1946 – Aug 17, tornadoes, esp. Green Gables tourist camp, Blue Earth County, MN  —  9-11

Latest edit 11-5-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

9-11  Blanchard: We employ a death toll range in that the highest death toll we have located in a newspaper account at the time is nine, which is the toll reported by Shannon in 2006. However, Grazulis, a reliable source on tornadoes, reports 11. While it appears to us that the death toll was nine, we employ the range of 9-11 in an attempt to be inclusive of Grazulis.

–11  Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 340 and 925.

—  9  AP. “Ninth Death From Tornado, Canton, Ohio, Woman Dies at Mankato as Result of Injuries.” 8-21-1946, 1. 

—  9  Green Gables Cabins, Hwy. 169. Shannon. “Wells tornado…” Albert Lea Tribune. 8-17-2006.

 

Narrative Information

 

Grazulis: “MN  Aug 17, 1946  1840  11k [killed]  100inj  400y  9m  F4  Blue Earth [County] – Moved ENE, then NE, from 7m SW of Mankato to North Mankato. Eight farms were hit, and three homes were destroyed. The deaths and most of the injuries occurred in the complete destruction of the 26 cabins at the Green Gables tourist camp 3M SW of Mankato. Several cars were hurled 500 feet, and reportedly, a 27-ton road grader was hurled 100 feet. Over 1,000 turkeys were killed. $300,000.”  (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 925.)

 

Newspapers

 

Aug 18, AP: “St. Paul (AP) – The Minnesota state highway patrol received a report Saturday night several hundred persons were injured in a tornado which struck Wells, Minn., and that 300 or 400 others were trapped in a theater in that town. The highway patrol’s report came from an Officer Graham of the Albert Lea police department. Graham said the Knights of Columbus hall and the village bank were leveled by the storm.

_____

 

“Mankato, Minn. (AP) – At least seven persons were killed and more than 50 injured Saturday 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. Possibility the death list might reach at least eight was expressed by Sheriff Frank Cords of Blue Earth county, who said it was reported to him that more dead, all of them children, had been brought in from the storm area.

 

“St. Joseph’s hospital reported it had treated 32 injured and the community’s other hospital, Immanuel, had ‘over 20 injured.’ Both hospitals said operating rooms were filled and that inured were lying or standing in corridors waiting for surgical treatment.

 

The Known Dead.

 

Ronald J. Wirig, about 40 [44[1]], of Mankato.

Gerald Nurre of Bancroft, Iowa. [Honeymooning with his wife, who was injured.][2]

Sidney Casper of Mankato.

Donald Nelson of Butterfield, Minn. (was driving by the tourist camp when tornado struck)

An unidentified woman, about 42.

 

“Mankato, a town of about 16,000 population 85 miles southwest of Minneapolis, Saturday night was a community of awe-stricken residents. Hundreds lined the streets of the business area, watching silently as a three-hour shuttle of ambulances, taxicabs, 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. 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 battlefield. Persons were strewn over the area. Some were dead….

 

“A huge highway department road grader…was hurled into …[railroad] cut after being dragged about 250 feet. The grader and other debris blocked traffic on the Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Omaha line. One of the trains blocked, besides a freight that was flagged down, was the road’s California limited, enroute via Omana….

 

“Many of the cabin occupants were employed on a nearby pipeline project, and had their families with them.” (Associated Press. “Tornado Rips South Minnesota. 7 Dead, 50 Hurt in Camp at Mankato.” The Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. 9-18-1946, pp. 1 and 3.)

 

Aug 19, AP: “Wells, Minn. – AP – This tornado stricken village was slowly trying to get back to normal today. Workmen were busy patching gaping holes in business buildings, boarding up windows and roping off danger areas. The streets, which had been strewn with wreckage, had been cleared to make them passable….

 

“National guardsmen continued to patrol the streets, prohibiting entrance by anyone unless he carried a special pass. There was not a single report of looting.

_____

 

“Mankato, Minn. – AP – Roaring out of the west with the din of a speeding freight train, two tornadoes Saturday night wreaked death and devastation on a tourist camp area near Mankato and at Wells, but 30 miles away, reduced much of the town to shambles. Eight persons died and more than 75 were injured. The fatalities all occurred in or near the Green Gables tourist camp three miles southwest of Mankato….

 

“Mrs. Louis Tatman, 60, of Route One, Mankato, died in a hospital today, raising the death total to eight…” (AP. “Tornado in State Takes Eight Lives.” The Brainerd Daily, MN. 8-19-1946, p.1.)

 

Listing of Fatalities

 

  1. Casper, Sydney, of Mankato.
  2. Melvin, Ray, 53, turkey rancher near cabin campsite died in hospital Aug 18.[3]
  3. Nelson, Donald, Butterfield, Minn. (was driving by tourist camp when tornado struck)
  4. Nelson, Leroy, 33, of Welcome, MN
  5. Nurre, Gerald of Bancroft, Iowa. [Honeymooning with his wife, who was injured.]
  6. Tatman, Mrs. Louis, 60 of Rt. One, Mankato, died in a hospital from injuries, Aug 19.
  7. Walter, Mrs. Elmer, 58, of Canton, OH, died Aug 20 in St. Joseph’s hospital.[4]
  8. Watland, Mrs. Alle, of Minneapolis (killed when husband’s car was hurled from road).[5]
  9. Wirig, Ronald J., 44, of Mankato.
  10. An unidentified woman, about 42. (We speculate this was Mrs. Watland or mistaken.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Mankato Hit By Twister. 7 Are Killed…” The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. 8-19-1946, 1. Accessed 11-5-2023 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-evening-tribune-aug-19-1946-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Ninth Death From Tornado, Canton, Ohio, Woman Dies at Mankato as Result of Injuries.” 8-21-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-5-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-evening-tribune-aug-21-1946-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Tornado in State Takes Eight Lives.” The Brainerd Daily, MN. 8-19-1946, pp. 1-2. Accessed 11-5-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brainerd-daily-dispatch-aug-19-1946-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Tornado Rips South Minnesota. 7 Dead, 50 Hurt in Camp at Mankato.” The Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. 9-18-1946, pp. 1 and 3. Accessed 11-5-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cedar-rapids-gazette-aug-18-1946-p-2/

 

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

 

Shannon, Ed. “Wells tornado: Aug. 17, 1946, Recalling a devastating anniversary.” Albert Lea Tribune, MN 8-17-2006. Accessed 11-5-2023 at: https://www.albertleatribune.com/2006/08/wells-tornado-aug-17-1946-recalling-a-devastating-anniversary/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Associated Press. “Mankato Hit By Twister. 7 Are Killed…” The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. 8-19-1946, 1.

[2] Associated Press. “Mankato Hit By Twister. 7 Are Killed…” The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. 8-19-1946, 1.

[3] Associated Press. “Tornado in State Takes Eight Lives.” The Brainerd Daily, MN. 8-19-1946, p. 2.

[4] AP. “Ninth Death From Tornado…Ohio Woman Dies…” Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN. 8-21-1946, p. 1.

[5] Associated Press. “Tornado in State Takes Eight Lives.” The Brainerd Daily, MN. 8-19-1946, p. 2..