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Oct 18, 2011, 07:50 AM
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Member Since: Jun 2007
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 5,518
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1967 on my 9th birthday - an F4/5 struck my town at 5;30 pm.. I came home from school. My grandfather was visiting from Denmark....mom was drunk. As the storm approached, my grandfather became nervous, but mom laughed it off and said we had storms like this all the time.
When our windows blew out, I went into my bedroom to ride out the storm. When it was over, I was amazed at the power of the wind - had no idea it could blow that hard. As we ventured out further, it was heartbreaking to see all the destruction - in addition to many homes, it destroyed a high school and many business, including a rollerskating rink where some of my friends were skating.
My father came home early that day. If it hadn't been my birthday, he would most likely have been stuck at the intersection where the tornado first touched down and killed/injured a majority of the people.
Over 300 people were injured, and 33 people lost their lives that day on my birthday - including some friends at the roller rink. Even today, people I know who lived through that storm continue to say a silent prayer whenever they drive through the intersection where it first touched down.
Here are some pics from the official archive of the storm...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=OakLawn_tornado_pics
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