Today in History: Oak Lawn Tornado

This will be the first in the installment of Today in History, and Today in Sports History. I always remember the dates of significant historical events and I can't think of a better way to begin than to discuss perhaps the biggest event in the history of my home town. 

On this day in...1967:  April 21, 1967 - One of the deadliest tornadoes in Chicago's city history occurred on this day in 1967. In all, 33 people died. On a day where nine tornadoes formed over Illinois, the most severe touched down at 5:30 p.m. in Palos Hills and was quickly making its way to Oak Lawn, my home town. The tornado created the most damage at the intersection of 95th Street and Southwest Highway, where 16 people dies in those few seconds alone. The twister ripped off the roof of Oak Lawn Community High School and also destroyed an ice rink at 91st and Cicero. It rummaged through Hometown and then down 87th Street before becoming a waterspout over Lake Michigan near 79th Street. When the tornado made its way to the 8700 block of South Loomis, my late uncle, Mike Leahy, narrowly averted the disaster when the tornado destroyed houses across the street but skipped his side of the block.

Even though the twister hit many Chicago suburbs and the city itself, it will always be known as the Oak Lawn Tornado for the damage it caused at 95th and Southwest Highway.