60 years on, Crystal Lake remembers Palm Sunday tornado that killed 6: ‘The sky turned yellow’

Longtime Crystal Lake resident Jim Heisler said he will never forget the sound of the winds and the color of the sky when the fatal Palm Sunday tornado tore through the town 60 years ago Friday.

“It was just like standing at the train station a step away from a roaring-through freight train, that big, heavy, low, rumbling sound. That’s just what the tornado sounded like in ‘65,” he said. “And the sky turned yellow.”

[ See our coverage of the 50th anniversary of the tornado in 2015 ]

The F-4 Palm Sunday tornado touched down in Crystal Lake about 3:30 p.m. April 11, 1965, destroying more than 100 homes, killing five residents and injuring at least another 95 before moving on to Island Lake, where it dug a trench in the bottom of the lake, destroyed more homes and killed a 5-year-old boy.

[ See more photos of the 1965 tornado aftermath ]

To mark the 60th anniversary, the Crystal Lake Historical Society will host “The Palm Sunday Tornado: 60th Anniversary” at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Crystal Lake Central High School auditorium. The presentation will have about 170 visuals that show the storm’s path, destruction and weather conditions at the time.

The historical society did a program for the 50th anniversary at the Crystal Lake Public Library, which showed great interest as it quickly filled up and two more programs were added, Crystal Lake Historical Society President Diana Kenney said.

“This program is built off of that one,” she said. “I’ve added more pictures, I’ve changed out some videos and some other things, of course, as we’ve gotten more resources.”

Kenney said she is grateful to have talked to survivors who have since passed. The Northwest Herald interviewed dozens of survivors for the 50th anniversary. Since then, many of the survivors have died, including Carl Woer of Island Lake, Ed Ozog, Keith Oehmke, Leo Carvis and Nancy Barchard.

“What was amazing to me is talking to people about what happened after,” Kenney said. “How the community came together to help their neighbors is a wonderful story. It’s quite heartwarming and [I’m] going, ‘That’s why I live in Crystal Lake.’ It’s a different town today from 60 years ago, but I have no doubt Crystal Lake would do that again and help its people.”

Belvidere resident John Enright was 10 and lived off Keith Avenue when the storm destroyed his family’s home. He remembers his father rushing everyone into the basement once debris started flying around.

“He said before he shut the basement door, he could see the sky because the roof was gone. It was that close,” Enright said.

With the help of home insurance, the Enrights were able to get a house rebuilt on the same property. A lot of people rented house trailers and lived on their front yard that summer during rebuilding, he said.

Heisler, who owns Heisler’s Bootery in downtown Crystal lake, was 24 and lived off Lill Avenue by Central High at the time of the storm. He said he tried to catch his garbage cans and lawn chairs that were blowing away before returning to safety. After the storm passed, Heisler remembers flagging down emergency vehicles off Route 14.

Soon after, Central High became the town’s emergency help station for aid, food and shelter. More than 200 people came to offer rooms in their homes to people in need of shelter, according to the Crystal Lake Historical Society.

“Nobody ended up having to sleep at the high school. People just took them into their homes,” Kenney said.

The tornado cut through from the southwest and traveled northeast to Island Lake, hitting the Colby subdivision the hardest. The historic Barlina Barn was spared, being in one of the first areas to get hit by the storm, and the structure remains standing today.

The tornado took the lives of Rae Goss, Louis Knaack, Richard “Dick” Holter, Rosalie Holter, John Holter and 5-year-old Charles Pokorny.

Goss was Heisler’s father’s cousin and lived off Virginia Road and Route 14 where the Walgreens now stands, Heisler said. Neighboring children were playing basketball at his property that fateful day.

“Here comes this big storm. Rae saw this and went out there and chased them home and never made it back to his house,” Heisler said. “He got hit by flying debris.”

Trees still standing were stripped of branches, leaving only trunks. Houses were falling “like dominos” and debris piles of plywood and metal were scattered where subdivisions once stood, Heisler said.

Heisler remembers seeing the aftermath of the Holter family home, with only a truck and a washing machine in the basement remaining. It’s a memory that turned into an important lesson to find a safe place without windows whenever a tornado siren goes off.

‘Mother Nature always wins," he said. “Get out of the way and take it seriously.”

In total, almost 50 counties in six states, including McHenry County, saw tornadoes touch down in a 12-hour period. As described by the National Weather Service, the twister occurred during a half-daylong storm event “that stretched from Cedar County, Iowa, eastward 450 miles to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and from Kent County, Michigan, southward 200 miles to Montgomery County, Indiana.” The twister outbreak is known as one of the deadliest in recorded history, with 271 deaths and more than 3,400 injuries, according to the NWS.

The storm affected how weather forecasters warn about incoming tornadoes to this day, with improvements on public preparedness, radio broadcasting, storm-spotting and warning systems, according to the NWS. After the Palm Sunday outbreak, the term “tornado forecast” was changed to “tornado watch,” a term used to this day.

It’s known to be the most devastating natural disaster in recent history to hit Crystal Lake, Kenney said. At the time, Crystal Lake did not have a tornado warning system, according to the Crystal Lake Historical Society. Within a year of the disaster, that changed.

The historical society asks anyone who remembers that day to reach out and tell their story.

“We’re always looking for more, always willing to listen to the next guy because there are just so many stories, and we’ve got to get them while we can,” Kenney said.

Three new exhibits related to the Palm Sunday tornado are open through September at the Colonel Palmer House at 660 E. Terra Cotta Ave. The exhibit “Tornado Tales” chronicles resident experiences and the other exhibits capture the 1965 through pop culture and the Crystal Lake Central graduating class.

“I’d encourage some of our young people to go because they didn’t live through it, but they should know about it,” Heisler said.

What to know if you go:

What: “The Palm Sunday Tornado: 60th Anniversary” presented by the Crystal Lake Historical Society.

When: 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 13

Where: Crystal Lake Central High School auditorium, 45 W. Franklin St.

Other details: Free admission, but donations are appreciated. Enter through the front door, Door 15 off Wallace Avenue or the bus hall door off Walkup Avenue

Website: Cl-hs.org/event/the-palm-sunday-tornado-60th-anniversary