Forever shaken by a killer storm

I was only 4 when the tornado struck, but I do remember it.

We lived on Bagby Aveune near corner of Connally Street. The tornado probably missed us by less than a mile. I remember watching my Mom gathering the clothes off the line in the backyard. The wind was blowing the cloths horizontal.

My Dad had to go way down the street to retrieve the trash cans. Shortly after the storm passed, someone pulled in the driveway to tell us that the tornado had hit. My Mom, Dad, sister, brother, and I jumped in the car and headed toward downtown. The closer we got the more damage we saw.

My Dad was a city fireman. When we arrived downtown, he saw some firemen who told him everyone in the department was being called up. He got out of the car and we didn't see him for several days.

I remember a friend whose mother was downtown when the storm hit. After that, she was terrified of storms. Every time they moved to another house, they had had a storm shelter built. I remember a few times when he came to school very tired because the family had spent the night in the storm shelter.