Outbreak: Residents remember 1974 tornado outbreak 50 years later

Apr. 3—If you've lived in North Alabama for any length of time, odds are that you have a formative "tornado story." That may be the first time your parents pulled you from bed or your school day was drastically changed.

For some residents, that's April 27, 2011. For many older residents, their first and likely most prominent tornado story is from April 3, 1974.

"It was my first memory in life," said Christy Bailey, remembering the time that her parents ushered her, her sister and her dog underneath their home to take shelter. "The air was soupy and green. The pine needles on the trees were not moving at all."

Then 11-year-old Tracy Doty Ward recalls being in the Athens Middle School hallway before taking cover in a neighbor's basement.

"By the time we got home, the sky was green. Our neighbors were out of town, but we stayed all night in their basement. Fortunately, our house was spared, but we lived three miles from Tanner. We had a good friend who was in the National Guard, and he found a baby in the mud, without a scratch but miles from his house," Ward said on Tuesday, April 2. "This year we're going to get strong storms, and I'm really nervous!"

Some were alive but too young to remember the day that killed 16 and injured 101 for themselves, relying on stories shared from parents.

"I was a baby, my mom said she pulled the couch over us and it ripped the roof off our house," Sonya Springer said.

Several remember the sights and sounds of the day and its aftermath, such as Betty Morris hearing the sound of a "freight train" and Buck Baker remembering the TVA transmission towers looking "like pretzels."

Some have memories of God's hand in that Wednesday evening.

Ricky Hargrove said, "It was on a Wednesday night, because my mom was headed to church and we were at home with dad, but it got bad and mom turned around and came back home."

From the eyes of 11-year-old Shelia Lankster Odom

I remember that day so vividly. I was 11 years old.

We lived at the end of Nick Davis road and capshaw intersection.We had only lived there a short time. The sky was full of big white clouds , sunny, and very windy.After school

I remember, my sisters and I were singing in the wind to make our voice vibrate. We had no idea what was about to happen. My mom,Barbara Lankster called us in for dinner to get ready for church. As we were about to leave, about 6:30p.m

it was raining very hard. We were all standing on the front porch.

The rain stopped we all got in the car and. my dad Ted Lankster drove us down Capshaw road to Tanner alabama. We were headed West on Browns ferry rode to 31 hwy when my dad told us to look up that there was a tornado in the air. At that time it was still sunny outside it was the first time I had ever seen a tornado. It was so fierce. It actually was the tornado that destroyed our home and everything we had. As we arrived at the Tanner red light everything suddenly turned black like it was the end if the world. I think it was Bob Dunnavant that was in the road on a megaphone for people to take cover that the tornado was fixing to hit .Our car stalled twice twice at the red-light. We were scared to death. We made it to our church my dad Ted Lankster founded Tanner Pentecostal just south of tanner red-light. We parked and ran inside.We could never imagine what was coming next. We had just built a new sanctuary in the front of the church. So we headed down a few steps to the original church building which were classrooms. There was a large sunday school table in the center of the room. All the children were placed under The table.we got down as close as low we could and put our heads down.Anyone that could,hovered over all of us. My dad stood at the back outside and watched the tornado until it was about to hit our church. He ran inside and yelled for us to get down and stay down it was about to hit. All of a sudden,there was such a roar and such pressure that made my ears pop. The bricks began to explode . The noise was horrible, in one instant everything was gone and nothing but the sky above.The screaming and crying was so tramatic. There was one adult that died that night Herman Lambert. There was one young boy that took cover under a church pew in the New sanctuary. That one Church pew Was left and he survived. My dad Ted Lankster and anyone that could help was picking up brick pieces and debri off of every one.I helped him get heavy pieces off a ladies legs on the floor.

Ambulance ,Police officers and anyone that could help came to our assistance that night. There were probably around 30 people there and a lot of praying going on!

God had his hand on all of us that night a lot of lives were changed in a moment.We had to rebuild ours. That is something that I will never forget. We were a family of 5 and God saved us all. In the days that followed the tornado, we were set up in a place to live and the memories of how the people of Athens, Alabama came together to help so many people.

So much generosity, love support and hope for so many people that lost so much in one moment.

I know this is more than a comment. This is my story when I was 11 years old. — Shelia Lankster Odom

Shelia Lankster Odom was 11 and remembers huddling with the other children of her church under a table before helping pull debris off of other survivors once the storm had passed. Visit enewscourier.com to read her story.

"God had his hand on all of us that night a lot of lives were changed in a moment.We had to rebuild ours. That is something that I will never forget. We were a family of 5 and God saved us all. In the days that followed the tornado, we were set up in a place to live and the memories of how the people of Athens, Alabama came together to help so many people," Odom said.

Along with the 16 people killed, there were extensive losses for the area and community: — 16 died, including Louise Cain, Thomas Lee Cain, Helen Carter, Teresa Carter, Tony Carter, Willie Alvis Carter, Novie Ruffin Ellison, Annaise Green, Lillian Green, Herman Lambert, Patsy Lovell, Hattie Ruth McGlocklin, Sandra Ruth McGlocklin, Walter james McGlocklin, Rosie MacLin and Mary Elizabeth Smith — 101 injured — 26 hospitalized — 75 homes destroyed — 39 miles tracked from one tornado — 100 head of cattle lost — 5,000 poultry lost — 4,368 acres damaged