the tower

In the shadow of the old black water tower, ten miles from the farm, my grandmother kept her sausage, bacon & beef stored in the Milan food locker.  On summer days I made the trip at least once a week and the sizzle of meat in an iron skillet is as memorable as the sound of cicadas in late August.  I don't think I ever saw the white letters stenciled above my head until years later - State Champs 1954.  Now, with five years of basketball photos stored away, I wonder what else I've missed.  © Chris Smith

after the storm

"The March 18, 1925 Griffin tornado is considered one of the 10 worst natural disasters of the century, carving out a three-state, 291-mile path of destruction and it remains the most destructive, deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The tornado began three miles north by northwest of Ellington, Missouri, at 1:01 p.m and struck Griffin, Indiana at 4 p.m. It ran out of steam three miles southwest of Petersburg, Indiana, at approximately 4:30 p.m. According to the National Weather Service, the EF-5 twister ran continuously for 3.5 hours and had an average land speed of 62 mph with wind speeds calculated at nearly 300 mph. By the time it hit Griffin it was over a mile wide, eventually destroying 150 homes, 85 farms and killing 76." *Mt. Vernon Democrat

"On March 2, 2012 an EF-4 tornado came together when a cold front moved through a warm southern Indiana day, creating a monster that tore a 50 mile swath.  Damage was estimated at more than $1 billion and Henryville (and the high school) took a direct hit." *Indianapolis Star

Later that day an EF-3 tornado caused major damage in Holton, Indiana "destroying frame homes, obliterating mobile homes and killing three. The tornado was on the ground for nine miles before dissipating near Osgood." *National Weather Service 

Tornadoes - the ever present spring companion in Indiana and unfortunately our schools & gyms have been victims on more than one occasion.  We have visited the site of the old Holton school (home to the Warhorses) and know that all that remains is a broken black top court with two abandoned goals.  We have also been to Griffin, the former home of the Tornadoes, stopping by on a beautiful October evening (with no threat of bad weather).  The folks in Griffin have restored and maintained their wonderful old gym (built after the 1925 storms) and outdoor courts - maybe as a reminder to all that tornado damage should be as fleeting as the storm itself.  © Chris Smith