I was five years old at the time. My family had recently moved from north-central Edmonton to the Mill Woods area in south Edmonton. I was fairly young at the time so I'm sure some of my memories of that day have become exaggerated or fuzzy, but I'll try to recount it.
My mom took my brother and sister and I to the playground that morning. It was a hot day, and the clouds looked yellowish. I don't remember this, but my parents told me this part.
Later at home, storm clouds rolled in. They got so dark, it looked like night outside. I think I had to be reminded that it was still the afternoon. There was a thunderstorm, and somehow (either by radio, phone, or TV) we heard that a tornado had touched down. I had never heard of a tornado before. My parents explained what it was and what to do if one came near the house--go to the basement. I remember being scared. After all, I was a five-year-old kid who just learned that wind can get so strong it can destroy a house and kill people. (I'd probably heard the story of the Wizard of Oz by that time, but maybe the story didn't make me realize how bad tornadoes really are.)
The tornado didn't come anywhere near our house but it did hit the other end of Mill Woods. After the storm let up, my dad went out for a drive. He may have been bringing some things to donate to victims of the tornado, or maybe he just wanted to survey the damage, but if that's the case I'm pretty sure he made some donations later. The rest of us stayed inside. I was scared to go outside, and I think I was scared for my dad too, but by then I'm sure he knew the tornado was nowhere near our house. I remember him coming back in the house with a hailstone he found in the yard. I think it was close to the size of a baseball, but maybe my memory is exaggerated. (Everything seems bigger to young kids.)
Another day my family went for a drive to see some of the damage near the edge of the city. All I remember was seeing one of those large metal power poles lying in a crumpled heap. That tornado was powerful.
According to Wikipedia, mayor Laurence Decore said the city's response to the tornado showed that we are a "city of champions." Later, that became Edmonton's official slogan. (That same year the Oilers won the Stanley Cup and the Eskimos won the Grey Cup, so the slogan may have also referred to those champions, and that seems to be what most people think of now.)
My family was fortunate. The worst thing that happened to us was damaged shingles, and insurance covered that. Some people lost their lives or the lives of loved ones. But tragedies like these can bring out the best in a community. This photo (with a rainbow in the background--the colouring is kind of weird) shows a sculpture in Hermitage Park in east Edmonton, called "Pillar of Love," made in memory of that tornado. It shows five people linked together, all supporting each other, but the base doesn't consist of their legs. Instead, their bodies all merge into one pillar, "unmovable and steadfast," in the words of the sculptor.
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