There is a great article in the Plainfield Patch today about the Oak Lawn tornado which features a rare audio recording of the manager of the old Coral Theater who had his reel-to-reel rolling while the twister roared through town. Check out the video below to listen to the recording…
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I was at my landords house at 82nd & Harlem paying rent when I watched the extremely wide funnel cloud due south at 5:30 PM. The tornado cracked a brick
wall at my place of employment at 99th & Natoma.
I just turned 12 and returned from a devastating family car accident in La Grange during the worst winter in Illinois history. My mom and I were the most injured parties, her with every rib incredibly bruised by the vehicle engine; me with 8 facial fractures and my all my permanent teeth wired to my upper jaw (dr.’s hoping they would take root again after being dislodged abruptly). At 5:30 on 96 and Roberts Road; I was one of 11 grandchildren visiting my grandparents on their made in heaven home! The large picture window bent forward, green and purple was filling the glass..Mom screamed “Everyone run to the corner!!” Then the EXPLOSION!!! I was high in the a black spiral! No,sound…..no sight…no ground! I then saw a very large man’s hand, white cloak,gold braid edging, grab my blouse pull me down towards the floor, the hand then turned to my mother’s hand…in quick motion..through under a couch..as the 1000lb. roof came down and stopped 1inch. from my nose.
We all survived that day! My mom kick a door over a live cable wire, sparking our escape. This door was solid oak, and it landed perfectly across that high tension cable. She proceeded to TOSS all 11 of us across that door to the smaller structure to safety. It is strange…thinking back…I can smell the rancid smell…mud smell, all the pieces of wood and glass in all my pores….but what really got me was the static electricity once the vortex moved! Bolts of lightning shot UP from everywhere around us as the vortex move off us!!! I knew God save me that day. The only casualty was our canary FiFi. God Bless all the survivors of that unforgettable day. May we all walk in good graces.