t ,t WRECKAGE FROM WHICH 10 PERSONS ESCAPED DEATH AL HAFNER HOME, CAR WRECKED BY TORNADO An unidentified boy points out. to his mother where 10 persons huddled in the basement when the Fri­ The tornado lifted the Al Hafner'home.off its foundation and set it down on their automobile parked day night tornado wiped the two-story Alfred Koenigsknecht home off the map. Seven of the 10 per­ behind the house .Friday night. Also lost was a large barn and a number of out-buildings. No one was sons were treated for minor injuries. In the background is the demolished Fowler Motor Sales garage. hurt here. _ - < ' hurt seriously in 2 twisters! Fowler hit hard Friday By LOWELL G. RINKER, Editor At least two tornadoes slammed across the midsection of Clinton County last Fri­ day night, causing a number of minor in-" juries and inflicting property damage that will run into the~hundreds of thousands.bf dollars. "Possibly five others touched down 112th Year, No. 1 ST. JOHNS, MICHIGAN - THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1967 2SECTIONS - 34 PAGES 15 Cents briefly. Hardest hit was the village of.-Powi'er, where, the first tornadic storm abtiut 8:30 Recreation p.m. sliced off-the south and east edges of town, destroying two homes, several busi­ nesses and severely damagingother houses.' The Alfred Koenigsknecht home at cut; pool to 10628 E. 2nd Street (M-21) was demolished, and seven of 10 persons-who ran to the shelter of the basement were injured, none seriously. open but . About 9:15 another' storm swept down across Lowell Road four miles west of St. St. Johns' recreation program the commission said. Johns and scattered a 12 x 60 house trailer will be cut back drastically this OTHER PHASES OF the sum­ year, and although the swimming mer recreation program will be over a half-mile of the countryside.' pool will be opened, swimming cut altogether. There will no It roared y-on ove>r St. Johns, tearing lesson fees will be raised sharp­ organized playground activity and ly. no organized softbstll games off the roof and a portion of the back end of The city commission estab­ sponsored by the City of St. the Herbruck's Cheese Counter business lished theoperatlonalpoliciesfor. Johns. at the north edge of the city. Part of the the recreation .program las.t The softball diamond will be Tuesday night In the face of voter available for public use, and any big, screen at the Family Drive-In theater rejection April 11 of a 20-mill organized leagues desiring to use was also blown -away. city taxxlimitation charter the field may do so upon proper amendment application and payment of $10 All of Clinton County was . under a Swimming less fees for this per night in advance for use of tornado "warning" for over two hours. All summer will be $5 for persons the lights and field. Applications' residing inside the, city limits of are available at the park office; HERBRUCK'S ROOF TAKEN OFF IN TORNADO- over ,Stv Johns residents sought shelter in.„ St. Johns and $10 for those who reservations will be on a first their basements, many for the first time live outside the city limits. The come, first-served basis. Herbruck's Cheese. Cbunter Store on the-north edge of St. Johns suffered extensive damage Friday fees compare with -%\ ' and $5 ever. St.* Johns' civil defense sirens, a sub­ The cutback in the recreation night when a tornado took off par.t of the roof and blew, if onto US-27,. A section of the roof lies in charged last year. program is only one the city ject of controversy between the city and fathers feel will be necessary the driveway where it was dragged. , ' ' • the county civil defense office, were sound­ POOL HOURS WILL be 9 a.m. because of the rejection.of char­ t to 5 p.m. daily Monday through ter amendments. Because the ed about. 8:55 for the first time In about Friday and X to 5 p.m. on Sat­ city felt there was some doubt urdays. It will not be open eVe- about whether they could assess four years. nings or on Sundays. Emphasis 16 mills, as they have-been, or The tornado devastation was most complete along Grange St. Johns huddles, but major Road two miles north of Westphalia. Homes anil barns on the will be placed on swimming les­ only 10 mills, they asked ap­ sons, the commission decided, proval of amendments to, the LeRoy Spitzley and Al Hafner farms were demolished, twisted and public swimming will be al­ charter that definitely set the apart and scattered by the winds. lowed only when it does not in­ limitations at 20 mills. Voters Mrs Spitzley and her three children, Anna 7, Lisa 5 and terfere with scheduled