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Algona survivors recall 1979 tornado

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Blair Redenius, a retired elementary school teacher, stands outside Bertha Godfrey School in Algona recently. Redenius, who used to teach at Bertha Godfrey, is holding a picture he took of a clock inside that school. The clock was found dangling from the wall after the tornado of 1979 tore through the community. The clock showed a time of 7:14 p.m.

ALGONA — When longtime educator Blair Redenius went into the Bertha Godfrey School after the 1979 tornado tore through the Algona community 40 years ago today, one of the things that caught his eye was a black and white clock that dangled from a classroom wall by its cord.

Redenius, of Algona, found the clock the next day when he and a group of teachers went to the school to assess the damage. The clock showed a time of 7:14 p.m.

“That must be when the electricity went out,” said Redenius, who was a fifth-grade teacher at the time.

No classes were being held, and no one was injured there when the tornado hit. But the damage was widespread.

Redenius lived along Heckart Street, about six blocks from the Bertha Godfrey school. He said he was getting ready to go umpire a baseball game that was to begin at 8 p.m.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Blair Redenius, left, and Bernie Weydert, both of Algona, look through pictures of the aftermath of the 1979 tornado that swept through the Algona community. Redenius and Weydert survived the twister.

“It was hot and muggy,” he said. “The skies darkened and the sirens sounded. Needless to say, the game never happened. But by the evening, it was a nice sunset. It turned out to be a nice evening.”

Redenius said the tornado didn’t damage his home.

But others were not as fortunate in that regard.

Bernie Weydert, an Algona contractor, was watching from the back patio of his home as the twister came through.

Weydert lived on Oak Street, near a cemetery.

-Submitted photo
Bob Bowker, the principal of Bertha Godrey School in 1979, looks out a window of the school shortly after a tornado swept through the community.

“I watched it destroy stuff in the backyard,” Weydert said. “The neighbors’ greenhouse blew away.”

Weydert took cover with about 20 seconds to spare, he said.

“You can’t take your eyes off of it because you can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s something you go through and you don’t want to do it again. I can still hear the wood cracking and the glass breaking.”

Gary Merrill, of Algona, was 8 years old when the tornado swept through and tore off the roof of his family’s home.

His family lived southeast of the school.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Branches were thrown about and trees left bare after the 1979 tornado swept through a portion of Algona.

“We had been out at my brother’s Little League game,” Merrill recalled. “My dad took us out to Hy-Vee before going home.”

Merrill said as he looked to the west from the parking lot, dark clouds were starting to take shape.

“Dad came hustling out from the store,” he said. “The sirens went off, and I could see funnel clouds behind us.”

Once home, Merrill, along with his parents, brother and sister, took shelter in the basement of their home under an old library desk.

“It sounded like a freight train,” Merrill said. “We heard windows breaking, walls crashing. It was just an unbelievable noise.”

-Submitted photo
Cardboard and other materials that were in storage shelves inside Bertha Godfrey School in Algona, were damaged from the 1979 tornado.

When Redenius, Weydert, and Merrill, emerged from their respective shelters, they couldn’t believe the destruction.

“It was chaotic,” Redenius recalled. “There was some activity, but the radio was trying to have everyone stay put.”

He added, “The National Guard was there that night or the next day. From that standpoint, you knew it was a major event.”

Most of the roads were impassable, so Redenius walked to the school.

“Our teaching staff assembled the next day to go through all of the rooms, the materials, files,” he said. “We tried to salvage what we could and sort the records.”

He added, “The trees around Bertha Godfrey were completely stripped. It looked like a war zone. The side of the building had been ripped off. The roof on the south end was off.”

But one particular portion of the school stood strong. It was an area of the school that had been designated as the tornado shelter area.

“That new wing, built in 1975, where the restrooms were,” Redenius said. “Had we been in school, those would have been the places where we went. That area was pretty intact.”

In the coming days and weeks, there were a lot of volunteers to offer their help during the cleanup.

“People from quite a few miles away came with horse trailers and pickup trucks,” Redenius said.

“After the tornado, the street was full of cars,” Weydert added. “People looking at the damage.”

Weydert was left with next to nothing.

“Our house tipped out into the street,” Weydert said. “The whole subfloor was gone — we had an open basement. All we had were the clothes on our back.”

At first, Weydert struggled just to buy necessities.

“I couldn’t write a check,” he said. “I didn’t have my ID. No one would cash a check in town. Finally, a woman said she knew it was me and I was able to write a check.”

Months later, Weydert said he received a call from someone in southeast Iowa.

“Someone called and had found one of my checks,” he said. “It was under a tree at a family reunion.”

Weydert found his car on the other side of a neighbor’s home.

“It still started,” Weydert said. “But it was twisted.”

Weydert didn’t sleep much for a while.

“I worked construction,” he said. “I had to help people rebuild. During the day I worked for a construction company rebuilding other people’s homes, and at night and on the weekends I did my own.”

He added, “I worked day and night. It takes a toll on you.”

Merrill said he and his family were probably in the basement between 15 and 20 minutes before it was over.

“When we came up, all that was left was the interior walls and fireplace,” Merrill said. “The rest of our home was gone. Our neighbors’ homes were gone.”

When Merrill thinks of the tornado, it gives him a different appreciation for life.

“You learn to appreciate people and you get less attached to your things,” he said.

As for the Bertha Godfrey school, it remains intact. It is used as an early childhood center.

But in the fall of 1979, elementary students had to be bussed to a vacant office building on U.S. Highway 18 for classes, while work was being completed at Bertha Godfrey.

By the fall of 1980, Bertha Godfrey had reopened.

Redenius said the tornado left its mark, not just physically, but emotionally.

“We had our drills and kids kind of don’t always take them seriously, but for the next few years after we had that tornado, all the kids knew how important all of our drill work was and they took it seriously,” Redenius said. “We gave a forewarning that we were going to do this drill, so some of them wouldn’t get too alarmed. To some of them, it was really upsetting. People lost homes. For several years after, it was a traumatic thing.”

Redenius said the tornado proved to him and the community that they could bounce back.

“It always made me realize we can handle change,” he said. “We made it through the tornado when change was thrust on us. We can handle change if we plan for it and move forward. We wouldn’t want to go through it again, but as one looks back I’m assuming we’re stronger because of it.”

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