Outdoor Adventures
Phil Taunton
Originally published 03:06 p.m., June 6, 2008
Updated 03:06 p.m., June 6, 2008
Back in the day, I used to think I was 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
I used to have a full head of hair, too.
Raising two daughters, hunting with hard-headed English pointers and being married to a woman who is crazy about golf changed all that. Also back in the day, and for medicinal purposes only, a silent pact among railroaders allowed us to take a drink or two while on the job. Arthritis, rabid mosquitoes, sunny days, rainy days, slow trains — most anything — had the propensity to drive my brothers to drink. The railroad industry’s zero tolerance for alcohol has changed all that for the good.
One nonchalant, humid day in May 1974, blood-thirsty mosquitoes were on the prowl and my old conductor friend, Mose Baker, thought he had a twinge of arthritis beginning to act up. Mose was quite a character, and I hope I don’t offend anyone by not changing his name.
And besides, he wouldn’t appreciate it if I did.
Mose had a gift for gab, and he kept me and anyone who would listen to him in stitches with his stories from one end of the railroad to the other.
On this particular day, Mose invited me to partake in a drink with him and, just as a precaution, to ward off any unforeseen evils that might be lurking around the bend. One can never be too careful, nor get caught off guard, he would say.
As we made our way around the curve out of Old Chelsea — which is now under the waters of El Dorado Reservoir — and began climbing the grade into Aikman, lo and behold two sister tornadoes were raising a ruckus and tearing up the Kansas prairie just ahead of us. The path of the tornadoes ran parallel to the track for several miles, and their speed was such that they outran the train up the hill, barely missing Cassoday. Without missing a beat, Mose said, “Look at ’em go. I was just getting ready to challenge you to grab hold of one, I’ll get the other by the tail and we’ll see who can hold on the longest!”
My old buddy had a zest for life to say the least. May he rest in peace. I had lived in Kansas all my life, and these tornadoes were the first I’d witnessed up close and personal. I’d hate to see the havoc they would have wreaked had they gone through a major city.
At the time, I had no idea they were a preview of things to come less than a week later. June 8, 1974 — the forecast of bad weather forced us to take the hog roast we had planned to have that weekend at Melvern Lake to the shelter house in Lincoln Village trailer court.
Old Mac, who had a smokehouse west of town just off Highway 50 before you got to Staffordville, prepared the hog and all the dinner fixins for us. Mac was the uncle of Kansas City Chief football star Curtis McClinton, and believe me he knew how to do Bar-B-Q.
He cut us a good deal on the hog because of the geese, ducks and prairie chicken we would give him during hunting season. And, like Mose, he was so likeable because he always had a good yarn to spin.
Wifeus and I dropped the kids off at our sitter at Thunderbird Estates early that evening and made our way back to Lincoln Village.
The sky had a yellowish-green tint to it, and an old friend of mine who was visiting from West Virginia made the comment “something weather-wise was going to happen somewhere.”
His wife was visiting Kansas for the first time and had been forewarned by relatives that if she got caught in a tornado, just to bend over and kiss her “behind” goodbye. Little did we know …
With a hunk of hog in one hand and a cold drink in the other, I was on my way to the pool table when the door of the shelter house flew open. My first thought was, “Goodness, these folks must be hungry!”
Their cries of, “There’s a tornado on the ground just outside of town heading our way,” created quite a stir.
But did I take shelter? No. Being a bit curious, I headed to the door for a peek and to help people get inside.
I never heard the roar of a train a lot of people say they hear when they are near a tornado, and I saw very little rain. The mall on Industrial Street had just been hit, and there was debris in the air everywhere.
I never did see a funnel and I felt very little wind. Before my very eyes, not 30 yards away, a trailer was lifted up, spun around, carried across the street and slammed into another trailer. Being a quick study, that was all the excitement and experience I needed with regard to tornadoes. Into the shelter house I went!
The pre-stressed concrete shelter house saved many lives that day. I can still remember the dull thuds and vibrations I felt as I had my back to the wall when trailers and cars were hurled onto the building.
In just a short time it was all over, the sun came out and birds began chirping. Clean-up began before nightfall.
Tornado season is here. Please be mindful of the weather forecast when planning any outdoor adventures, and pay heed to any tornado sirens and warnings.
Taking shelter is always a good idea.