lessons. turned It down. damage on city's fringes (See STORMS SPARE, Page 2-A) , Admission for public swim­ The city will bring the ques­ ming will be 25 cents for all tion up again June 21, but, the Most of St. Johns proper es- city and out-of-town stopped at children of school age and 50 recreation cutback will assumed- caped the ravaging tornadoes of the municipal building for shel- cents for adults. ly be final now because of the Friday night but not without more ter, The commission considered necessity of hiring lifeguards and basement-huddling by residents St. Johns' civil defense sirens * the possibility of not even .open­ other recreational help for the than ever before. sounded the tornado warning (that ing the pool this summer, thus summer before election time. One tornado smashed a house of impending hits) at 8:55 p.m* \ i saving considerable money. But trailer four miles west,thentore the minute state police sent the they felt such a savings would the roof off Herbruck's Cheese warning. It was the first time in ( mean too drastic a cut in the Counter Just outside the north four years the sirens had been recreation program. Voters to get city limits, and ripped down part used. Only three of the five were "We have decided to keep the of the screen at the Family blown — those on the hospital, pool open and will make every millage Drive-In Theater. Fe.deral -Mogul and'Sealed effort to make it pay for itself," A barn on Wildcat Road a mile Power. Another at Hettler Motor east of St. Johns wasblowndown. Sales was mistakenly thought to issue again through It all St. Johns resi­ be out of1 commission; a fifth CLINTON COUNTY dents waited in the shelter of siren at the courthouse was In­ The wording will be different, basements and public buildings* operable because of construction traffic deaths but the CityofSt. Johns is coming Two hundred high school students work there. back to voters June 21 to ask again attending a "Tumble Twist* out­ About 20 minutes after the since January 1} 1967 for a charter amendment that will ing at the St, Johns High School "take cover"^siren sounded, - definitely spell out the commis- gym were herded to the basement a tornado whipped across Lowell . slon's tax levying limits. boiler room where teachers and Road, just south of M-21, picking They're asking for 20 mills as three city police officers kept up and then smashing to the the limit, a figure that until re­ them for the two hours that St. ground a 12 x6&foot trailer own- THIS TIME'LAST cently they thought was the liml- Johns was under a tornado ed by Mr and Mrd*Donald Boak. YEAR: 4 tlon. But a charter study cast "warning.* The wind left a front porch steps (See VOTERS, Page 4-A) EIGHTY PERSONS from the (See ST. JOHNS, Page 3-A) TORNADOES' PATHS EASILY DISTINGUISHABLE ACROSS MID-CLINTON COUNTY Page 2 A CLINTON COUNTY NEWS, St Johns, Michigan Thursday; April 27, 1967 • •....-. .W.W.V.W. .v.. .v.*.v-w.w.v;v.v,% "••••,•. v.v.v.v.v. w.v.v.v.v.v.v.v. v. w.v.v.v.v.v.w.v.v. ;w.:v.: v.v.v.v.v.w.vMXwrc£<!->>>: "•>. Storms spare lives m (Continued from Page 1-A) Elizabeth 2 were pulled out of basement rubble* Mrs Spltzley suffered a kneee Injury but was released after treatment at Car­ More on'storm son City Hospital. Additional stories and pictures on the Portions of the roof at Fowler High School were blown off Friday tornadoes appear on Page A-l, 3, 'by the storm, and that damage led to more water damage to the 4, 9 & 11. A complete picture page is on interior of the building, particularly the kitchen and science Page B-2. classrooms. Classes were cancelled until further notice. Schafer, was moved back abouWive or six feet off its foundation. 'Luckiest of them alV The third house to the east in'the row of three houses stayed on Folks around Fowjer all consider themselves to bev? lucky itsv foundation, but the east end of the garage was torn out. It escaping injury the way they did, but almost everyone involved belongs to Leonard Simon. feels the luckiest of them all were the 10 people who huddled in On the south side of Fowler, the JosephHafners had departed the basement of the Alfred Koenigsknecht home. about a half-hour before the storm hit. It slashed over the high Seven of them were hurt, but the injuries were only slight. school, Hafner's Electric contracting store adjacent to the Tom and Mike Koenigsknecht each 'suffered head' cuts, but they house and then sucked out the whole east end of the home, ' were back at the ruins of their home later and told of the ex­ That exposed the interior of the first and second-story perience.