Griffith High School - Reflector Yearbook (Griffith, IN)

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Don ' t strike a match By Donald Lewis Get out of your houses! Go to the Town Hall immediately! Get out of your houses, we must evacuate the area! Evacuate. Flee. Escape. Destruction. Death. Doom. Those were the first thoughts that entered my mind after I was awakened by a combination of flashing lights and a commanding voice over the loudspeaker of the Civil Defense Rescue Unit. We obeyed the instructions of the Civil Defense workers who were stopping at every block ordering residents to leave their homes, even though we were oblivious to the danger which threatened us. Our immediate action, after making sure our family was safe, was to check with the neighbors. When everyone was alerted and able to leave, we went to the town Hall. Still dazed and half-asleep from being roused out of bed at 11:30 p.m. the night of September 13, 1 somehow managed to get out of the car and walk along Broad Street. When I saw the hundreds of other people crowded on the sidewalks, my senses instantaneously sharpened as I bacame aware of the impending crisis. I then began thinking of the countless number of film clips I had seen on television news shows covering victims of tornadoes, earthquakes, floods: and fire, Scenes not only of refugees abandoning their possessions and property but also of the desolation and havoc which are associated with disasters were brought to mind. With all of these thoughts running through my head, I wondered how a burned-out section of Griffith would look on a news show. Liquid propane which spewed up from an underground cavern in the southwest corner of town and forced the evacuation, had settled Like a plot out of an old , Dragnet rerun, Indiana State Police officers examine a map of Griffith as they plan which sectors to evacuate. in a gaseous state over a larger area while the possibility of an explosion became greater. I was brought back to reality as my parents left the Town Hall and headed towards the car. We were to go to Elsie Wadsworth School which would be our home for the night, until the danger had passed. With WJOB Radio played over the intercom and other radios tuned to various stations, we began to gather more information describing the seriousness of our situation. Besides listening intently to news flashes on the radio, evacuees spent time talking to old friends, making new acquaintances, and sleeping while some children invented games or cried. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army resque squads arrived early the next morning prepared to give food and shelter to the homeless and helpless. The sight of those two organizations only restored to my thoughts the news stories and film of other, more destitute victims of disasters, and the possibility that our situation was more perilous than the worst we had imagined it could be. With nothing else to do but wait, nervous residents gather at the town hall, afraid to think that their neighborhood could easily be reduced to rubble. 12

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attle weekend boredom blues O-UXIN G iHeffiite ' 8 s School-sponsored events, such as cheering at Friday night football games, often answered the students ' question of What ' s to do tonight f Dominatingthe merchant ' s window, the No Loitering sign reflects the problem students encounter in finding a place to gather and talk. When business slows for Panther Press subscriptions, Barb Dudek and Cindy Class revert to a childhood game to help pass the time. Enforcement of the no loitering laws forced many students to divert their attention to inside the home. In her spare time, ludy Fortner has an opportunity to embroider. 11

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As ominous as a tornado and twice as dangerous, the gas leak kept the anxious town on edge until it was finally brought under control. Photos by Roy Hall, CHICAGO TRIBUNE