Events planned to commemorate the 1968 tornado

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

A handful of local events and observances are being planned for Tuesday, May 15, the 50th anniversary day of the 1968 tornado that devastated Charles City.

The main event will be an observance at the Floyd County Historical Society Museum, followed by an unveiling of a new exhibit about the tornado.

The observance will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Charles City Mayor Dean Andrews and others will speak about the day, and there will be a ringing of church bells at 4:50 p.m., near the time of day when the tornado struck the city.

Initially, there were thoughts of sounding the tornado siren at that time, but it was decided that church bells would be more appropriate.

The bells will ring 13 times, for the 13 people who died in the tragedy. During the ceremony the names of those lost will be read aloud.

Museum intern Adam Nielson has spearheaded the observance, with the help of museum Director Mary Ann Townsend.

After the ceremony, the museum will unveil its new exhibit, which Nielson said is a “fresh look at the tornado,” using digital and interactive technology. The museum will be open until 8 p.m. that day.

Earlier in the day, the Charles City Evangelical Free Church will be holding a tornado remembrance service at noon at Central Park. The service will be held around the flagpole, where at the base is a memorial marker containing the names of those who were killed. There will also be stories told by survivors and more.

In case of rain, the remembrance will be at Charles City Evangelical Free Church at 523 North Main.

The Press will include a 50th Anniversary commemorative special section with the Tuesday newspaper, including interviews with people who experienced the tragedy, stories and photos from our archives and from other collections from that day, as well as a reproduction of pages from the Press from May 16, 1968, the day after the tornado struck.

Extra copies of the special section will be available at the Press office.

KCHA Radio in Charles City will have a special programming that day, including one of the people who was on the air the day the tornado struck, and interviews with some of the people who experienced the event.