April 19, 1968 a tornado ripped through the town of Greenwood, Arkansas and pretty much leveled it, killing 13 people and injuring at least 200 others.
My husband and I moved here in 1987, but there is a definite “before the tornado” and “after the tornado” feeling here. There was a piece on the local news about the 55 year anniversary of that tornado yesterday.
It was an F4 tornado and came up in the middle of the afternoon when school was letting out. In 4 minutes, the town was leveled.
“GREENWOOD, Ark. — On April 19, 1968, one of the deadliest tornadoes to strike Arkansas tore through Greenwood, killing 13 people and injuring more than 200. The tornado was rated an F4. Around 3:15 p.m., the tornado touched down in the southern section of Greenwood for four minutes.”
The town was rebuilt and was totally intact when we moved here in 1987. The people here are resilient, hard-working, with a lot of heart. The square in the center of town was pretty much wiped off the map, but once again has a charm that drew me the minute I saw it. It reminds me of Nevada, Missouri, where my mom’s parents lived. I visited in the summers and could walk to the square and ‘shop,’ just like a real person, rather than having to wait on someone to take me somewhere. I could walk to the library, buy a cherry coke from the counter in the local drug store, window shop, and more. I have wonderful memories of that time.
KFSM
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