1953 Waco Tornado Remembered

Sunday was the 55th anniversary of the worst tornado in Texas history. It struck Waco, TX on the afternoon of May 11, 1953. There is always a lot of talk of the tornado this time of year here in Waco. My uncle, Woody Barron, worked for the newspaper here in Waco at the time. I remember the story he told me once about the tornado. I was a little guy at the time he told me this but I remember it like it was yesterday. He said that after the tornado his editor told him to go out and get some human interest stories. So he walked over to Austin Avenue, about a block away, and started walking down the street and surveying the rubble. He spoke with several people about their experience during the storm. He told me that he spoke to one fellow that was driving along Austin Avenue when the tornado picked his car up and carried it for about a block and set it down. The fellow said that while in the air he saw another man that the tornado picked up while walking along the street.

Uncle Woody told me that he didn't put much stock in the story until a short time later he was talking to another man about his experience. He told Uncle Woody that he was walking along Austin Avenue when, yep! He saw a man that was driving his car in the air along Austin Avenue. Uncle Woody said that car was the first fellow he spoke with.

Now I don't know if that is true or if Uncle Woody was just making the whole thing interesting for me but I have always thought that it was a great story and I have told it many times.The local NBC affiliate, KCEN-TV Channel 6, has a video of a never released film that was taken after the tornado and shows some of the devastation. Click on the 1953 Waco Tornado Film to view it. Also The CBS affiliate, KWTX-TV Channel 10, did a story about a musician that wrote a song about the tornado. Click on the Shane Howard - Waco Tornado link to view this story. You can also go to the City of Waco web-site and watch the 1953 Waco Tornado Video Series. It is a good watch for those that are interested.

My dad was working at Central Freight Lines on Mary Street at the time. Man that place was built like a fortress. He said he can remember that it got dark and the wind and rain was really blowing. Their building had small windows that were about 15 feet off the ground so they were not in any danger of flying glass. Also, the location of their building was at the extreme western edge of the damaged area. Our house at the time was far removed from the part of town that was hit since it centered on the downtown area. I was told that the Alico Building actually swayed during the tornado but survived while the R.T. Dennis Building and Chris' Cafe across the street were totally destroyed. Tornadoes can be very fickle.

If you would like to play with a tornado try the University of Wisconsin Interactive Twister. You will need to have Java installed to view it and play with it though. © 2008 Barry T Horst


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