Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 17

THE MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE June 15,1968 p-sVTIL Prefer i- Stv trees into Tracy houses iliM 9 Dead After Tracy Tornado 7,500 Persons Hep fo Ceor fhe Rufcbe TRACY RESIDENTS PICKED THROUGH RUBBLE BENEATH STRIPPED TREE Turbulent winds slammed debris where leaves and branches were before High winds tossed cars women, most of them found in basements or beneath the debris, were killed. The youngest victim was 2-year-old Nancy Vla-hol, who was killed when the twister struck the home of Mrs. Linda Vaske, 20, who was planning to adopt the child, Tracy Municipal Hospital officials said six persons remained in critical condition late yesterday. More than 72 were treated after the storm struck Thursday evening, and many still were hospitalized. The rush crowded the beds into the corridors of the 42-bed hospital.

The tornado swept about two blocks wide through predominantly residential sections of the city, squashing homes, ripping up trees and flipping 32 railroad boxcars each weighing 22 tons onto their sides. They contained tons of meat, wool and timber. ONE BOXCAR was hurled about 150 yards By SAM MARTINO and FINLAY LEWIS Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writers TRACY, Minn. With one-fourth of the town de-stroyed by a tornado's punch, nine persons dead and hundreds left homeless, Tracy residents began the long struggle back to They continued to sift heaps oj debris today for anything salvageable to make life a little easier after they were spared from Thursday's havoc. Some may still lie buried under cement and wood pilings, although Police Chief Merle, kathman late Friday said nine persons previously reported missing have "been located.

More than 1,500 persons worked yesterday, helping dig the community out of the wreckage left by the funnel that swooped out of the south and tore a mile-and-a-half path through this small rural community. THREE MEN and six terday after flying in from the state Republican convention in Duluth, was asked by city officials about the possibility of calling up National Guard troops particularly engineer companies to help in the massive cleanup. LeVander said he would check with guard officials. About 150 guardsmen already in Tracy from local and nearby units were being used for security duty alone. AS THE tornado roared through the city, the main business section was largely spared, along with St.

Mary's Roman Catholic Church and elementary school. But the a Elementary School part of it a three-story structure built just before the turn of the century, and a newer section were demolished. The city's power plant and water system were knocked out by the twister, and hundreds of disaster relief workers, policemen and volunteers poured into the city to help the homeless clean up the debris and locate scattered personal belongings. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. said it had resumed service in and out of Tracy yesterday, but operators were handling only emergency incoming calls due to the large volume of calls.

office of Sen. Walter Mon-dale, announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) had declared Lyon County, in which Tracy is located, a disaster area. Several adjacent counties, also touched by the storm, were included. This makes area businessmen eligible for low-interest SBA loans, applications for which will be received at a temporary field office being established at Tracy or at the Minneapolis SBA office. Red Cross officials on the scene said a survey indicated that 300 homes and businesses were hit by the tornado, and 110 of them were destroyed.

Ken Garden of the Federal Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) estimated damage at about $4 million. But the SBA in Washington was estimating the damage at $2.95 million and was listing the damage as: 25 homes destroyed, with damage of $375,000. 50 homes suffering major damages, $400,000. 225 suffering minor damages, $1,125,000. 4 businesses destroyed, $200,000.

20 businesses suffering major damages, $500,000. 20 businesses suffering minor damages, $350,000. Gov. Harold LeVander, who toured the area yes upside down and drove into a street after knocking down rows of huge trees and smashing through a row of frame houses. In Washington, D.C., the Casualties TRACY, Minn.

Listed as killed in the Tracy tornado: Fred Pilatus, 70, retired. Mrs. John Werner, 75, found halfway down the basement stairs of her home. Paul Swanson, a butter-maker in Clarkfield who lives in Tracy, found in his wrecked car north of town. Mrs.

Barbara Holbrook, 50. Nancy VlahoL 2. Mrs. Ella Haney, 84, a widow. Mrs.

Charles Harnden. Mrs. Ellen Morgan, 75. Walter A. Swanson, 47, found dead in a field near town.

Listed in critical condition at Tracy Municipal Hospital were: Howard Lorenz, 68. Mrs. Minnie Pilatus, 72. Mrs. Clifford Vaske, 20.

Sadie VanDusen, 78. Carl Berger, 72. itSmmmi-m Urn THIS BOXCAR WAS BLOWN ABOUT V2 BLOCKS FROM TRACKS INTO STREET Other cars were toppled from tracks that run through the town WHEN THE tornado struck Tracy, the above clock in the elementary school stopped at the time of impact. At right, Mrs. Evelyn Smith held her dog, which was found in the rear of her house by National Guardsmen Friday morning.

Minneapolis Tribune Photos by Kent Kobersteen Ms1 of. K7miMag llriT-rw-rrMin v' Xy 4 W'-, iwwi MIBW mm rn Miimi-n mi mT'ft iwnitifti avft.M.iniai mii rat rrtrirnivniiMiwYrM tJ Ji I I 1 4 i TRACY'S BRICK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS NO IATCH FOR TWISTER The, storm also damaged the Uwn's municipal building Wreckage and two silos were all that remained at this farm outside Tracy after Thursday night's storm.