Belvidere Daily Republican from Belvidere, Illinois • Page 1

i 7 7 We carried them in '-MI ''v-: 'Carr them in, carry them By PAT. MATTISON, Assistant Publisher -s in! Saturday, Basil 'Did you hear that noise? Boy, I've never heard anything like Jtll'a someone said as we walked; out. the door. The lights had blinked on and twice, and it was like night out all of a sudden. We looked up and saw a swirling mass of" clouds over the high school jumped into the car and raced intd the Uelivw rivening (Eicepi Sundays) In llelvidere, apron, Caledonia, Cardcn I'rairir, Poplar (irovo, Marengo, Cherry Valley, Kirklan.l, Kingston 7 Vol.

74 No. 95 -k. Belvidere, Illinois Zip Code 61008 April 22,1967 Tn Cent They vcsfm0 1 jnwayes: area 10 see if any damage had been done. Whitney and Warren Avenue and Main were blocked by allen trees. There was damage to homes, but it didn't lookjoo serious.

One, daughter was crying because her favorite plum tree had been snappedin half. We decided to go up East Avenue and check that area. We didn't get far about one block north of Sunnyside Greenhouse. Half a house was gone here. j.

i Sunnyside Greenhouse was a 1 mass' of broken glasa, and people were huddled in the garage, half afraid to look out. Peg, Strawn looked out over what had been their new lawn and garden department, and it was literally blown all over the'place. All four walls wer gone Fifty cent pieces, quarters," dimes, and pennies were all over thejsidewalk. Traffic came out of nowhere and tied up East Sherriff ten was -trying to control it lorne firsts-ambulance that was attempting to reach the high school. I looked from Sunnyside Greenhouse up to the high school and believe what I saw.

School buses upside turned over on their Sldesi strewn all over the new high school grounds. Kids were huddled around each bus, and some were running back and forth from the high school. The first bus I came upon was right side up, but it had been blown off the frame. A Four students were still inside injured Mrs Madeline Woods was Inside trying to. help two Ten Pages endless stream of injured.

onf us ion welled in the halls and lobbies of the hospital. Desperate mothers searched frantically, through the injured along the hallways on makeshift cots and on couches and chairs. There were tearful re-runions as some parents found' their children, but there were some who never found those they By MIKE CONK UN They came in waves to St. Joseph's Hospital First came the infured. ar riving in Just about any" kind of vehicle imaginable.

Nexr came the parents and relatives, anxoius, hoping. And then came those who wanted to help those who wanted. to do something. And through it allthe injured, the I lot was a jam of full of injured. Sirens wailed constantly and 1.

red lights flashed. And the injured kept coming. Not for several hours was a semblance of order gained. Ropes were finally put up t0 discourage onlookers, and uninjured from wandering through -i i ii i t- i i i ine naiis, dui lew neeueu menu The twoJloors were. Ml pf scurrying persons many looking for relatives, Parents made the rounds, an-, xiously checking room after room.

Most had been crying. A little while after the first iAjured were brought in, tech- nical reinforcements came over from St. Anthony's Hospital in bus driver was dead. seriously injured students. The Someone yelled to get this Papers saved for customers The Daily Republican will be saving papers for subscribers In the disaster area who staying elsewhere.

Subscribers may pick them up at The Daily Republican office at 401 Whitney Blvd. 7 Circulation Manager Wayne Woosley said: "Many papers were not delivered yesterday because our delivery truck was used as an Vehicle to remove victims from the disaster area." Regular subscribers in non- disaster areas who miss their paper may call the office to report missed papers. of the house insurance -com--panies, Extent of damage in most of the areas is still unreported, although the insurance companies have reported several houses to be total loss." The Immaouel Lutheran was termed a total loss this morning, by acting principal, Joe Schumacher. He said that he and the teachers were able to get most of the children in the area into the basement of the building, before the tornado hit. He added that he and the trustees of the.

chuch would be meeting this morning to discuss alternatives, i In tornado's wake, won last much longerl Two men running up from across -the field stopped, and we pried the bus door ojien. We put the student on a cafeteria table, and he was carried into the high schbol. Another injured student was put on a piece of plywood that must have blown off of a house. As started to carry him in, the storm hit again. The rain was like prickly needles 1 A young women came up and asked us if we heeded trans- portation.

-We: yes. She helped carry the board. The high school and trying to get in was mass confusion. The tables 'Were too wide to Jg6 throughrthe doors. 'ICafry them inl Carry them, inl It looks, like it's coming againl" Someone shouted.

