the largest tornadoes in recent history ripped through Wichita Falls, Texas destroying thousands of people's homes and killing 42. Our home was destroyed while my parents,grandmother, dog, brother and myself huddled in a closet. The chimney fell into our living room. If it had fallen just inches in a different direction we would have all been crushed. None of us even had a scratch.

It seems that every year I live I am increasingly aware that it was surely the Hand of God that protected us. Just before the tornado hit, my mom handed a Bible to my brother and told him to read Psalm 91. Many people talk about the noise of that enormous storm, but honestly, the only thing I ever remember hearing was the sound of my mother's prayers. I hadn't thought about it until this year, but ironically, the tornado hit during Passover.

I look to that event as those in the Old Testament looked at the altars they built to commerate the Great things God had done for them so that future generations would know of the faithfulness of God. So I write about this event and post the photos not to re-live a tragedy, but to show that God was faithful to His Word. Everyone was hurt that day; some more than others. I mourn with those who lost more than just their homes. Sometimes there is a bit of survivors guilt that makes it hard, but I must give God the glory for what He did that day for my family.

Sometimes the healing takes a long time. The sting may never go away completely, but our God is a God of redemption and in the end, He makes all things beautiful. For my family, the redemption came two years ago with the birth of my brothers son Ethan on April 10, 2007. God has given us something to rejoice over on a day that is referred to as Terrible Tuesday to all who knew of it. Thank you Jesus, Our Redeemer for keeping us alive to see your redemption in the next generation.

I was only 11 years old when this terrible tornado rip though Wichita Falls. I will never forget the story my oldest brother told my family and I about the devastation this tornado left in its path. I think the community and all of us need this to remember those who lost their lives. Thank you so much

My family home was destroyed with my mother hiding in the linen closet which was the only thing left standing. She had been talking on the phone with my father who was across town at one of his businesses, she told him she could hear it coming and ran from the phone to get in the closet and he heard it hit the house before the phone went dead. I lived on one side of the path and my brother lived on the other side with my parents home in between. We both had minimal damage to our homes but my car was destroyed. I will never forget listening to helicopters at night flying overhead shining their search lights thru my neighborhood and trying to console my two small children along with my parents and not have any utilities for 3 days. My mother still has problems anytime there is a storm; too many memories of that day.

We were on the base at the time. I was 13. My older brother and I always got the underside of our younger sister's bed whenever the sirens went off. Boy, was it filthy under there! We had to shove the dust bunnies out of the way to make room for us.

My sister always got under the mattress which our parents had pulled off their bed in the master bedroom. I always wondered why she never had to wallow in her own dust bunnies.

For about 20 years after Terrible Tuesday, tornadoes were the most common subject of my dreams. I feel like I've really been in tornado strikes several times thanks to that! Many times I would wake up, heart racing, after almost being pulled out of windows or from under overpasses! All I ever had to do was look at a nearby tornado in these dreams to have it approach me. Many times it seemed like I'd hear about a tornado somewhere in the news the day after such a dream, but I always considered it a coincidence.

I don't have those dreams anymore. I guess the synaptic connections finally faded. I'm glad of that, frankly.

That was a scary night!

We were about to leave to go to Sikes Center Mall to see a movie. When we stepped outside to get into our vehicle, three vortex's came out of the sky. We watched in awe as they combined into one large tornado. It was as if the sky had fallen to the ground. We quickly ran inside and hid in the master bedroom closet with a mattress over our heads as the storm came through, and yes it's like a freight train barreling through your house. The ground and house shook and shuttererd and the noise was extreme. Our home received aftermath of the disaster, and two blocks away everything was flattened and destroyed. We could not find our way around as there were no landmarks to show locations for anything - as we tried to find our friends. We lived on Meadowbrook. Just off of University - Callfield area. We barely got missed however, lots of debris all over the place. I lost two friends that I attended high school with at the time. Renee' Graves and Terri Mahon. We had no outside contact for two weeks as there was no electricity or water or phone. We had to use the water from our water heater to make it through. Many were caught off guard with this storm, and were not prepared. When I went back to school, we did so in trailers, as our school had sustained damage at SH Rider High School. This storm changed many lives and many aspects of people's lives. I will never forget that had we left 5 minutes earlier to go to the movies, we may not have made it ~ as Sikes Center Mall got hit by this tornado.

I was only four when this horrible event occurred. I was at daycare with my younger brother and sister. I remember praying to God under a mattress in a central location in the daycare by a toilet or something. I just wanted Mom and Dad to be okay. I also remember how loud the sound was when the storm went by. Well, thankfully, my parents, my grandmother, and other immediate family members were not hurt, nor was our property. Here is the ironic part of the story... I had a pet snapping turtle named TORNADO. When we came home to the apartment we lived in at the time, there was Tornado, completely crushed and dead. I think it was the pressure of the storm, but no one knows. That is what you remember when you are four I guess. I have heard so many crazy stories over the years and I am just very grateful that our family was alright and we are here to talk about it.

I was 5 when this happened and I remember every minute leading up to the tornado hitting like it was yesterday. Funny that I have such vivid memories at that age, but I remember it better than I remember most of my childhood. My mother always had an uncanny ability to sense things that were going to happen and this was one of those days. We had been out running errands when she said that we needed to go to the grocery story to grab a couple of things, but we needed to hurry. Why we needed to hurry she didn't say, but her tone made me realize that she was not kidding around and that I needed to do exactly as she said. So we did just that and then we went home where she started making dinner because we needed to eat quick. My dad had just gotten home and was in the backyard talking to the neighbor while mom and I made pizza and cherry koolaid. We had on the little black and white TV in the kitchen when my mom told me to go tell my dad to come inside. I went out and told him, but he said he'd be in in a minute. When I didn't come right back in my mom came out and told my dad that we needed to get inside now. My dad kind of laughed it off, so my mom and I went inside without him. She called out to my dad again and told him it was coming...she could hear it. Now what exactly she heard I'm not sure because no one else seemed to hear anything. That's when the TV went off and so did the sirens. My dad came running in saying that we needed to get the windows open (that's what we did back then). Then mom and I got in the hall closet that was barely big enough for the two of us and my dad grabbed the matress off my bed...I will never forget seeing my dad running down the hall with my matress over his head. He jumped in on top of us and pulled the matress over us just as it hit. We were lucky though, we were just side swiped. As soon as it went over, my dad ran to the front picture window and exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's over a half mile wide". I will never forget the sound as it went over the house. Like I said though, we were lucky as we had little damage. We lived about two or three blocks from Sikes Center so it is surprising that we had as little damage as we did. Some of our friends and family lost their homes, but we were lucky that no one was hurt. I am still terrified of storms to this day and my husband doesn't really understand what I mean when I say you can feel, hear and smell a tornado in the air, but I bet many of the people who read this will know what I mean. I am glad that he has never experienced it and I hope that my daughter never has to either.

