I wasn’t even born yet but I have a copy of the Fargo Forum that my
grandmother gave me. I read it from first page to last. I have always
had a fascination about tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. but events that
happen in my area just hold my interest.
I would like to pass on to you a story that my Earth Science
teacher told me about the Fargo tornado. My teacher, Mrs.. Geraldine
Deutsch, lived in north Fargo during the tornado. She said the day was
warm and sultry.
Mrs.. Deutsch had picked a big bouquet of peonies and placed them by the
fireplace. She was getting ready to serve supper and had just placed a
bowl of mashed potatoes on the table when she and her family took cover
from the oncoming storm. After the storm was over and they came out of
their shelter, the family was amazed by what it saw. The windows were
blown out.
Glass from the windows was embedded in the walls and the bowl of mashed
potatoes on the table. Everything just sparkled. Mrs.. Deutsch said
she looked at the vase of peonies by the fireplace and not one petal was
disturbed. They were just as beautiful as when she picked them.
My science teacher has been retired for many years now but this was
just one of many weather stories that Mrs.. Deutsch told us. Maybe this
is why weather has always fascinated me. This story has stayed with me
for many years. I have heard many stories about the power of a tornado
but this is one I will never forget. — Sharon (Heidorn) Stevens, Page, ND
I read the story Sharon (Heidorn) Stevens posted on 6-14-07, “Glass from the windows was embedded in the walls.” Sharon’s high school Earth Science teacher, Gerry Deutsch (my mother), related the story to Sharon. I was 5 years old in June 1957 and remember my Mom calmly getting us kids into the basement and covering us with the couch cushions, even though I very much wanted to look out the west-facing basement window. That may have been the last time my Mom was ever calm when a tornado was within 10 miles…. I also remember our swing set being perched on top of the back yard power lines, and a kitten having been blown through my sister’s second story bedroom. Like Sharon, I have been fascinated with wild weather ever since that day. We just don’t get enough variety out here in northern Virginia.