More remnants of that Lubbock tornado.

It is almost impossible to believe that 48 years after the storm there are still ruins in the city. There are scars, too, but that’s different.

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.6.2018

If my information is correct, this is at (or very near) the location where all four members of a young family died during the 1970 tornado. Those little boys would be 51 and 49 years old now, and their parents would be in their early 70s. It is very nearly too much to think about.

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.6.2018

On the night of May 11, 1970, Lubbock was struck by a devastating tornado. That storm changed the trajectory of the city – 26 people were killed, entire neighborhoods were leveled, the downtown suffered heavy damage.

One of the neighborhoods that was particularly hard hit was on the north side of town, near the Lubbock Country Club. Look at this list of fatalities and you’ll see Mesa Road listed over and over again. This is that part of Mesa Road as it looks now. A Facebook friend told me about this location. He said, “See that red wall? For years and years a lady would come out and put up a few blocks at a time, and even slung some paint on it. I was told her family died in the house…There’s a little less there each year.”

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.6.2018