I was 7 at the time and I remember it like it was yesterday. Mom had a Tupperware party planned later that evening so had a cake in the oven. My father had me look up to the sky and watch the clouds and front coming in with no idea what was to come less than an hour later. Hearing that a tornado was on the ground we stupidly got in the car to outrun in. As we drove down Southwest Parkway my father saw it in the rearview mirror, he pulled over immediately. We jumped in the ditch on Southwest Parkway on the corner of Rhea Rd. at the little convenience store. We hid under the culvert with 10-12 other people. My father was on the end with his arms around my mom, sister and little brother. We were huddled so tight together afraid to move as it was passing over us. My father was being beat on his back, shoulders and arms from flying debris. A car landed in the ditch beside us, then an entire roof from a home. For a 7 year old it was a lot to take in. The sound was indescribable, to say it sounded like a freight train doesnt do it justice. When it was over it was eerie, very still, very quiet. We came out of the ditch to find our car was totaled from all the flying debris. A 6 foot long 2X4 was thru the front windshield. It would have killed my father if we would have stayed in the car. We are very lucky to have survived. After walking around in the light rain for a few minutes,a man in a van stopped and let my family and I in, he took us home. Home to a house that was still standing, with no damage. My father finally got to the hospital and got stitches for his wounds. We walked around in a state of shock for several days. Several years later National Geographic magazine did an article on the Tornado of 1979. My father opened a storm cellar business after the tornado so they interviewed my family and took our picture. The memory of that day is still so vivid in my mind.

I was 5 days shy of being 8 when the tornado hit. My mom's birthday is April 10th so we were getting ready to go out to eat. I remember when the sirens went off and my dad looked out the back window and I remember seeing black sky. It was me, my mom and dad, and my brother along with a hamster and our dog. We got in my dad's old yellow pickup and the neighbors too. A lady and her daughter. We out ran the tornado down jacksboro highway. My dad had the gas pushed all the way down and we could still feel the wind pulling us back. We made it out to the old racetrack luckily. I remember seeing the tornado and I will never ever forget what it looked like. Their were alot of cars out there. My dad wouldn't let me get out of truck so I sat in the seat. After it was over, we got back in the truck and headed down Jacksboro Highway and we had to stop and walk to our house. I remember my brother crying but I was so young guess I didn't understand it. We did not rebuild and moved to the west side of town. Every year I think about that tornado and can still feel sad about it. God was watching over us that day and I am so thankful! I will never ever run from a tornado again, that is how so many people lost their lives that day. We were very lucky!

My former husband and I were on the way to Sikes Senter for me to go to my last cake decorating class. We were at the corner of Midwestern Parkway and Maplewood Drive when the hail started and the sky became an ugly green. We drove south on Maplewood, only making it to the new church just past Sikes Senter. We realized we were driving right into the tornado (even though it didn't like "those" tornadoes you see on TV or in pictures), so we got out of the car, laid down on the ground, and held on to one of the six small trees in front of the church. What seemed like eternity, and even going through the eye (we believe) because it became still and then started back up, we found ourselves sitting on the curb with our legs hanging out onto Maplewood Drive. A gentleman, who happened to have painting supplies (drop clothes, blankets, etc.) in the back of his car, pulled up just moments after the tornado ended and realized we were leaning against each other but were still alive. He had passed us, but then in his rearview mirror, saw my hand go up. He rushed us to the hospital; we were two of the first individuals to arrive.

My parents, who lived in Henrietta, did not find me until the afternoon of April 11th. I cannot imagine what they went through during those almost 24 hours. My dad had driven to Wichita Falls and had visited the make-shift morgue, both hospitals, my house out near Wichita Lake...finally at the hospital, he found that there was "Mona Rake" on the list but the personnel would not let him in to verify it was me until he had a doctor with him. He drove back to Henrietta, picked up a doctor from Henrietta, then drove back to Wichita Falls and was allowed in to see if "Mona Rake" was me, Mona Brake. It was.

After nearly losing me to infection that had been caused by all of the debris that had pelted my body, and also losing my right leg below the knee, it was decided I needed to be transferred to Medical City Dallas. I was flown by leer jet, with my dad, to Dallas where I began an almost 6 month stay at MCD. Little did I know that they would almost lose me during at least two of the almost 40 surgeries I had. In mid-May, it was decided that they needed to amputate my left leg above the knee or the infection would kill me.

Along with the surgeries I was involved in physical therapy that was absolutely grueling beginning sometime in June. With the help of the wonderful doctors, nurses, physical therapists, my family and so many great friends, I was able to walk once again (with the help of the physical therapists and a walker) sometime in August, I believe. My mom and dad finally were able to leave the Dallas area (once I became stronger and seemed to be out of danger) to go back to Henrietta to resume their job responsibilities. They then began driving to Dallas every Wednesday night and every weekend to be with me, help me, encourage me, and love me. My sister and her family, along with my brother, lived in the Dallas area so my parents stayed with one of them each time they came.

Finally on October 19, 2009, I was released from the hospital and went to live with an aunt, uncle and cousin in nearby Plano. My aunt took me to physical therapy at MCD 2-3 times per week until mid November when I returned home to Henrietta and went back to my job in Wichita Falls.

After a tough divorce in 1980, I met and married a man who appreciates me for who I am on the inside. We were married in December 1981; he’s been there through thick and thin for me during the last almost 28 years. In November 1985, we had twin girls. The twins were just one more blessing; God did not want me to have to go through two pregnancies due to the complications that could occur with me. When one of my treating doctors confirmed that I was pregnant, he said “I didn’t know if I would ever be able to tell you this…but you are pregnant!” What a blessing indeed!

Wichita Falls, thank you for being the city that faith built! You are strong and I will continue to pray that you strengthen and grow in the years to come.

April of 1979 was my first spring in Texas after having moved from California. I was 13 years old. It was actually spring break for students in my school so my brother and I were at home. My mom was also off work that day. We did not actually live in Wichita Falls proper but on Upper Charlie Road going towards Thornberry. My father worked for a company called Diebold and he repaired bank vaults, drive through bank machines, etc. He called us and told us that he heard on AM radio that there was a tornado near us and to turn on the TV. We tuned into channel 6 KAUZ to hear Rich Segal meterologist say about a tornado on the ground near Wichita Falls around the stadium I believe and then the screen went blank. We went outside and we could not see the city of Wichita Falls at all due to what looked like a large cloud that ascended on the city. We took cover in our storm cellar. About an hour later, my aunt, who had been in Wichita Falls, pulled out hysterical talking about how Wichita Falls had just been hit by a tornado. All the power was out and the only station broadcasting information was KNIN I believe. We had a portable radio. My father had to travel into Wichita Falls as there were numerous banks, savings and loans, and credit unions that had to have their time locks reset due to the power outage. I remember my dad spent the next few days helping guard the savings and loan building on Southwest Parkway that the vault was only thing left. I remember the next day the sky was completely orange as we drove to my grandfathers house at Lake Arrowhead down Eastside Drive to bypass the destruction. My dad took pictures as he had to get past National Guard troops. I will see if I can find them and upload.

I was 14 at the time. I hope I never see something so destructive again.

