By Kelly Boyer Sagert with inspiration from Ryan Sagert
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
A hot summer day in June:
people were cooling off in
the refreshing waters of
Lake Erie as winds strengthened.
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
People were gathering to
celebrate a lovely home
on Fifth Street before they ran
to the basement for shelter.
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
Friends met for outdoor picnics.
Families worked in gardens.
Children were walking their dogs.
They had such little notice.
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
People walked down Broadway Ave.,
entering State Theater.
In stores, people were shopping
as skies darkened overhead.
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
So much fury, so much loss.
So much rebuilding to do.
Boys rode for help on their bikes.
Others gave shelter and food.
Though a hundred years have passed,
Yesterday’s lives are present.
We honor their memories,
sharing their stories today.
(ring a bell)
Our city still remembers.
Our residents still recall.
The date: June the twenty eighth.
The year: nineteen twenty four.
(ring a bell)
Image: Views of Lorain after the tornado. , 1924. [Toledo, Ohio: publisher not transcribed] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018695356/. (No known usage restrictions)