The date of June 13, 1968 will be long remembered in the Iowa Great Lakes region and in a wide strip of farm territory extending to the west clear to Ocheyedan. For it was then, early in the evening, that a system of tornadoes, at times dropping up to five twisters in a writhing two-mile-wide swath, ravaged the farm land and swept into the heart of the Lakes region resort area.

-- TORNADO, a special section published in the Spirit Lake Beacon, Milford Mail and Lake Park News printed June 20, 1968

The venerable old "Queen" lost her upper deck

Forty years ago this Friday, June 13, a series of tornados whipped through the Iowa Great Lakes, leaving a path of destruction and memories of the devastation to last a lifetime. Farmland was heavily damaged, resorts were razed, and trees toppled into homes and businesses as residents and visitors were rendered helpless.

Town sirens wailed the warning to take shelter. [Arnolds Park] Mayor Ben Saunders and his police chief, Tom Ritzer, using loud speakers, went through their town to warn residents about 10 minutes before the storm hit.

"I was in the police car myself, down by the state pier, and could see it coming across the lake," recalled Ritzer, who still resides in Arnolds Park. "There was more than one - more like three or four - but it was just like a big, black wall was coming across the points."

Wind leaned ferris wheel into nearby tree

As the tornadoes hit, the selective twisters began in the Emerson Bay area, moved northeast over Pocahontas Point and struck Terrace Park, Maywood and Sunset Bay before dropping down on the city of Arnolds Park, the amusement park and then Smith's Trailer Court in Okoboji.

"It was just a roar, like you're sitting next to railroad tracks and a big train was coming by," Ritzer said. "It was quite an experience being there in that whole situation... A wall came flying into my police car at Fillenwarth's, great big trees came crashing down while I was still driving before I got into the basement at city hall."

The ordeal lasted only a short time, but to some it was an eternity. The storm ended as quickly as it arrived and when people emerged from the shelter, they could only stare in stunned disbelief at the picture of destruction and desolation.

In 20 minutes the destruction was complete. Fillenwarth's Resort on West Okoboji was obliterated, The Merlin Wuebker farm in Excelsior Township was destroyed, the farm of Calvin Rieverts received heavy damage and tourist draws Arnolds Park Amusement Park, the Roof Garden and the Queen received deft blows.

An estimated 50 farms lost at least one outbuilding, and hail following the twisters beat emerging crops to the ground. Damage to farmland was estimated at the time to be at least three quarters of a million with each farm averaging $10,000.

The resort economy suffered a similar fate with $2 million estimated in damages.

There was a miracle on that day, however. Despite widespread and complete destruction through over many square miles, not one person died. Indeed, there were only a few people who received minor injuries, mostly from flying glass.

Credit for the survival of residents and visitors was given to the prearranged warning system developed between government agencies and the media, namely radio station KICD in Spencer.

"There were no major injuries," said Ritzer. "It was just a miracle that nobody was killed. It could have been hundreds of them killed."

* Caroline Rusk, who wrote the article for the The Dickinson County News and Daily Reporter in Spencer would like to thank the staff of the Milford Library as well as Jerry Clark of Clark Museum of the Okoboji Area and Iowa History in Milford, Iowa for their assistance in this story. All photos courtesy of Clark Museum of the Okoboji Area and Iowa History in Milford.