Before the storm hit, I went to the store with my mother to pick up a book. When we looked up the sky was green and roiling. It made the "Wizard of Oz" storm look pretty calm. When we arrived back home my father was on the roof pointing with a friend of his. They climbed down hurriedly and we jumped into the car and sped off.

I was in the back of a car with my parents as their friends were driving. I looked out the back window and saw something I would never forget. There was a black cloud that ran from horizon to horizon, it was thick like a quilt. The actual tornado was not the spindly kind you see on tv, it was stout. Is seemed to be miles wide at the top and very broad at the bottom. We were probably 5-10 miles ahead of it as we were driving away. The debris along the edges of the tornado was incredible. It looked like dust but we all realized it was house materials and other damaged structures from along its path.

My in town relatives came by to stay the night after the storm passed. Their homes had been heavily damaged. Their cars looked like they had been in the Terminator movie. Their Faith Village neighborhood looked like a war zone, completely devastated. You could not make out the streets as the landmarks were unrecognizable.

I learned that day that things don't really matter, but people are irreplaceable.

My perspective is a little different. I'm a native of Wichita Falls who was off at school in Austin that day, but my parents and my aunt and uncle were still there, living in the neighborhoods south of MSU. The Austin media was covering the initial outbreak, so I heard about the Vernon tornado. I called my mother in Wichita Falls a little after 5 PM to ask about our Vernon relatives. She hadn't heard anything. The tornado sirens were going off in Wichita Falls (the first time), my father wasn't home yet, and she had to go.

I spent an anxious hour waiting for the 6 PM Austin TV news. The weatherman reported that there was a tornado on the ground in Wichita Falls but had no further details. Of course I couldn't get a phone call through by then. There was no Internet yet, so my only source of news was WBAP-AM in Fort Worth and KRLD-AM in Dallas, which I could get in Austin. I spent the evening listening to their full-time coverage as they tried to get their reporters up to Wichita Falls through the ongoing storm system.

The first reports were that the tornado had hit the stadium, Sikes Senter, and the "South Mill" neighborhood (I think they meant Southmoor.) I was poring over a map, trying to figure out the path, and it looked bad. This went on for some time, but finally a friend in my dorm who was also from Wichita Falls said that one of our neighbors across the street in Wichita Falls had driven to Jacksboro to call their daughter in Austin, who called my friend. So I knew our neighborhood wasn't directly hit. (These neighbors had been in the Sikes Senter movie theater when it hit. Their car was flattened and they had to walk a mile home.)

I would have driven up that night, but we were starting to have tornado watches and warnings around Austin, so it would have been foolish. I made it up the next day and found our house and my parents all right, but my aunt and uncle's house destroyed. I had to evade a National Guard blockade on Southwest Parkway to get to our house.

Of course the tornado didn't affect me as directly as it did those who were in it, but people who were away from Wichita Falls at the time had our own set of worries, given the complete absence of communication.

Ahh the spring of '79, such a long time ago. I was 18 and bulletproof. I had just bought my first car from a man in faith village. A 68 biscayne from a nice guy who told me, "I wouldnt guarantee that car to make it down the block" I paid the $200 and drove it home towards University Park. Pulling up at 4503 Lockwood I thought, That Mr. Graves is crazy, this car runs fine. I was working Sikes maintenance and that car got me back and forth religiously. JC penney Auto Center put some air shocks on it so I could put some big meats on the back.
Tuesday started out uneventful, go to work, clean parking lot, wash the windows at all the mall entrances, mow grass, weed eat, go home. My best Friend Mike Kenney lived down Lockwood towards Fairway, 3 houses from the end on the right. Hey Dood! lets go listen to some records. cool. Blue Oyster Cult Secret Treaties went on. We could crank it up cause my Mom was still at work. HEY! -volume down- What the (expletive) is that? sirens. We go outside and couldnt see much, so we decide we'd be able to see better if we were on the roof. Just looks like a big black sky towards the stadium, but then we scanned back and forth and wondered if the big black cloud was a tornado. I had never seen a tornado but I knew this was not normal. It filled our field of vision and we couldnt even hear it yet. We stared in awe at this monstrosity for what seemed like minutes. WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM, the roof shook, (they really do sound like freight trains btw) Mike and I look at each other, one of us yelled Tornado! Mike! your Mom! We run down Lockwood towards this thing and through his front door. Mom! Mrs Kenney! She's already in the bathtub with a mattress over her, Mike rounded up his trusty Labrador, Prince and dove in the closet. I'm scared, really scared, the noise is deafening, I dive between the bed and an outside wall. The next 3 minutes or so are kinda foggy, The only thing I remember is the high pitched shrill of the wind and looking out the front window like a Bozo to see the black snow and a BBQ grill fly by. I dove back down. After it passed, Mrs Mehans house, across the street from the Kenneys was flat, gone. I was looking at it through the window a minute ago, or was I? I thought I should have seen it fall, but I didnt. Thats how dense the debris was. I ran back up Lockwood to 4503, house still there, roof gone, Car gone. Wait, car and roof in backyard, car has had it. The surreal time begins now, help neighbor find mom, I swear im praying not to see a dead body. She was OK. Mrs Mehan wasnt home either. I can lay in my bed and see the sky. Moms stuck on the other side of town and cant get in.
I cant remember when I saw it on the news, within a couple of days im sure, about all the folks who perished that day. I didnt know any of them personally, Renee Graves was on the list. Mike was like "you know, she lived on so and so in faith village" Wow I think I bought a car from her Dad. The car didnt matter so much anymore.

