One of the
reasons this website was put together, was so that the survivors stories
could be posted on it. Most of them that are around these days
do not like talking about it, especial to reporters. So if
you are a reporter please do not try to contact people in the community
just use the information below.
Boyd
Binford
Mr. Binford was getting ready to go back to work the night of May 25th, and
his wife had just returned home from a wedding shower in downtown Udall.
Mr. Binford wife told him that it looked like it was going to storm, so he better
go pick up his mom. Mr. Binford state that he look at the TV and that
they were stating that there was nothing in the area, but that he went to
get his mom anyway. Mr. Binford stated that he went to his moms house
located on the northwest corner of 1st & Church. While he was
walking his mom out to his car, the it became very windy "the metal chairs
my mom had on her porch blew over and I had to kick one of them out of
the way. As I was getting in the car my mom said is it a tornado? I
was pulling my door shut at that time, the car was beginning to rock. I
reached down to put the car in drive, as I did I made it to reverse, I think
my mom must of had her foot
on the gas at this time, because when the car went into reverse and started
to take off and that's when it hit.
The car begin to bounce up and down but was not moving. The car then
spun around and was pushed into a 
ditch, the headlights were
pointing
directly at the house across the street. Then I saw the house blow
away, then the car started going end over end. When I woke
up we were on top
of what was left of the
neighbors garage, on top of the car that was in it. I
had broken out a tooth, and
some cuts, along with some splinters, my mom had a couple of broken
ribs. One of the
neighbors walked up and asked it we were going to be able to get down.
I told him I thought we would be able to. they stated that everyone
was meeting by a chicken coop (was located behind where the bank is
now) because it was the only thing standing around there. Boyd stated
they went over to the chicken coop, and he met up with Don Walton, and
headed down town to get some close for Don and the others.
As
we were walking to the store I heard these girls across the street yelling
that they could not get down. They were in what was a two story
building but the top had been torn off, and it was now a one story building.
....
.... ... ... ....
Don Walton
On the evening of May 25th, Mr. Walton had return home from his work as a
section hand for the Santa Fe railroad. Mr. Walton lived on the
Northwest corner of Church & 2nd at the time. Mr. Walton explains
" I had been working on tearing up a passing track northwest of
Udall just over Sumner/Cowley county line. I returned home around 8:30
PM, and went to the pool hall for a short time.
I left the pool around 10:15 PM, and went home. I parked my 1950 Plymouth
in front of the house, then went to bed. As I was laying in bed I got
hot so I got up to open the front door, then went back and laid down.
Shortly after this I noticed it was starting to get windy, so I got up
again, and closed the front door. As I closed the front door the plate
glass window located in the living room blew out. I backed up to a
china cabinet, which then feel on top of me. Once it was over I
remember noticing that the west side of the house where the kitchen was
located was mostly there but that the rest of the house had been blown
away. My 1950 Plymouth that I had 
parked out
front was across the
street and had been folded up like an accordion, and was setting on a
stump. I met up with Boyd Binford who went down to Marguetts Dry
Goods store to gather close for myself and other people that were walking
around in there night close.
Remarkable
Mr. Walton only received a few scratches, even though the tornado went
directly over his house, and took almost everything.
Jerry
Kennedy
Mrs. Kennedy had returned home the night of May 25th, and was in the process
of putting the children to bed. "All the weather advisors had been lifted according
to the TV, and I was getting ready to go into my room. We heard the
sound of the tornado. "I went to the hallway as my husband
grabbed two of our children and took them to the bathroom. Once the
tornado hit I ended up out in the yard with a telephone pole across my
legs. I was knocked out for awhile, I think because of the
pressure. My husband held onto the children, but the
neighbors tub
ended up landing on them. I lost two children that night. We
ended up staying in Wichita for awhile. I used to be so afraid of
storms after that. Even when I would just see a cloud in the sky's.
But they don't seem to bother me
as bad these days. I saw the tornado NW of Udall here a few weeks ago
(6-12-04)
and thought it was strange how it would thin out, and how it was white.
Udall
City Marshall Wayne Keely
Mr. Keelys was in his home the night of May 25, 1955. He recalls that he was
watching some TV and some of the local children were over. "I remember
that there had been a tornado watch out earlier in the night, but that it
was canceled an hour and a half BEFORE the tornado hit. The first warning we
had was the noise. It was like one of those B1 bombers that are around these
days coming into town. I got my family and the kids and got them into
the cellar just before it hit. I remember my wife trying to light a
candle, and myself not being able to breath to well. I was
able to get a quick glance out of the cellar while the tornado was over us.
It looked like there was electricity inside of it. I'm not sure if it
was metal hitting together or maybe static electricity. Debris was
coming into the cellar and blocked the entrance.
After
the tornado passed we came out of the cellar. I looked down at my watch and
it read 10:41 PM. The first thing I saw was a neighbor laying in a
flooded street. One of the neighbors came up and said that my sister
had been found in a ditch with a 2x4 through her. She made it, how I
don't know, but she pulled through.
There
was a 1952 Chevy pickup in the tree in my front yard. The owner
of the truck was found dead later outside of town. I walked through
the damage. I remember not being able to tell what part of town I was in.
We found another neighbor setting on a porch, setting down leaning up next
to a pole like they were sleeping, but they were gone. The water tower
had been knocked over and the streets were
flooded. I saw an old model ford setting in the street near
the water tower and it looked like it had not been touched. The front
window was still up, and it had not been broke." That's where Mr.
Keely's stops, and starts talking about the next day. More than 44
years later you can still hear the pain of that night in Mr. Keely's voice,
a true hero in my book.
Udall Police Car After the Tornado
