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Portrait of a killer. Photographer Elmer Johnson bravely stood his ground as a twister whipped toward Harlem Avenue and 87th Street and touched down only eight blocks away in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
Portrait of a killer. Photographer Elmer Johnson bravely stood his ground as a twister whipped toward Harlem Avenue and 87th Street and touched down only eight blocks away in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
Evidence of a vicious tornado can be seen near the highway and 95th Street in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
Evidence of a vicious tornado can be seen near the highway and 95th Street in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
A young tornado victim is carried into the emergency treatment ward at Christ Community Hospital in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
A young tornado victim is carried into the emergency treatment ward at Christ Community Hospital in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
A volunteer firefighter from Riverdale searches for survivors underneath wrecked trailers after a tornado hit the Airway Trailer Park in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967. The trailer park was two blocks east of Cicero Avenue and 92nd Street.
A volunteer firefighter from Riverdale searches for survivors underneath wrecked trailers after a tornado hit the Airway Trailer Park in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967. The trailer park was two blocks east of Cicero Avenue and 92nd Street.
Suburban Transit System busesare left in a pile after being hit by a tornado in the5800 block of West 95th Street in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
Suburban Transit System busesare left in a pile after being hit by a tornado in the5800 block of West 95th Street in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967.
Nurses comfort children and adults who were left homeless or were injuredbythe tornado that hit Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967. Photo taken at 95th Street and Cicero Avenue on April 22, 1967.
Nurses comfort children and adults who were left homeless or were injuredbythe tornado that hit Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967. Photo taken at 95th Street and Cicero Avenue on April 22, 1967.
The swath of destruction, photographed on April 22, 1967. Whole neighborhoods of Oak Lawn were leveled by a tornado the day before.
The swath of destruction, photographed on April 22, 1967. Whole neighborhoods of Oak Lawn were leveled by a tornado the day before.
Rescuers searchfor victims of the tornado in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967, at Goofies Hot Dog stand at 95th and Southwest Highway.
Rescuers searchfor victims of the tornado in Oak Lawn on April 21, 1967, at Goofies Hot Dog stand at 95th and Southwest Highway.
A priest and a nurse comfort an Oak Lawn tornado victim at Christ Community Hospital on April 21, 1967.
A priest and a nurse comfort an Oak Lawn tornado victim at Christ Community Hospital on April 21, 1967.
An aerial view of the destruction caused by a tornado at approximately 93rd Street and Cicero Avenue a day after the tornado hit, April 22, 1967.
An aerial view of the destruction caused by a tornado at approximately 93rd Street and Cicero Avenue a day after the tornado hit, April 22, 1967.
A Suburban Transit System bus was thrown against a house at 9411 S. Menard Ave.in Oak Lawn after a tornado hit April 21, 1967. Photographedon April 22, 1967.
A Suburban Transit System bus was thrown against a house at 9411 S. Menard Ave.in Oak Lawn after a tornado hit April 21, 1967. Photographedon April 22, 1967.
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Mohr, of 9242 Tulley Ave. in Oak Lawn, whose home was damaged by a tornado on April 21, 1967, get a hot meal at the Oak Lawn Masonic Temple on April 23.
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Mohr, of 9242 Tulley Ave. in Oak Lawn, whose home was damaged by a tornado on April 21, 1967, get a hot meal at the Oak Lawn Masonic Temple on April 23.
Occupants look over their home April 22, 1967, where the entire side of the house was ripped off by a tornado the day before in the4900 block of West 92nd Street in Oak Lawn. A year later, there was only a vacant lot where the house once stood. The people who lived there didn’t want to rebuild. “I know how they feel,” a neighbor said.
Caskets containing the bodies of victims of the tornado that hit Oak Lawn are carried into St. Gerald's Church in Oak Lawn for funeral services for six people April 26, 1967. Aninfant and mother were buried together.
Caskets containing the bodies of victims of the tornado that hit Oak Lawn are carried into St. Gerald’s Church in Oak Lawn for funeral services for six people April 26, 1967. Aninfant and mother were buried together.
Bishop Aloysius Wycislo blesses the coffins as people attend the funeral service for six tornado victims at St. Gerald's Church in Oak Lawn on April 26, 1967. Rites were conducted for victims Bernard Brady, 39, and his daughter Bernadette, 8; Joan Casey, 30, and her daughter, Christine, 18 months; Patrick Calascibetta, 46; and William Jackson, 50. The bodies of Casey and her daughter were placed in a single casket.
Bishop Aloysius Wycislo blesses the coffins as people attend the funeral service for six tornado victims at St. Gerald’s Church in Oak Lawn on April 26, 1967. Rites were conducted for victims Bernard Brady, 39, and his daughter Bernadette, 8; Joan Casey, 30, and her daughter, Christine, 18 months; Patrick Calascibetta, 46; and William Jackson, 50. The bodies of Casey and her daughter were placed in a single casket.
Students from St. Gerald School at 94th Street and 55th Court in Oak Lanw watch with firefighters as part of the school is torn down and the debris burned April 24, 1967. The school sustained damage from a major tornado April 21, 1967.
Students from St. Gerald School at 94th Street and 55th Court in Oak Lanw watch with firefighters as part of the school is torn down and the debris burned April 24, 1967. The school sustained damage from a major tornado April 21, 1967.
Students of St. Linus School carry donations of food and clothing for tornado victims into Cook School in Oak Lawn on April 25, 1967. The donations, obtained by the ROTC at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were brought by Army truck to the Chicago suburb. Items were distributed by the Red Cross to those who needed them.
Students of St. Linus School carry donations of food and clothing for tornado victims into Cook School in Oak Lawn on April 25, 1967. The donations, obtained by the ROTC at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were brought by Army truck to the Chicago suburb. Items were distributed by the Red Cross to those who needed them.