I remember that terrible day, we were living on kingston dr not far from the stadium. I was out in our backyard playing kickball with my brothers and sisters I was 12 yrs. old at the time and I had celebrated my birthday just 6 days prior to terrible tuesday. My mom,dad and grandma was in the house and then we heard it, the sirens went off and of course we were startled. I remember looking at the sky and seeing how dark it started to turn but I also remember how calm it got. After hearing the sirens we ran into the house and I can't remember if it was Bill Warren or Rich Segal on TV whoever it was I remember him saying it was a false alarm, so we went back outside to play. Then a few minutes later the sirens went off again,this time I knew in my gut that this was the real deal. I remember the voice saying take cover immediately. Our hearts were racing, my mom said open the windows, so we did. My dad insisted that we get in the car (all 9 of us). We headed down the road to get in a neighbors cellar,however it was already full. So we headed south on SW parkway. I looked out the back window seeing what appeared 3 or 4 tornadoes joining forces to mark the earth with the devastating path that soon would be inevitable. My dad driving frantically to reach a safe haven. We were screaming at him, dad hurry it's coming hurry it's coming. We finally reached our destination which was at the corner of Kemp & Stearns. My dad remembered this yellow house with a cellar,unfortunately that to was full. With no time to spare the tornado was getting closer,the sound was becoming deafening and things were starting to fly around us. We had run out of options, to our amazement there was a concrete drainage that went under kemp street. In a frantic my dad was screaming at the top his lungs to get out of the car and get under the road. There were already a few people tucked in there. As we were getting into this make shift cellar,the sky became pitch black,the wind was blowing, debris was flying. Wait not everyone in our family was accounted for. Where is grandma? Where is grandma? As we looked out from the opening, we saw her clinging to the front bumper of a parked car that was about 15 to 20 feet away from us. It was to late the tornado had finally reached us, we couldn't get to her. Everyone screaming and crying. I can honestly tell you this is the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life and still this day I remember it. After it finally passed and we crawled out of our protective shelter, the storm rolled the parked car over my grandma killing her instantly. Her name, Verna Harvick. We couldn't get to her and that is something that we struggle with to this day. The owner of the yellow house said that we could stay there until help arrived. That house was somewhat damaged but not completely. I remember looking out the window that once had glass in it and seeing my mom on her knees crying over the precious mother she just lost. It was devastating. As I write this to you tears are rolling down my cheeks. Hours later the coroner people picked up my grandma. Power lines were down all around us and my older brother went to get help. It seemed like we were there for an eternity. Several hours later while trying regroup and understand what just happened my Uncle Tommy Pruett was just driving in the area to check on a few of his rent houses and he was just as surprised as we were when we saw each other. We were so grateful to see him and I know in my heart that God directed him to us. We loaded up in his truck and he took us to my grandparents on my dad's side and we stayed the next couple of nights in their cellar. They lived over by Old High on Husky dr. I want to thank you for all of your hard work in making this happen. I am a video production editor and I would love to create a film of people telling their stories. Please feel free to contact me. May God Bless this project has it is being put together and may He bless the families who lived through this nightmare and Lord bless the 47 miles team.

Thank you once again, sincerely
Randy W. Pruett
Pruett Media Production
480.286.5625

I was with Skywarn that year when we were called to our posts. I was supposed to go to Lake Wichita, but instead went to my dad's house
on Sheridan St. which faces Weeks Park Golf Course. I had not been
there more than 15 minutes when the entire horizon went black, like
a rainstorm would look on the road in your car. I turned in the call,
the sirens went off. A few second later the bottom of the vortex turned
red when it hit several transformers. The most distict thing I remember
was when it left Memorial Stadium it carried two objects at the top of
the vortex. One white on the left, and one blue on the right. They
never seemed to change positions until the storm got to French Quarters
Apts. when the blue object arched out of the cloud and landed at the
edge of a small tank. The next morning my brother and I went to see
what it was and found it was a blue Camero. The white object, we later
heard, was the large golf ball from the driving range on Southwest Parkway.
small tank

I had just turned 20 year old nine days earlier and was scheduled to get married just four days later in Burkburnett. I was employed at JC Penney's in Sikes Center Mall, but was on vacation that week. I remember the day was sunny, but very very windy. My fiance' and I had just left a Chinese Food restaurant and almost got blown away by the wind. We went over to some friends house right off of Fairway. We were all watching the sky and the weather on TV. The man on TV said that a tornado was hitting the stadium. We knew that was just down the street, so like idiots, we left our friends at their home and jumped in our car to try and outrun it. We headed east down SW Parkway toward Kemp. My fiance then took a left on Kemp and he decided we needed to park and get out of the car .Believe it or not, people still waited at traffic lights for them to turn green as the tornado approached us from the rear!!! We parked in the Pizza Hut parking lot. I think it was a Pizza Hut, it was right next to a construction site, I think they were building a Target, I'm not sure. I don't know how we saw it, but across Kemp were homes with the backyards next to Kemp. We ran across the street to the gate of a back yard. There was a little boy sitting on top of a cellar door. The gate was wired shut. I remember looking up and seeing the tornado coming. At the time I didn't realize it was the tornado because it was so wide. I thought it was just storm clouds over the horizon. Some how, by the grace of God, I managed to get the wires on the gate undone so we could get through. My fiance asked the little boy if we could get in their cellar. I said "Hurry up its coming!" He said that he was waiting on his mom to come out of the house. She came out of her back door and we all went into the cellar.
We had just sat down and started to introduce ourselves when the cellar door flew off. We all huddled together in the far corner of the cellar and prayed. I remember it sounded like a big giant was walking on top of us. The ground shook and all sorts of things were flying down the steps into the cellar. Two by fours, shingles, sheet rock, everything!. I was afraid it would suck us up through the door. When the roar stopped, someone decided to look out. All he said was Oh MY GOD. Next, the homeowner looked out, she just burst out crying. Her entire house was gone, with nothing but the concrete slab left. I was the last to come out of the cellar. I was afraid it was going to come back. They finally convinced me it was safe, so I got out. I would love to find out who those people were that let us into their cellar. I never did find out.

The only was to describe it, was that I put on 'horse blinders". I refused to look around much because I was afraid I would see bodies and body parts. It seemed to be natural instinct. I kept looking down or straight ahead only. Someone said to not light a cigarette as the gas lines were broken. There was a car right beside us on Kemp turned upside down with the wheels in the air completely smashed down. My fiance wanted to go over there and check on them. I said to go ahead, but no telling what he would see. He decided not to look because they were more than likely dead. A man crawled out of the middle drain gully between the lanes on Kemp. He said he saw the tornado, put his pickup in park and jumped in the gully. His pickup was no longer there, but he was fine. We walked across Kemp to the Pizza Hut and what was left of our car.It had been thrown into a pile of dirt that was there for the construction site. The windows were blown out and it was full of mud and beat up.I had a package in the back seat that was still there. I will never in my life forget the complete silence directly after the storm. The only thing I could hear were screams in the distance. I think a steak house was down the street and I could hear screams coming from there. The air was a deep, dirty orange color. Several of the employees of the Pizza place came walking up around from the back of the destroyed building. One of them had a white canvas bag of money. He commented that he wouldn't get in trouble because he had the money!!! I went around to back right hand corner of the building. It was where the employees hid during the storm. The only part left standing of the entire building. There were still shelves of glass containers standing there untouched.

While we were standing in the parking lot of the Pizza Hut, two young guys came by in a jeep. They were friends of my fiance's. We got in the jeep and told them we needed to go back to our friends house to check on them. They said they had been out chasing the tornado!! They were very young and crazy. Their jeep allowed us to get around and up and over most of the junk in the streets. When we made it to our friends house it was dark by then. They were still there and ok. Their house was still standing but very damaged. They got into a coat closet of their home during the storm. They said they could barely hold the door shut, but they did. We then went to one of the apartment communities that was destroyed for one of them to check on their grandma. She wasn't there, but her apartment was untouched. I don't remember much about the ride in the jeep. I kept my head down and didn't look around much. I do remember seeing a man climbing out of a ditch with a bloody head. After I saw that, I didn't want to see anything else. I do remember seeing the cars in the mall parking lot. They looked like they had all been used as dice by a giant, and thrown down. The guys in the jeep took us home in another part of the city, untouched by the storm. I didn't return to the area except to help out at Jc Penneys. Not long after the storm, I was called to help pack up the JC Penny stores merchandise. I spent one cold and wet day in the store with no roof, in water up to my ankles and in the dark store room. I didn't go back. It was too much. I have since tried to locate the cellar I was in. It is now a commercial area with parking lots paved over where the cellar used to be.
I didn't know anyone that was killed or injured in the storm as I was from Burkburnett. It didn't take me long to move away though. The following year I lived in Lawton in an apartment building with a single entry door leading to a hallway with steps and four apartments, two down and two up. When a tornado warning was issued, my husband and I both put on motorcycle helmets, grabbed a thick blanket and went downstairs and huddled up under the stairwell. A elderly lady stuck her head out of her door and asked us what in the world are you young people doing???? I'm sure we looked absolutely ridiculous in those helmets sitting in the hall, but when we told her of our experience the previous year, she understood. Completely.

