St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page B001

1M NewsWatch SECTIONB AhouseatthecornerofDelmarBoulevardandWhittierStreetwasdestroyedbythetornadoofFeb.10,1959.Eightpeoplediedinthehouse’scollapse. ST.LOUISPOST-DISPATCH TheweatheronthenightofMonday, Feb.9,1959,wasallwrongformidwin- ter.Itwas63degreesdowntownatmid- night.HeavystormspoundedSt.Louis mentsandstreets.Amotoristdrowned nearAlton. bertFieldhadissuedasevere-thun- derstormwarning.Overnight,awispy Forecastersponderedaddingatornado usuallynotatimefortornadoes. Evenhadthebureauuppedthealert, warningsirens.Inthoseearlyyearsof airattackbytheSoviets. marandPage.

thesoundofrain.Aftermidnight,the temperatureplummeted.Shortlybefore 2a.m.,whentheWeatherBureaura- roaredaboverooftopseastofGlencoe, inruralsouthwesternSt.LouisCounty. Thestormgatheredkillingforceand churneditswaythroughtheheartof St.Louis.Ittoppledthe575-footKTVI- TVtoweratHamptonandOaklandav- andwreckedwholeblockswestand northofmidtown.Groundzerowasa three-storybrickhomeat4202Delmar eightpeopledied.Thetornado’sfinal Itwasthethirddeadliesttornadoin St.Louishistoryand,fornow,thelast devastatingone.ThisTuesday,Feb.10, isthe50thanniversaryofthetornado changed.TheArenawasdynamited10 yearsago.OliveStreetandBoyleAv- felltourbandecayandroseyetagain withattractivenewhousing.Remind- AmanisremovedfromthewreckageofahouseatDelmarBoulevardand WhittierStreetafterthe1959tornadorippedthroughthearea.Thebodyof ByJaneHenderson POST-DISPATCHBOOKEDITOR Thesharedbirthdayoftwogreat19th- centurythinkersandwritersmaybea coincidence.Butit’snocoincidencethat manytributesarecelebratingthe200th anniversaryofFeb.12,1809,thebirthday ofAbrahamLincolnandCharlesDar- win. Thepairhelpedshape ourmoralmo- book, Darwinopposedslaveryandweremid- wivestocontemporaryattitudestoward scienceanddemocracy.Theywerehon- wivesbydoubtingreligionandfaced harshpubliccriticismfortheirintellec- tualpositions. Someofthecoincidencesoftheirlives arefascinating.Theylosttheirmothers andbecameadoringparentsthemselves. Theygrievedatthelossofbabiesandan olderchild.

thoughhemarried wifeaddedtohisproblems.Darwin wasbetteroff.Hemarrieduptoo,but ucated.Hissistersadoredhim,while birth.Darwin’swifewaslovingandsup- attimeshefearedthesimilargenepool mightaffecttheirchildren. AsGopniknotes, Themoreyouread bytheirprivatestrugglesasmuchasby Therearemanyotherbookstopon- derduringthe200thcommemoration oftwomenwhonevermet.AllenC. Abra- evenshorterat77.MichaelBurlingame Onecanreadthe WorksofCharles densed downtoabout500pagesbyJamesA. Secord.Forthosewhowonderhowthe 19th-centuryEnglishmanfeltaboutrace titlesforfurtherexplorationonPage5. ofthecitychanged Getmore STLtoday.com/multimedia Seeanadditionalgalleryof Post-DispatchphotosandaWeb presentationbythelocalNational stormandotherSt.Louistornadoes.

VisitorstoSTLtoday.com’s TalkoftheDaybloghad thesethoughtsaboutrecent topicsinthenews: ONTHEDIGITALTV CONVERSIONDELAY: Wherehaveallthesepeople beenforthelastthreeyears thattheyarenotreadyfor theswitchovertodigitalTV Maybewewilljustaddthis popcornforallwhocannot Thepeoplethatcurrently ONMILEAGETAXES: Iseeitasdoubletaxation makeeverythingtollroads Createataxingauthority ontheuseofoxygen.That wayallwillbepayingatax. Unlessofcourseyouuseless oxygenthananotherandcan ofwearandtearonroads andhighwayscausedby STLtoday.com/talk MEETTHEPRESS 8A.M.|CHANNEL5 Sens.JohnEnsign,R-Nev.,and Reps.MikePence,R-Ind.,and STATEOFTHEUNION 8A.M.|CNN TransportationSecretaryRay N.Y.;SouthCarolinaGov.Mark Sanford. FOXNEWSSUNDAY 9A.M.|CHANNEL2 ofNationalEconomicCouncil; Sen.JohnCornyn,R-Texas. FACETHENATION CouncilofEconomicAdvisers; Sens.KentConrad,D-N.D.,and THISWEEK 10A.M.|CHANNEL30 ChairmanMichaelSteele. NEWSSHOWS Inside LincolnandCharlesDarwin.

B5 ofthesetwomen.Readourreviews. F8 Getmore STLtoday.com/multimedia ExplorethelivesofAbrahamLincoln andCharlesDarwininaninteractive timeline. STLtoday.com/multimedia PLEASESEE.