This is an article published in the Albert Lea paper in May, 1967.
TROUBLE WITH A CAPITAL "T" Northwood - If you think you have troubles, consider the Elmer Weidler family, southeast of Northwood. Their home was damaged and they lost the other buildings and some livestock and machinery in the tornado last Sunday, April 30th. Their only son, Gerald, and his wife, married only a year, lost their home, furnishings and clothing in the tornado. Their wedding presents are gone. The couple's only daughter, Mrs. Marilyn Ulve of Lake Mills, is ill, having lost a newborn baby about a week ago. Last Tuesday, Mrs. Elmer Weidler fell and broke her hip. According to reports, a dog ran in front of her and she tripped over it. She is in a Mason City hosppital, where she had surgery on her hip. This is only part of the story. Since this story hit the press, my brother was killed in a tractor accident on May 13th. He suffered a seizure and was run over by a field digger. And, that same summer, I can't remember the date, my dad broke his hip also. Needless to say, that was a very bad year. When I woke up in the morning, I wondered what would happen next. Attached is a picture of our farm after the tornado.
Certainly not a very good summer for the Weidler family. Your story brings life to the earlier comments of Janis Hendrickson and Richard Holstad - why do some survive and others do not? Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteIn '63 I foolishly stuck my hand in a corn chopper and nearly lost all my fingers. Then I got on the tractor to drive it home, passed out and fell off the tractor. I survived because it was an Allis-Chalmers with an off-set seat, so I fell away from the equipment I was pulling. A little over a year later my dad lost his arm in that same chopper. This past week Dad had a stent installed and he's still going strong, but it was kind of funny when doctors came in wanting to shake his hand, not knowing there's nothing under the sheets. One nurse walked through her checklist of questions, then announced she needed to put in an IV, and which arm did he prefer, right or left? We all had a good laugh. Some survive.
I see why you say that you dodged the bullet a few times. I knew about your dad, but didn't know about you getting hurt. You were one lucky guy to get back home ok.
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