It was 50 years ago today...

...that the Ruskin Heights tornado hit the southern reaches of the Kansas City area at approx. 7:48 on that Monday night.  It was the deadliest and most destructive tornado ever to hit the K.C. metro area, killing 39 people, injuring over 500, and causing massive property damage all along its 71-mile path, and was on a par in terms of intensity with the recent Greensburg, KS tornado that pretty much wiped out that entire town.  I've long had a fascination about the Ruskin tornado, ever since reading a lengthy account of it in The Kansas City Star on its 20th anniversary in 1977.  Have I really aged 30 years already?  But I digress...

What's really scary to think about is this tornado could have been far worse if it had struck at the same time on the night before or the night after, because the Ruskin High School gymasium would have been full of people on either night during graduation activities—the Baccalaureate ceremony took place on Sunday night, and the Commencement would have taken place on Tuesday at that same hour.  As you can see by what was left of the gym (the arches in the upper right of the above photo), the death toll would have most assuredly been infinitely higher.  The other pic here creepily—but quite accurately—describes the aftermath.  In another odd coincidence, local KCMO-Channel 5 TV viewers were interrupted by storm bulletins both during "I Love Lucy" at 7:00, and another CBS show called "December Bride" at 7:30 which ironically featured a character named Lily Ruskin.  Too weird...

Interestingly enough, the house I currently live in (built in 1954) was in the path of that tornado at one point, but it veered about a mile east of here and crossed through what is now known as Knobtown and headed in the direction of Blue Springs before finally lifting for good after being on the ground for over two hours—a rarity for any tornado.

There is an excellent website that commemorates the tragedy and provides more background and history than I'm able to here.  Considering the many major tornadoes that have struck throughout what's known as "Tornado Alley" since 1957, it's amazing that the Kansas City area hasn't been hit with something far worse than what hit 50 years ago tonight.  We're really lucky in that respect, I think...