That day changed me forever! I was a junior at Rider High School and I never really cared about storms. My grandmother who lived in Burkburnett at the time would always call us and say, " It's coming up a cloud!" We thought she was insane to worry so much about storms. Now I am the one who is constantly watching The Weather Channel or KAUZ.com in the spring stormy season and saying " Keep an eye on the weather." They never do because they know I will be watching and let them know if anything is amiss in their area...even the one who lives in Austin, Tx. I lost one really good friend that day: Jay Huffer. we had gone to school together since the 1st grade. He was going to be a preacher. I think of him and his family often and wonder if his Mom is still OK. Thanks for a place to share our stories.

I lived in Quanah and was outside kicking a football about when I heard all the sirens on US-287 as emergency responders headed out to help. My brother lived in Vernon, and was married to a nurse, and told me stories about a young boy who's father was employed with the city of Vernon. The boy lived in a mobile home and his mother lost her life. He was actually pulled up into the storm and told doctors and nurses the story of how he "floated into the sky". There were also a few bodies brought in that had to be cleaned up and identified. One man was thought to be black and shirtless, but when the people in the hospital morgue started to clean the body they noticed that the man was actually white and had a shirt on - the power of the tornado had actually sand-blasted dirt particles into the mans skin and his shirt had been twisted so tight onto his body that the fabric was almost impossible to separate from skin. My brother was an auto mechanic and a traveling tools salesman told us of having to pull over and take cover in a large culvert with other travelers that had been caught out on the road. When the tornado passed over, some people were sucked out of the culvert and killed. There was a farm equipment service and sales outfit that was in the direct path of the storm and the employees had to run out of the building and hung onto the guardrails at the side of the road and the tornado passed directly over them. They described that the vortex had pushed them into the mud with great force and they were actually able to look up inside the vortex and watched farm equipment swirling through the clouds. Horrifying stories about the brutal side of mother nature.

This day, April 10, 1979, was the single worse day of my life. I was 12 years old, and we were out of school that day, and I was hanging out at a friends house in Faith Village. It was a cool and cloudy day. I remember my friend and I were catching worms in a cup, LOL. We went back to her house for awhile until I had to go home for dinner. I have a flash memory of looking in that cup at the worms before I left, and they were going crazy in there. Any way, I saw the weather come on, and I was excited because it was going to rain, little did I know what was to come. As I rode my bicycle home, I remember the wind being strong and it was hard to peddle. There was also a paper bag that almost flew up in my face, and for some reason even to this day, when a paper bag fly's at me, I get the creeps. We had just sat down to dinner (pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans) the sirens sounded. Frantically, I jumped up and ran to the back door and then ran through the house. My dad told me to calm down, I did. My father then went out back to look, but couldn't see it, so he got on the roof. Next thing I know, my dad says get your brothers shoes on and let's go. My dad thought it was coming straight for us, and he thought he could get out to the lake. Our house was directly behind the Kiwanis park and was barely missed. We got to Southwest pkwy and Hughes, and there it was at Fairway. All I remember seeing was a huge black mass. My dad pulled up to the curb and told us to get out that we were getting in the ditch. I jumped in and my dad handed me my sweet 3 year old brother. We all got under the street, the next thing I know, some man yells, "Here it comes" That is the last thing I remember, except for one thing. There was a moment when I opened my eyes and all I saw was white streaks, which told me it wasn't over yet. I thought I was quiet the whole time, but my dad said I screamed the entire time. I don't remember the sound of the tornado nor feeling the object that hit my hip, cutting very deeply. When it was over, I snapped to and realized my legs were pointing toward the opening as if I had been blown and almost sucked up. My dad asked me if I was ok, and I said "yea, just a bruised hip". I saw an opening in my pants so I stuck my finger in it, well actually, I stuck my finger in my actual leg wound, I can still feel that sensation today, yuck!! I started screaming that I was going to lose my leg, and a nurse came to me and looked at it and told me I was ok. My dad's car was on top of a house so we had to walk. Our neighbor drove up luckily and took us to the hospital. That place was almost as traumatic as the tornado. There was blood and hurt people everywhere. I will NEVER forget the woman right next to me that had a metal rod lodged in her eye. I was put on a piece of plywood, were I stayed for hours upon hours, horrors all around me. I was finally taken to surgery were they fiercely scrubbed out my debris filled wound. Even though I recovered fully, I had to have plastic surgery to fix the huge mass of flesh and muscle that was forced downward into a ball beneath the laceration.
I was one of the lucky ones. My grandmother was not. Her and my mother were meeting at a local pub to celebrate my mom's birthday when it came. They both left, my mom went one way, my grandmother went the wrong way. The monster came across Week's Park Golf Course and caught her in her car. It picked her up, and then slammed her back down causing massive head injuries. Her name was Delores (Ding) Owen, and we miss her so much even to this day.
I know it's been 30 years, but not to me. I still have enormous anxiety (seems to have gotten worse over the years)even though I don't remember what happened in that ditch. Terrible Tuesday indeed.

I am thrilled to see what the Leadership Class is doing, because the victims deserve a memorial. Thank you all so very much!! God Bless You

P.S. BTW, we never had pork chops on a Tuesday again, because I told my mom to never fix that again. Ironically, after she moved to the DFW area, she made the mistake of doing this exact thing I told her not to, and holy cr*p, we had a tornado touch down, thankfully though it was small and did minimal, isolated damage. She has learned her lesson.

I saw the post by my long time friend Kim Knight and I had to write a post also. While I did not live in Wichita Falls I remember "Terrible Tuesday" very well. I was about 13 years old and lived in Burkburnet.
There was a circus in our town that day and we had tickets to go.
We were watching the circus when all of a sudden a woman came rushing in white as a sheet and yanked her child off the front row. Shortly later an announcement came over the speaker not to panic but that a tornado warning had been issued for Wichita county and that we should calmly exit the tent. When we got outside the tornado siren started going off and we jumped in the car and drove as fast as we could to our house. My mom told us to run next door while she pulled the car into the garage. At 6:21pm we lost all electricity. I remember the time exactly because my alarm clock was stuck on that time for at least a week. It was a very long black night. We had to cook on a camp stove.
We were very concerned about our good friends Dewayne, Carol, Kim and Randy Knight. I recall my dad saying many times I hope the Knight's are ok. The next morning we took our cattle trailer and headed over to Wichita Falls only to find that we could not even find their street because of the massive destruction. We saw a man walking down a street and my dad pulled over to ask him if he knew where their street was. The man was in a complete daze and just kept walking and did not even look our way. We finally found their house and to our relief it was still standing. The windows were all blown out and it was messed up really bad but it was still on the foundation, unlike the house across the street that was totally gone. We spent the day hauling away debris etc. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Since then I have often thought of that terrible day and still get shivers up my spine at the thought. I still hear Dewayne telling the story about the strange sound he head coming out of the sky shortly before the storm formed. An erry sound.
I pray that Wichita Falls never has to experience that ever again. While I was not directly in the storm I will wear an I survived April 10th T-shirt to support this cause. May God bless and protect our city.

