Seventy years ago, on June 17, 1946, a dark funnel of wind roared and ripped its way through Windsor, sucking up trees, toppling homes and killing 17 people.
Memories of that twister, the third-deadliest tornado in Canadian history, remain vivid for two former Windsor Star paperboys whose homes were among the 550 buildings damaged or destroyed in a matter of a few chaotic minutes.
“You don’t forget,” said Don Sigrist, whose family lost everything in the tornado. “It just seems to play in your memory over and over again.”
Hundreds of people were injured, 400 homes were damaged or destroyed and 150 farm buildings were smashed. Government relief funding was scarce and so families relied on loans, the Red Cross and the Windsor Star Tornado Relief Fund.
Sigrist’s family, living at the corner of Broadway Street and Reed Avenue, were likely the first in the city to have their home destroyed. Losing everything, they spent months living in a tent.
When the disaster struck, then 10-year-old Sigrist had just delivered the paper on horseback and was having supper with his family.
Gazing out their little kitchen window, Sigrist’s 13-year-old brother Jerry suddenly noticed their neighbour, Peter McDougald, waving his arms and acting strange.
McDougald, who had been sunbathing, had just seen the dark twister coming towards them, swirling with wood and whole trees — a chilling showcase of destruction.
Sigrist’s brother ran out of their home to see what the commotion was about, he too began to yell, so the rest of the family followed him.
Upon seeing the great funnel, Sigrist began to run away, as stones pelted against his face.
Just as heavy wind picked him off the ground and rolled him like a tumbleweed, Sigrist looked back, he saw the twister yank their new home right off its foundation, breaking it into pieces.
“I remember the roar of it, the thunderous noise and this great black whirly thing holding a tree that looked like it was going to land on us,” said Sigrist.
Since 1942 when the family moved from Essex, his dad worked two jobs to pay for the $4,000 Aladdin pre-cut home. Sigrist remembers his dad yelling in angst as it was destroyed.
Don Sigrist talks about witnessing a 1946 killer tornado which destroyed his family home in Sandwich East, now part of Windsor on June 16, 2016. Sigrist was featured in an article in The Star on June 15, 1996.
Don Sigrist talks about witnessing a 1946 killer tornado which destroyed his family home in Sandwich East, now part of Windsor on June 16, 2016. Sigrist was featured in an article in The Star on June 15, 1996. Nick Brancaccio / Windsor Star
Both of his parents went to Grace Hospital for non life-threatening injuries. He and his brother escaped unscathed.
The most haunting memory for Sigrist is of his 75-year-old neighbour, Archie McDougald, whose headless body lay in their driveway. Archie’s 70-year-old wife, Mary Ann, was also found dead. The family was told that every bone in her body was broken.
“You don’t forget about it overnight, it bothers you seeing somebody killed,” said Sigrist. “It just seems to play in your memory, even after 70 years.”
After the destruction, the Sigrist family received limited help. The family had no insurance and all their life savings were invested in their home. The Red Cross provided Don with a pair of red overalls and a T-shirt, he said.
Sigrist said that if it weren’t for the Windsor Star Tornado Relief Fund, which gave his family $2,200, they would have been living in a tent for a lot longer then they did.
Unlike Sigrist, former paperboy William Nikita and his family got lucky. After losing their home, locals in the neighbourhood offered them rent-free stay in an unfinished place they had.
The tornado chewed up their house and farm on St. Louis Avenue, south of Tecumseh Road East. Their barn, two cows, over 200 chickens and a few pigs were all devoured and spit out.
The hour the twister hit, Nikita and his mother were the only ones home. Nikita, getting ready to deliver papers, was waiting to grab one of his mother’s homemade donuts.
After going outside to check on his dog tied to a post, Nikita saw the tornado approaching. He immediately ran back inside, grabbed his mother and climbed down to their neighbors basement.
“It was like a snake,” Nikita said. “It didn’t travel straight, it went in a zigzag, twirling and picking who ever it wants.”
In just five minutes, the tornado passed through. After emerging from their neighbors basement, they saw that their home and small farm had disappeared.
Nothing was left, except Nikita ’s dog still tied to a post.
“In five minutes, everything was gone,” said Nikita . “Just like matchsticks.”
After the destruction, the Nikita family started from scratch and rebuilt their home.
“We never saw it coming, the night before there was a storm, but it was a calm day, then it became black as night, but we didn’t hear nothing on the radio,” said Nikita.
“I remember it all, plain as day.”
By: Miriam Katawazi, Windsor Star
Published on: June 17, 2016 | Last Updated: June 17, 2016 8:45 AM EDT
Photo: Nick Brancaccio / Windsor Star
