Mankato and Wells, Minnesota Tornado
August 17, 1946
At Least Five Killed As Twister Strikes
Mankato
Tourist Camp Outside City Is Demolished
Death Toll May Hit 15; Road Grader Lifted On
Tracks As Train Approaches.
MANKATO, Minn. -- (AP) – At least five
persons were killed and many injured early
Saturday night when a twister demolished a 22
cabin tourist camp on the outskirts of Mankato.
Deputy Sheriff HENRY
SCHWEICKERT of Blue Earth county said
early reports to him indicated the death list
may total 15.
The known dead were:
RONALD J. WIRIG,
about 40, of Mankato.
GERALD NURRE, of Bancroft, Iowa.
SIDNEY CASPER, of Mankato.
DONALD NELSON, of Butterfield, Minn.
An unidentified woman, about 42.
The five known dead were reported by
ED WOLD,
ambulance driver who made several trips to the
storm area to bring injured to hospitals.
WOLD, one of the first to arrive at the
scene, said “there were people strewn all over
the place and the buildings were shattered.”
One of the dead was identified by
Sheriff FRANK CORD
as RONALD J.
WIRIG, of Mankato, about 35 years
old.
Ledger Lost
The tourist's camp's registration ledger was
lost in the storm, but it was believed about 40
persons were registered at the place.
Striking at 6:45 p. m., CST, the twister
swept through the small cabins, three miles
south of Mankato, reducing most of them to
timbers. Twenty-five automobiles belonging to
cabin residents were hurled onto Omaha railroad
tracks nearby.
Every available vehicle was pressed into
service to take injured to Immanuel and St.
John's hospitals in Mankato.
Bread Truck Ambulance.
A bread truck, its racks empty, hauled seven
injured to Mankato.
JERIT WOHLFORD,
who lives on the outskirts of Mankato, said he
took five small children in his car to a
hospital.
Hearses, trucks and taxis were dispatched to
the storm area to transport additional injured.
DONALD WOLD,
an ambulance driver, and brother of
ED WOLD who
reported the known dead, after making a trip to
carry injured, said he hadn't seen “anything
like this since I fought the Germans in France.”
WOLD, a recently returned war veteran, said
“people were lying everywhere. The whole place
is wrecked. Trees were stripped down to their
trunks.”
A short distance from the tourist camp, a
large highway department road grader was picked
up and deposited on the Chicago, Minneapolis,
St. Paul and Omaha tracks several yards away.
An approaching freight train was flagged
down, coming to a stop about a block from the
big vehicle.
Nearby, an automobile was wrapped around a
pole, with occupants of the machine injured.
The storm area, 80 miles south of
Minneapolis, was estimated at a half mile in
length. Telegraph and telephone wires were torn
down and trees flattened.
A house two blocks from the tourist camp was
wrecked, but eight occupants of the home escaped
serious injury by fleeing to the basement.
Clothing Blown Off
MRS. HARVEY MATCHETT
of Mankato who had been playing golf
at the Minneopa Gold club, near the tourist
camp, said she had assisted one woman camp
occupant, who had most of her clothing torn off
by the force of the wind.
MRS. MATCHETT and
KENNETH BOHKES, son of the golf
course manager, said there were so many persons
strewn on the ground that they hardly knew which
victim to help first.
An emergency call for nurses was sounded in
Mankato by A. P. KROST,
Blue Earth county Red Cross chairman. KROST, one
of the first at the storm scene, said he took
one look and hurried back to town to get nurses.
Rescue workers started an immediate search of
the wreckage for additional victims and patrols
scoured the surrounding area in the belief the
strong wind which so quickly shattered the
lightly constructed cabins, might have carried
victims out of the immediate camp area. A hunt
also was underway for the camp register.
One woman autoist who was driving on Highway
169 near the tourist camp reported her car was
lifted off the road and tossed into a ditch. She
escaped injury.
The La Crosse Tribune Wisconsin 1946-08-18
7 DEAD IN MINNESOTA TWISTER
22 CABINS AT MANKATO HIT BY HIGH WIND
Town of Wells Also Struck; Eight Reported Hurt
in Blow There.
Mankato, Minn. -- (AP) – At least seven
persons were killed and more than 50 injured
last night in a tornado that momentarily dipped
from the sky to destroy a 22 cabin tourist camp
in scenic Minnesota river valley, three miles
southwest of Mankato.
St. Joseph's hospital reported it had treated 32
injured and the community's other hospital,
Immanuel, had “over 20 injured.”
Operating Rooms Filled.
Both hospitals said operating rooms were filled
and that injured were lying or standing in
corridors waiting for surgical treatment.
The known dead included:
RONALD J. WIRIG,
about 40, of Mankato.
GERALD NURRE, of Bancroft, Ia.
SIDNEY CASPER, of Mankato.
DONALD NELSON, of Butterfield, Minn.
An unidentified Woman, about 42.
Mankato, a town of about 16,000 population,
85 miles southwest of Minneapolis, last night
was a community of awestricken residents.
Hundreds lined the streets of the of the
business area, watching silently as a three-hour
shuttle of ambulances, taxicars, hearses and
other vehicles brought injured to hospitals.
The area struck was small – four blocks by
about two – but the violence was intense, with
the Green Gables tourist camp, situated near
Minneopa state park, bearing the brunt.
Hit at 6:45 P. M.
Coming in from the west, the funnel shaped cloud
descended at 6:45 p. m. CST, and in a matter of
seconds whipped upwards and away. The 22 lightly
constructed cabins, all of which were occupied,
were shattered. Timbers and cabin occupants were
hurled like matchsticks.
First arrivals at the storm scene said the
cabin site looked like a battle field. Persons
were strewn over the area. Some were dead.
HAROLD MISHLER
of Mankato told of following the tornado as it
approached the camp.
Saw Funnel Approach.
“It was a small dark funnel when I first noticed
it,” MISHLER
said. “It came up from the west. It didn't seem
to be traveling very fast. I could see it
dropping lower. I know it was loaded with
trouble so I slowed down my truck. I was afraid
of running into it.”
“The cloud dipped down to the ground when it
reached the Minnesota valley, just at the place
where the tourist camp was. I came in sight of
the camp in time to see three cabins go. They
just flew into pieces. When I pulled up, some
people were lying around. Others were walking
around dazed. We put as many injured into the
track as we could and I brought them into town.”
“The wrecks of the cabins and a lot of
automobiles were blown into a 30-foot cut along
the Omaha railroad right-of-way. Some of the
trash landed on the tracks. I understand a
couple of automobiles with people in them landed
in the bottom of the cut. The camp was right on
the edge of the cut so the wreckage didn't have
far to go.”
Eight Injured at Wells, Minn.
Albert Lea, Minn. -- (AP) – Eight persons,
possibly more, were injured last night in a
tornado which swept the west end of the village
of Wells, 20 miles northwest of Albert Lea.
The eight known injured were brought to Naeve
hospital in Albert Lea, but six were released
after being treated for cuts and bruises.
Dr. D. E. NELSON,
of Albert Lea, who answered an emergency call
for help at Wells, discounted first reports that
several hundred persons were injured and that
300 or 400 were trapped in a theater.
“There was no large group trapped in any
building,” Dr. NELSON said.
The west end of the Wells main street, a few
side streets and a portion of the residential
district were hardest hit.
Waterloo Daily Courier Iowa 1946-08-18
continued
>> Go to
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Articles submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
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