Carol Bryant with a copy of "Night of the Twisters" (Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Forty five years later, anyone who was in Grand Island the night of June 3, 1980, still has vivid memories of that night when seven tornadoes swept through Grand Island.
I had just finished my freshman year at Hastings College and was working as a checker at the Allens store at the corner of Third and Eddy streets, in the building where the Salvation Army is now located.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. June 3, 1980, severe weather warnings began airing on weather radios in the store. As people heard the warnings, they left the store. Because there were no more customers in the store, we were allowed to go home early before the usually 9 p.m. closing time.
When I went out into the parking lot, the wind was blowing dust. I recall having hard contacts in my eyes, and the wind and dust was creating havoc for my eyes.
I drove to our family home at the corner of First and Broadwell streets. My Dad was standing at the northwest corner of our property, looking at the ominous skies north of Grand Island.
We had a room in the southwest corner of our basement nicknamed the “Tornado Room.” At that time, the southwest corner of a basement was recommended as a site to go to when there was a tornado warning.
We commonly took a transistor radio and flashlights to the basement. I don’t remember when the first tornado sirens sounded in our neighborhood, but me, my parents, and my brother Jay went to the basement.
We listed to KRGI to hear reports about the weather. We were still in the basement at approximately midnight, and KRGI went off the air. That’s when we knew something was terribly wrong.
We stayed in the basement an hour or two longer, then went to bed.
After I woke up the next morning, I remember my Mom telling me, “You won’t believe what has happened.” She proceeded to tell me what she knew about the tornadoes.
My Dad was working as an administrator for Grand Island Public Schools. He and my brother, Jay, were going to schools in Grand Island to assess the damage. I remember them talking about being at Dodge Elementary School and looking south. The neighborhood was destroyed. Starr Elementary School had fairly significant damage.
Like many in Grand Island, the electricity at our home did not work. People would go to locations throughout town to get dry ice to help preserve the food in their refrigerators and freezers.
Electricity was restored within several days in Central Grand Island.
The American Red Cross was soon on hand providing assistance to people in the tornado-ravaged neighborhoods. My parents volunteered to hand out meals from the Red Cross trucks that were driven to various neighborhoods. I had tonsillitis and a fever, so I stayed at home.
My brother, Jay, was in college and was going back to summer school in a few days. He had his car packed with things he would need for the summer. We drove in a separate car with him so that when he reached a checkpoint south of Grand Island, we could vouch for him that he was a college student, not a looter.
Our friends, Bill and Wilma Hotz, lived on Oklahoma Street several blocks south of Dodge Elementary School. Their home was destroyed by the tornadoes. The government was providing trailers for people to live in whose homes had been destroyed. There was a delay for the Hotz family to get a trailer. We invited Bill and Wilma to live with us for several weeks.
Bill was the principal at Wasmer Elementary School. They were so thankful to live in a home with things we take for granted such as electricity and running water.
Another connection I have to the June 3, 1980, tornadoes is writing numerous stories for The Grand Island Independent about the event.
The stories I remember the most were about Ivy Ruckman, author of the children’s book, “Night of the Twisters.” She came to Grand Island a number of times to speak after the book was published. I have a copy of the book, autographed in 1986.
On the “major” anniversaries of the tornadoes, usually every five years, the Independent would publish a special group of stories about the tornadoes. Eventually, the newspaper created a website, gitwisters.com, titled “The Real Night of the Twisters.”
I have several stories at the site, including one about Ivy Ruckman and another about public safety workers describing rescue efforts.
Another notable item is there is a Wikipedia entry titled “Night of the Twisters” that is about the children’s book by that name. In the reference section of the entry, there are references to two stories written by me about the book.
Overall, I feel very fortunate that our family home and neighborhood were not damaged by the tornadoes. A number of my friends had homes that were damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes. Grand Island showed what a great community it is, with neighbors helping neighbors after June 3. The town was also very fortunate to have a number of groups from outside of the community come to offer their assistance.
