On April 9, 1947, one of the most devastating tornadoes to ever wreak havoc in the Sooner State tore through the town of Woodward Oklahoma with a devastating force, destroying over 100 city blocks containing over 1,000 homes and businesses and killing at least 107 people.
Just days after the 65th anniversary of that fateful night, tragedy struck again. Minutes after midnight on the morning of Sunday, April 15, 2012, as much of this small town lay sleeping, another tornado ripped through the heart of the Woodward community.
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| The Path of Destruction: Photo Courtesy of ReadyWoodward Matt |
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| Photo by Kenton Kamolz |
My humble words cannot describe the array of emotions that these scenes evoke in my own heart. I know that I watched from over 100 miles away, listening to Marty Logan's live coverage on News Chanel 9, frantically texting my friends and family to rouse them from sleep and get them to safety - my hands shaking convulsively as I heard his account - barely able to type the words.
"Tornado is on the ground! Tornado is on the ground!"
"I've got an apartment complex that's being hit... I've got a power line across the road ahead of me..."
"Oh, no! I've got to keep calm... this is going to be 34th Street... 34th and Oklahoma... buildings destroyed... I smell natural gas..."
"Oh, no! I've got to keep calm... this is going to be 34th Street... 34th and Oklahoma... buildings destroyed... I smell natural gas..."
The tornado sirens were damaged by another storm that came through the area hours earlier and were not functioning properly, leaving residents with little or no warning.
The stories that would follow this devastation are some of the most powerful I have ever heard - but not because they are tragic (and many are), but because they show the resilience and tenacity of a community in small town America - knit together and determined to recover stronger than before.
Woodward's story is not one of tragedy - but one of hope.
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| Photo by Olivia Pauley via Woodward Tornado Info. |
During the tornado, in the midst of the Hide-A-Way Trailer park where a man and his daughters in a home a few trailers down lost their lives, new life was born. A mother gave birth to a healthy daughter in a trailer that rolled four times as the tornado passed over.
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Photo Credit: Associated Press A Christian Motorcycle Association member hugs Linda Dupree, left, Sunday in Woodward, Okla. Dupree's grandson and two great-grandchildren died Saturday when a tornado hit their mobile home. |
Total strangers came out in full force to help their neighbors sift through the rubble for momentous and anything that was salvageable.
Businesses have brought in food to feed volunteers and homeowners nearly every meal.
Kids were skipping school - not to cause mischief - but to sneak into the area of destruction and start working - without any instruction or adults present, not even knowing who's house they were working on - simply compelled to help.
The local photographer put a call out to all residents that suffered damages to contact his studio and that he would replace any photos that he had taken as far back as 1986 - at no charge!
The purpose of this article is beyond what my words can convey - to attempt to show you the true spirit of this faith-centered community. While still mourning and broken, we are united and determined to overcome this tragedy together.
I know I could give dozens of accounts of other random acts of kindness by strangers and miraculous survival, but they have all been told by others already. My purpose here is to simply share my own heart and bring to light my own feelings of pride in my community, family and friends, who in the wake of devastation, afford me a new perspective on life.
As I thoughts of that fateful night still swirl in my head, a resounding chorus echos...
I am pressed but not crushed
persecuted, but not abandoned
struck down, but not destroyed
I am blessed beyond the curse,
for His promise will endure
and His joy will be my strength
though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning.
And I know Woodward can already see the light of morning. You will all continue to be heavy on my heart and in my prayers.
Businesses have brought in food to feed volunteers and homeowners nearly every meal.
Kids were skipping school - not to cause mischief - but to sneak into the area of destruction and start working - without any instruction or adults present, not even knowing who's house they were working on - simply compelled to help.
The local photographer put a call out to all residents that suffered damages to contact his studio and that he would replace any photos that he had taken as far back as 1986 - at no charge!
The purpose of this article is beyond what my words can convey - to attempt to show you the true spirit of this faith-centered community. While still mourning and broken, we are united and determined to overcome this tragedy together.
I know I could give dozens of accounts of other random acts of kindness by strangers and miraculous survival, but they have all been told by others already. My purpose here is to simply share my own heart and bring to light my own feelings of pride in my community, family and friends, who in the wake of devastation, afford me a new perspective on life.
As I thoughts of that fateful night still swirl in my head, a resounding chorus echos...
I am pressed but not crushed
persecuted, but not abandoned
struck down, but not destroyed
I am blessed beyond the curse,
for His promise will endure
and His joy will be my strength
though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning.
And I know Woodward can already see the light of morning. You will all continue to be heavy on my heart and in my prayers.
