Palm Sunday Tornado 1965 - Alto Indiana Church audio

[pSpanglerHoover]

I was a freshman at Western High School in April 1965. My family visited friends in Peru IN that day, so were not home; BUT came home to no house. There were 3 walls standing! It took us a very long time to get from the north end of Kokomo to Russiaville to see what was left. I'm glad we were not home!

[Volmedics]

I was only 7 years old but I remember it like yesterday! The horror and screams of my mother. We saw huge objects flying through the air. We all went into the bathroom with my parents as that was the center room in the house. Part of roof came off and I could look up and see all those things in the sky! Greentown, Russiaville, Indian Heights , Alto and suffered heavy damaged and hundreds were killed. My dad worked for the Gas company and I went with him to the disaster scenes. Gerald Scott Flint

[sundance2659]

I lived in KOKOMO when it came thru. my dad owned the shell station on Washington ST. next to maple crest shoping center. the only thing left of his station was a small office. that is where every one took cover. we moved to new Lundon right after that and i started school that year at New Lundon school.  darrell paul.

[BurkeDevlin66]

only one known photo of that twister that did russiaville and alto in exsists. it was taken on the roof of the kokomo morning times newspaper building near 31 bypass and southway blvd.

[Leetalk68]

I was just checking the internet to see if this tornado was on here and it is and I was in that church that night. I knew there was a recording made , but I never heard it until now--yes, very chilling. We were singing in the basement, "God will take care of you" and He did as we were all safe down there. A man whose wife and daughter were at church called the church and warned us and a local school principal was the one who took the call and had us all go to the basement

[DNSowles89]

I stood next to my Dad in the back yard and watched that tornado take Russiaville and Alto and West Middleton off the map. We were a few miles south of Russiaville. It went on to Kokomo and Greentown and further. I was a Sophomore in school. We could see several vortexes at times.

[jmwhite333]

We live in northern Indiana and everybody works in Elkhart, In and Dunlap .. My mother said that many of the people she worked with died .. One woman she said thought she grabbed the kids to put in basement but she grabbed the puppies .. People were so scared .. babies found unscaved and mile away .. All kinds of stories in this area regarding Blanket warning for entire northern indiana that day.

[sgtgtneal]

I remember that day, even though I was not quite four years-old at the time. We were lucky in Paulding County, Ohio, as the funnel clouds passed over and around us without touching down. But I do remember the power being out for some time, Mom reading the paper with a flashlight and listening to WOWO on battery power. Mom later remembered a dead dog found nearby had tags indicating it ended up about 60 miles from its Indiana home.

This recording is chilling, the warning came none too soon.

[sohidragon]

I was born that day.

[jdailey19811]

I was raised in Berne, Indiana. The tornado passed thru the north part of the town. It is directly east of Linn Grove, which was completely destroyed.

[shimmygirl75]

Is so thankful my dad, grandparents and two uncles lived through this tornado in Russiaville. Their house was demolished and had to be rebuilt. My mom lived behind Western high school and they hid under their beds. The audio is really eerie sounding.

[weasel2htm]

Very scary indeed, I have to ask (if the video poster knows) what was this recorded with (audio cassette)? and where did everybody take shelter, was there a church basement? The scary part is less than a minute after the windows were opened is when the steeple falls. (thanks to pokemon breeder 18)

[b3j8]

@weasel2htm This audio was incl as part of a radio special on the Palm

Sunday '65 storms. According to them, the recorder was a reel to reel

recorder. The power stayed on long enough to capture the church being

hit by the tornado. I too well remember this day as we lived in Fort Wayne

Indiana. My Dad that night kept listening to WOWO radio weather bulletins

on a small am radio...as our power flickered on/off then finally went off for good

about 7pm. SCARY is right!!

[kaliel23]

I was born and raised in Russiaville, IN. My mother, aunt, uncle and grandparents watched from the picture window of their farm as the tornado ripped through Russiaville, killing their cousins. Massive tornado that leveled the town. Been through several tornadoes as I lived on the 100 acre Stellite/Cabbot Park NW of Russiaville. My father did an excellent job of teaching us about weather and what to look for.

[afrosheenqueen]

Chills....

[parkman35]

I was in a tornado in Texas, and that's exactly what it sounds like...similar to a train in the distance approaching, the closer it gets the louder the roar, and that wind whistling....awesome...but very scary...

[jonsaguard]

Scary just to listen. I was in Elkhart IN when three tornadoes went through that day.

[pokemonbreeder18]

13 Seconds: Pastor interrupted to be told there is a tornado

29 Seconds: People get up and open the windows on the East side of the church

53 Seconds: First low rumblings of the tornado are heard

1 Minute 15 Seconds: The Organ falls over

1 Minute 28 Seconds: Church bell rings as the steeple falls over

1 Minute 40 Seconds: Tornado is pretty much on top of the church

[roadrodent1952]

I was 12 when that tornado happened. It passed about a two miles south of my home and missed the house of one of my uncles by some 40 feet that day. We drove through Alto a couple days later and it was a MESS! Russiavilee, to the south and west of Alto took a pretty hard "hit from the same tornado. It took out a big high tension powerline tower, about two miles east of Greentown, that was wind tunnel rated a 300 miles pre hour.

[longlakeshore]

Wow. That is chilling!

[babajennie]

WOW!

[rdtony]

That is one of the most frightening things I've ever heard!