Out of the Blue by Scott Thoma

[Bigwig1973]

I borrowed this book from a friend, and thinking that the OBC blurb limit was 250 words, I wrote the following! Since I had already written the "blurb" (and later a 250 CHARACTER blurb to accompany the book on my shelves), I figured that I should put this thing somewhere. If tornadoes interest you, you would probably like this book, which also has a tornado myths and facts section that is pretty interesting. The photo from the cover of the book was taken by a teenager from Walnut Grove, MN which is not too far from Tracy, MN. If Walnut Grove sounds familiar, that is probably because of the "Little House on the Prairie" television show and/or the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. So, short or not - here it is!

Scott Thoma, former sports writer and editor was nine years old when an F5 tornado with a three-hundred to five-hundred foot damage zone ripped through the small town of Tracy, MN right around 7 p.m. on June 13th, 1968.

Forty-three years later, Thoma found himself thinking not only of the tornado, but also of the numerous misconceptions and discrepancies that stemmed from the events that occurred that evening.

So, he decided to write a book!

Out of the Blue focuses on the unique story and on the recovery of two women who survived the tornado. But, it also tells the story of how the citizens of a small town united with nearby communities and numerous organizations to cope with the devastation caused by the natural disaster.

The massive tornado caused an estimated $4,000,000 damage - in today's world, that over $40,000,000! It directly impacted 350 families, including taking the lives of of 9 of the towns 2,800 citizens.

Thoma's book acknowledges not only the nine victims of the tornado, but also the individuals, or groups of individuals whose acuity, ingenuity, and diligence in the early evening hours on that dreadfully hot day may have saved hundreds of lives later that evening.