In response to Christian Smith: My mother never ever made us breakfast because we lived with our grandparents. On April 10, 1979, my mother made us breakfast..never again.

April 10, 1979 will forever remain a major cornerstone in my life. At 16 years old, I was invincible. A leader in school at Rider High, the world was mine to create.
The day was stormy and I was nervous because it was only the second night to work my first ever job as a waitress at Western Sizzlin. In fact, the weather was so bad my Grandfather drove me instead of me driving myself. I don’t remember what time my shift started, but it had to have been around 5 pm. Business was slow due to the storms. An elderly woman came in with her disabled husband. She had picked him up from a local nursing home to take him out for dinner. They were seated in my area, toward the front of the restaurant. I also remember a Catholic Nun sitting in the middle section of the restaurant, and some high school football players in the back. I had a friend working in the kitchen area, Janice Mims, and I also knew David Domi. Another Rider student came in to work. Janice introduced me to Rene Graves. Rene was tearful when Janice introduced us. She was frightened about the storms. She told us the sirens were going off, although we couldn’t hear them from inside. Shortly after that my attention was called to the front windows. Our manager was standing there speechless and still. As I looked out, all I could see was total blackness with one exception. To my right, I saw and edge of lighter colored sky and debris flying. We had to act quickly. I told the manager we had to get everyone to the back of the restaurant. My first thoughts were of the elderly woman and her husband. I helped her get him under a table near the back section. She laid on top of him. I was hoping to get them to the meat locker, but we were out of time. I got under the next table. I recall my ears stopping up and the chandeliers vibrating with noise. I heard the Nun saying her rosary somewhere near me. I was praying for our safety. I wanted so badly to get out from underneath the table and run to the meat locker, but I felt trapped with nowhere safe to go. Nor could I leave the woman and her husband behind. Quick after that our building exploded. Strong winds, bricks, mortar, and glass were hitting us. The walls tumbled down, bending but not collapsing my table top. As quickly as it came, the wind stopped. I heard people trying to get out and I yelled for them to stay covered. To this day, I don’t know how I could have known, but right afterwards hail started coming down. This was no ordinary hail. It was larger than a softball! Once it stopped I struggled my way out of a small opening in the debris. We were all in shock. A horn on one of the cars in the lot was stuck and blowing, people were standing around smoking near a broken gas line…total chaos. David Domi was slumped over in pain and bleeding. I felt helpless, not knowing how to assist him. I yelled at the people to stop smoking near the gas. I was in “take charge” mode, frantic to do something to help but not knowing where to start. Then I heard Janice Mims from underneath the rubble. She was calling me to help get her, Rene and the others out from under the walls in the kitchen area. I asked the football players to help lift the wall. They used the power from their legs and backs to lift in unison. Janice got out and Rene was pulled out, lifeless. I began CPR. Other people tried to help, but became sick and had to stop. We couldn’t get air into her lungs because the fluids from her stomach blocked her airway. I tried to clear it, but couldn’t. After what seemed like hours of one-man CPR a woman came up and identified herself as a nurse. We began 2 man CPR. After a while, she told me to stop. We couldn’t save Rene and other people needed our help. I reluctantly stopped. I eventually made my way back to the crumpled building. I heard the elderly man from the nursing home, “help me, help my wife”. I could only see his face and the back of his wife’s head. She had lain on top of him. Their table top had collapsed with the weight of the wall. At that moment, I heard someone yelling my name. I looked up and saw my precious father at the Pizza place across the street. I yelled and waved back. My father had polio in the Navy and his legs were affected. Yet, he came running. He held me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. I asked him to help get the wall off of the elderly couple. He looked at the dire situation and told me where his truck was, and to take it home to let my Mom know I was okay. He stayed behind to help. I remember walking through a field to get the truck. A man and woman stopped me and said they were looking for their daughter and asked if I could help. I inquired who their daughter was. They said, “Rene Graves”. Something in the inner most recesses of my brain and heart snapped. At 16 years old, I had to tell Rene’s parents their beloved daughter was dead. They asked me where she was and I couldn’t speak, I could only point.
I made it to my father’s truck. Someone was with me, but I’m sorry to say I don’t remember who it was. I drove home. Neighbors gathered at my house asking how bad it was. My mother was in total disbelief. My clothes were tattered and torn, and I was filthy with blood, dirt and glass .
My father eventually made it home later that evening. He had walked from the restaurant to both sets of my grandparents homes in Faith Village, to our home on Big Bend Drive. I don’t know how he it did it or how my Grandparent’s homes were both left standing. We gathered in our kitchen with our family and neighbors. My father was a quiet man who rarely showed emotion, but he did that evening. We all held hands and he lead us in deep, emotion- filled thankful prayer, and for help for those less fortunate.
I would learn the woman who brought her husband in from the nursing home had died. And that we also lost another schoolmate, Terry Mahon, in the restaurant.
Our hero at the restaurant on that fateful day had to be Rene. Without her warnings of the severity of the storms, we may not have been on alert. More people would have surely died.
Life afterwards could never be the same. Me, 16 year old invincible teen suddenly realized her mortality. I began to question God and seek ways to numb the pain. I hated tornado drills after that at school because all I could hear was the stuck horn at the restaurant in my mind. I wanted to run out of the building, but then people would realize I was “weak”. I should have asked for help, but I was supposed to be a leader and “needed” to be strong for others. I couldn’t tell anyone I felt guilty. I thought that because I couldn’t save Rene, I must have been responsible for her death. Years went by and I coped by drinking alcohol. I was afraid of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. I tried counseling in my early 20’s only to be damaged more by therapist who I hope isn’t still in practice. I’ve learned throughout the years that Post Traumatic Stress and alcoholism are closely tied. Now, after 31 years, I am finally enjoying a sober, happy life with a wonderful God and a deeply spiritual life. The events of April 10, 1979 still affect me negatively sometimes, especially around this time of year. I still have seasonal tornado dreams, but I have tools to help put them in perspective.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those still affected by that tragic day. It is my hope that through my personal struggles and admissions someone can identify with my story and get the help that will set them free.
I told myself at 16, I would leave Wichita Falls as soon as I could and never return. With only a few exceptions, that is what I did. What I didn’t realize for a very long time, was in fleeing, my personal prison went with me. It wasn’t the city I hated, it was the tragic memories in my head. I will stay updated on the progress of the memorial. I would like to come back to pay tribute to all those we lost on April 10, 1979