We carried them in. Bodies were lying in the corriders. People were in.the gymnasium, and the gymnasium roof was leaking in several areas. tr" I met Chief Deputy Chuck Rand. We went out to the buses again.

There were still some One boy was sitting by the bus upright his legs twisted. "1 think my leg is broken," he said. ''t i (Continued On Page. 10) 1 According to Rogr Lam-phere, medical technician at St. Anthony's and 1962 graduate of BHS, those who were getting off duty at "the Rock-ford hospjtal late in the afternoon were over to St.

Joseph's In general, there appeared to be plenty of niirses-'-biJt not enough doc-torsl -Eventually doctors a nurses made anextensive, sy-i stetnatic check through the hospital, getting to those who had not received treatment at the c1.at N0moe wore iin nirn j. listg The injured never really stopped coming in. 1 7 Production is scheduled to resume Mbhday morning. Witnesses of the devastation at the Pacemaker Store have expressed the belief that it is a total loss, while surrounding areas were less severely hit. Insurance adjusters explained today that squads of additional men from surrounding cities have arrived in Belvidere, and settlements' of claims are being handled as rapidly as possible.

One insurance firm explained that the first payment on" a "total-loss" case was paid 1 early this morning. Trie adjusters are setting up emergency operations at most countless losses Couldn't have hit at worse time It, couldn't have hit at a worse time, according to Adam, Athletic Director and Dean of Men at Belvidere high school. buses were loaded with grade school kids, waiting for high school students to Joiff them," Ke added. The buse9 Were parked in the driveway at the school, "All of a' sudden all the windows at the school started blowing in," he said, "and 1 tried to get under my desk. 1 couldn't make It because of the glass ('' through my jiff ice so 1 just huddled and tucked Adam said he couldn't believe what he saw after- ward.

Buses were strewn all over the back fields i behind the new building. Roofs and walls were caved in. at the school. The parking lot was a mess of tangled, overturned cars. "We had kids all over the Adam said.

1 "You could see bundles of mud with arms sticking Adam said that three centers were established at the school for the injured. They were the gym, cafeteria and library. "There were many kids who needed immediate medical1 attention, but there just wasn't anything we could do, It was a helpless feeling as they brought in body after These high school kids really went to work," he said. Caravans of station wagons, ambulances and cars transported the injured school children to the hospital. boy out, "He's in shock and Page 10) The toll Based upon figures given by four area hospitals, a total of 194 persons have been admitted for treatment.

Swedish American Hospital, reports -that, 61 persons were admitted, and ine of those are listed as critical. RockfordMemorialr Hospital reports 25 'admissions, all in fair condition, StTAnthony's Hospital reports that 70 persons have been admitted, with 15 in critical condition. 1 St. Joseph's Hospital has admitted 38 persons, with four sought. A team of Belvidere doctors net the injured at the; emer-.

gencyJ entrance, giving treatment on a priority basis. Those who were less seriously injured were ushered to the main lobby if they could stand. Those couldn't were carted off to other parts of the building to await further medical treat-r lrient. A. caravan of station wagons, cars and ambulances brought the injured from Belvidere High School to the hospital.

Lists were kept of those who were brought 'but some persons escaped the initial lists, add- ing to the confusion. Eventually the lists of those at the hospital were made avail- aoie at me main counter. Many parents sped off to Rockford after they found that their children had been transferred. A temporary' morgue was established in the autopsy room and priests were seen scurrying into it giving last rites in several cases. In some cases, people droye-directly to the hospital with the injured in their cars, some of the 'vehicles with shattered windshields and smashed in roofs.

The. several used for-emergency treatment were fill- ed with screams from the children and moans of the older injured. Hallways were arteries of traffic, as the were wheeled through. And in one corner lay 'pile of ripped bloodied clothing, taken from the injured. The.f aces of the drivers were grim as they unloaded the injured.

The emergency parking aker Store(4) Casa Mid, (Continued On The tornado path of left yesterday's immense destruction which attests to the force of the storm. It swept into the Belvidere area from the southwest, and there hit the southeast corner of the Chrysler assembly A spokesman from the security- division at the plant explained mat, between 50 and 100 employe's cars were destroyed in the winds. Many of the Cars were overturned by the high winds. L. The spokesman said that the only damage to new cars was broken glass.

He added that none of the cars had been des troyed. (5) Higfiland Hospital, (6) -5 1 :lrzr.MlU" 1 IT iWrSwN.MK. mnc TScohpohZ. I FLORA TWR 6 Belvidere High Schoojr (7) Immanuel Luthei eran i School, Implement, (9) DeWane's Livestock Exchange. (ly Chrysler plant, (2) American Legion Hall, (3) Pacema 'I.