Stories from the April 16, 1998 Tornado

There are so many memories from April 16, 2998. Ten years later, some of the memories are vivid while others seem to be fading.

Here is some of what I recall...

When the tornado crossed the river, I stood at the front door of the Juvenile Justice Center in total amazement of what I saw. I had been in a tornado, but never in a way that I could really see it.

I remember Channel 4’s Nancy Van Camp saying it is time to take cover if you are in the downtown area. I thought she was talking directly to me. Workers from the stadium rushed the building trying to escape the storm. We worked quickly to get everyone into the basement.

Since I was in charge of the facility, I waited until last because I wanted to be sure the top two floors were secured and the kids in the detention center were under cover.

The huge mass of swirling air seemed to creep across the river at a snail’s pace. It moved (it seemed) in slow motion covering completely everything in its path with very black clouds of dirt, debris and rain. I stayed in the lobby of the the center and watched this tornado come and cover us. Then the slow motion stopped and it left so very quickly. It was strange and I did not hear a sound. Later everyone said it was so loud, but I really did not hear anything.

Everyone in the building was safe. We assessed the damage and posted guards on the perimeter for security purposes. We found only one window broken, but soon saw great damage to equipment at the stadium construction site.

Strangely, we did find a printer in the front seat of one of the Juvenile Court trucks. Later, we found the owner, one of the construction companies. The storm sucked the printer from a trailer then deposited it in the truck, only breaking the window and doing no more damage. Moreover, the printer still worked.

I was worried about both my wife and my mother so I called them immediately. Fortunately, we had planned for emergency situations so the building’s generators were already running and our phone system was operational. I was able to find Donna at her office in Brentwood, scared and worried about me, but safe. Mom was in Goodlettsville, also worried, but very safe drinking coffee at her kitchen table watching the news coverage.

Now, I thought what about our house. One of the court probation officers loaded me into his Jeep and headed into East Nashville. Trees were down and buildings destroyed, St. Ann’s flattened. Tulip Street United Methodist Church blown apart. Gerst Haus damaged badly and I hadn’t even been driven a mile yet.

I was able to get to my house on Boscobel Street to find the front looking normal. Now, there was a tree in my neighbor’s living room and my other neighbor’s 125-year carriage house was flattened, but our house was intact.

As I entered the house, I thought it was very dark, but there was no electricity so it should be dark, right? When I got through the house and opened the back door I found several trees laying on the house…I couldn’t see it from the front. But no broken glass. When I went around the house outside, I could see the trees on the house, a crumbled chimney, gutters ripped away and the privacy fence hanging in the air along with the root ball of very old trees.

Still, no major damage!

I guess, I could go on and on, but mostly, I remember our friends.

I remember how a guy from church, Jack Baker, came on Friday to cut wood off our house and how thankful we were for him. I remember, a man in a Cadillac cruising the streets handing out tarps and nails. I remember, the Salvation Army bringing in hot food. I still can see the blue police lights patrolling at night making all of us feel better.

I remember how much we realized we loved our neighbors, Libby and Leslie. In many ways, the tornado brought us closer and made us a family. During the days that followed, we sat on their porch with hot coffee and greeted other neighbors walking through the neighborhood checking on each other. We ate meals together, we cried together and we even drank a little wine together.

I will never be able to say I am glad we had a storm, but I am so very thankful for what the storm brought to us and what we have been able to do with what it left!



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