God Bless and Keep Us All,
Cindy Hoover

My heart goes out to all of you that lost loved ones.I Remember the tornado ..it was horrible..Thanks for sharing your stories..May God bless you all

I was in my mid-20's on that day. I was on Kell, on my way home from wk. on Callfield Rd. when the radio said, "Take immediate shelter. I got to my home on Collins St. My husband, our young daughter, our Siamese cat & German Shepherd dog all got into the central closet with blankets. It didn't get our part of town, but my grandfather, Herman Abernathy lived in Faith Village. He said he just crawled between the mattresses & "turned it over to The Lord". Only 1 or 2 walls were left standing in his house, but we were able to salvage a few things, including both his & my grandmother's Bibles. I have them both today & there are still bits & pieces of tar & debris in both. They are among my dearest possessions. I saw the letter from Mona, who was so badly injured. She lived in the apt. under my late brother, Russell a few years later. She was friends with my Mom & they kept in touch for several yrs. We were all so thrilled to hear of her wonderful husband & of the birth of her precious miracle babies! Today, storms don't really make me nervous unless I walk outside & get that sensation that I can barely get a breath. I remember that sensation from the April 10th tornado & from the day 1 hit Sunset Terrace back when I was in grade school. This truly is a "City of Faith". I'm proud to be a part of it.

I was 13 when the tornado came through Wichita Falls. I was a student at McNeil Jr. High School. Luckily we were on Spring Break. I was at home with my Dad and younger sisters. When the first tornado siren sounded, my Dad wasn't really worried, but he kept watching the television and looking outside. But when the second sirens sounded and the local weatherman said to 'take shelter immediately'...he firmly ordered us to drop what we were doing and head to the storm cellar. We ran outside to the cellar and as I was going down the stairs into the cellar I looked up and all I could see was a black sky with strange things flying around in it. At first I thought it was just really dark rain clouds. It was like a black wall. What I saw wasn't dark rainclouds. It was the tornado, and only a block away at Kiwanis park. Our dog was in the cellar with us and I remember looking down to check on him and he was running in circles as fast as he could. We heard strange noises, besides the roar of what sounded like a freight train, it was clanging metal sounds. After what seemed to be an eternity my Dad opened the cellar door and said we could come out. Our roof had damage and there was a 6ft. 2X4 sticking into the side of our small camper trailer (which was under our carport. Our house was fine otherwise. We were all in a daze. People were walking down the street like they were lost. We were on Phillips St. One block from the Monsters path. In the days following the tornado we didn't have electricity so at night helicopters flew over our neighborhood shining spotlights looking for looters.Because we were so scared, my sisters and I slept on the floor in our parents bedroom at night. It felt like we were living in a nightmare every night for a very long time. No water, electricity or way to communicate. But we were so incredibly lucky. My prayers go out to each and every one of you who posted their story. I am amazed at your strength. You are all Heroes. Never ever doubt that.
I am 45 now, and I will never forget that terrible day and how it impacted my life. I still have nightmares. They have never stopped. In them the Monster and smaller tornadoes seek me out and find me no matter where I hide. I still live in Wichita Falls. I keep a very close eye on the weather this time of year. I hope we never see another tornado. God Bless you all.

I work at Interfaith Ministries, and we are interested in talking to people who had their home rebuilt by Interfaith Disaster Services. Please call me at Interfaith Ministries, 322-1365

I was there, worked at BETHANIA HOSPITAL in security at the time, several of us watched in horror from the roof as the tornado tore through part of the town. It was long hard time helping n dealing with folks at work that week, most folks there couldn't leave to check on their own homes for quite a while we were so busy...
If anyone one knows how to get a copy of the TV broadcast, "Terrible Tues" (about this event) or the anniversary magazine that was published, would like to have copies, thank you.

I was 10 years old the year the tornado hit. It was spring break. Our softball team usually had practice at Lamar Elementary on Tuesday evenings. Luckily we had canceled. We were at Jace Auto Machine Shop when the sirens started going off. My grandmother asked if we wanted to go to their house. My dad said no, because they lived in tornado alley (out on the north side of town). My mom was always the weather weenie. We teased her that the weather announcements were her favorite show. On the way home when she started getting upset, daddy told her that we would be safe at home because we lived on a hill, and tornados follow valleys. We got home, and the sirens were continuing to go off. When we heard there was a tornado on the ground in Wichita Falls, my daddy, sister and I went out in the street to watch. My mom was talking to the neighbors. We watched people jumping out of the windows at the Sun Valley Apartments, and then when the phone pole closest to us went down, we dove into the neighbor's hallway. We were under a mattress, and I remember everyone praying, and how loud it was.

When we came out, I remember seeing the weird things. The fish tank that was still standing. The straws in the trees, the boat wrapped around our tree. I remember I always planned to go under my bed if there was a tornado. Not only was there a car sitting on my bed, but there were 2 x 4s also through the middle of my bed. We still had our walls and our roof, our roof was just crooked.

One of our trees fell on the roof of our car. And I remember getting in that car to drive to my grandparent's house (that was not in the path of the storm).

We lost a lot of our material possessions. We had to rebuild our home, we lived in a camper for what seemed like forever. Mom and Dad sent us to every camp they could find to keep up occupied while they rebuilt.

I have to say thanks to all the volunteers, relatives and friends who helped my family, our neighborhood and our town rebuild.

There are so many other memories I have of Terrible Tuesday, I can't get them all down. The day and the event haunt me every spring.

I am wondering if anyone was in or knows anything about the Southmoor Manor Apartments just off Jacksboro Highway. I am not sure of the exact address but I am pretty sure they are not there any more. Thank you.

Also I am wondering if there are stories or details from the Ham Radio operators or spotters.

The recent outbreak across the south reminded me of the Red River Outbreak. I was 19 at the time and I remember that day vividly. I was driving home to Holliday when the tornado began to drop out of the sky. I got out of the car and into the ditch by the side of the road. It literally passed over my head as I looked straight up into it. I felt like I was looking into the mouth of some kind of monster. It was awe inspiring and fear inducing at the same time. I was lucky, the storm actually came down about 50 yards east of where I was. I had to jump into the car because it began to hail the most enourmous hail I have ever seen. I moved away from the area shortly after that but I have made repeated trips to Wichita Falls since then. If any place ever demonstrated the enduring spirit of man it is Wichita Falls.

I was 11 years old when the tornado ripped through Wichita Falls. It was the Tuesday before Easter and my Dad was supposed to be at class at Vernon College on Sheppard AFB. My mom was getting ready to take me and my younger sister to Sikes Senter to get Easter shoes but my Dad pulled in the driveway. He said the weather was weird and he didn't want to go to class...not more then 15 minutes passed, the sirens went off. We lived on Callfield and the 4 of us (plus our dog) got in the master bedroom closet. It seems like it lasted forever, however, our house wasn't hit. After it was over, my father said we had to go to find my older sister, who was working downtown at Lubys, so we headed that way. She was safe but shaken. As we were coming back home, we saw a man standing in Callfied flagging us down...it turns out it was my brother, Mike. Mike said that he was on Lavell and there was nothing left of Faith Village...people needed help. My dad took us home and took my brother back to his wife at the time and her family. My father came home with a truck full of people...some were strangers that needed help. I remember us sitting in the dark, holding flashlights picking glass and debris out of peoples backs, my mom cleaning up minor cuts and setting up pallettes on the floor for these people, not having water or electricity for days and having to go to the National Guard area at Safeway to get water and food. My mother would cook off a propane camping stove for all of us. As these strangers were able to contact family, they would leave our home...I wouldn't know them today if I saw them on the street. It was a time that I will always remember...neighbors helping neighbors in a time of need.

I was manager of a Record Store called Sound Discount Senter in April 1979 but happened to be on vacation with my wife Alba that week. My son Dee was also on Spring Break from Cunningham School. Kinda excited about the storms i decided to take my wife & son to Memorial Stadium parking lot to watch clouds. My neighbor on McNiel St. Don Reed told me to watch out if i see any clouds heading towards each other. That's exactly what happened ! We were setting in the car and saw these two clouds heading right towards each other & when they hit each other, instantly the first little white tornado popped up ,then the other two popped up,also white & small & for a second all three were in a V shape. Then all three sucked together & hit the ground. That turned the white to dark quickly! As it drew near us we speeded down Southwest Parkway to the east with it following behind us. My wife Alba had her head out the window screaming at everyone to run & take cover. She couldn't even talk the next day.The cars at Fairway were just sitting there at the red light & i thought it was going to catch up with us at the intersection but the light changed to green & i took off again. We made it to Margie Stephens house on Hughes St. & they were in the cellar with the door shut. So we started banging on the door & yelling until they let us in. In about 30 seconds the whole earth around the cellar started shaking.I was sitting on the top steps of the cellar with my back almost touching the door. I kept thinking if this door gets sucked off i'm a goner! It turned out the house we were at was one block away from the damage path.After the tornado passed i went running south on McNiel St & saw a friend of mine named Bob Hill & i pointed towards Southwest Parkway & said Bob, Do you know if my house is still standing down there? He looked at me kinda funny, then put his arm around me as if to hold me up & said DeWayne this is your house right here ! I was standing next to my house & didn't even know it! We lost everything but was uninjured, but found out how great the people from Wichita Falls can be. I'll always have a love in my heart for Wichita Falls !

I was 19 when the tornado hit, and I was home alone. After the storm had passed, about all that was really left of my house was the bedroom door I was holding on to. I'd tried to get to the bathroom to get in the tub, like I'd been told to do, but by the time I realized what was happening, the storm had already ripped the roof off our house and taken the front wall of the bathroom. I now live in Parker County and work in Fort Worth, and the tornadoes that hit Arlington and Dallas and surrounding areas earlier this week brought back a flood of memories for me...many that I thought were long forgotten. It's been really difficult, and my heart goes out to all of the families whose lives have been turned upside down. In many ways, the tornado changed my life forever, but mostly for the good. It taught me at an early age that things are just things - people are what matter most in life. Any material possession can be replaced. And it showed me the kindness of strangers. For those things, I will always be grateful. But I also still live with the fear of dark clouds and to this day, I do NOT like the wind. This is a wonderful project - thank you all for what you are doing!

I was 9 years old & was outside kicking my soccer ball around in the backyard. My dad yelled for me to come in, my mom was suppose to be on her way home from work. Just about the time she walked in the door, Lynn Walker announced that there was a tornado on the ground by the stadium (which was just down the road from us). My mom started looking for a flashlight while my dad was trying to get the cover to the manhole open in the floor of the hall closet. We got under the house (peer & beam) but my dad couldn't get the cover back on so we had to move away from the hole. Within seconds the front wall of the tornado hit, then utter silence, then the back wall. When my parents decided it was safe, my dad went to open the cover and it was perfectly placed over the hole and nothing prohibited him from opening it. The first thing we noticed was the closet and hall were all that was remained standing. After surveying the damages, we started looking for our dog and parakeet. My dad found the dog walking up the street from the far end from where we lived and the parakeet was still in his cage squawking. It is a day that I will never forget and hope to never have to go through again. For those who lost family members, my prayers & condolences. For those who lost their homes/possessions-though they can be replaced, I know it is difficult. Let's pray that God grants us a safe spring storm season this year.

These accounts are fascinating, yet obviously painful. I was a young storm chaser being mentored by Harold Taft at KXAS-TV. I vividly remember his weathercast at 6:15 that evening. The concern in his voice, as he described the hook signature on radar, was chilling. We were 150 miles away, yet we knew exactly what was happening. Oddly, in DFW conditions were eerily calm, with cool and humid weather and little wind. I hoped to see the top of the storm by looking northwest, however the cloudy skies overhead prevented it. I learned later that the storm was so tall, it could be seen on radar in College Station, TX. I will never forget the fear that we felt in our stomachs as this event unfolded. The ONLY good thing to come from this tragedy, is the lessons learned and safety measures that came about directly because of this storm. God bless all of you that lived through this, and pray for those who didn't.

Since we were on Spring break, I spent the afternoon at a friend's house NE of town. We were in and out of warnings all afternoon and when his parents heard of a tornado in Iowa Park headed due east, we got in the car and fled. Hoping to get far enough south and find an open area we ended up at Memorial Stadium. I can't remember how long we stayed there but finally figured it was safe to go back to the house. How little we knew how smart of a decision that was.

Thinking back, I know that God told us we needed to get away from the stadium as he protected us. We weren't back at the house for 5 minutes when I saw the clouds close to the house moving to the north and the clouds a half a mile or so away going south. It was then that I looked to the south and saw the tornado. From 5 miles away, it didn't look that big. I saw some debris and thought to myself, "I see some debris but it looks small" only to think shortly afterwards, "I'm 5 MILES AWAY!!!! This is big".

After I was sure the storm had passed my house, I got in my little Pinto and drove it like a Ferrari getting back to town. Fortunately, my house was spared but if you went south 2 blocks, there were no roofs and 4 blocks, no houses. I checked on my little sister and mother and found they were OK. One had been across the street with neighbors and my mom had been in the meat locker at Piggly Wiggly. My sister was working at Sikes and I went to check on her. I finally found her and she was crushed that her new car was totaled. She had just had her Pioneer Supertuner 8 track installed and now it was a car no longer.

My friend was with me and we went to check on his grandmother and found she was safe. Finally, I'm driving down SW Parkway (a road I had gone up and down for years) and realized I hadn't a clue where I was as all the landmarks were gone. I finally got my bearings and got back home to assess the damage.

Overall, we were very lucky. No major damage to the house, all of us were safe and uninjured. My hearts go out to all those affected more than I was. The town really did come together after that and everyone pitched in to help out.

I invite any friends who read this to reconnect with me on Facebook.