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THE LEGEND OF A LONE BULL PINE TREEBy Virginia SnyderThis story was told by Thelma Yates, a retired school teacher in the early 1950's and a lifelong resident of Bismarck. |
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| Two extreme weather fronts,
warm humid wind from the southwest and a cold, dry air mass from the northwest approached
each other like two husky boxers in the ring, each with intent to undo the other. The bout had begun over southwest Reynolds County, Missouri around one in the afternoon along Logan Creek and ended over 200 miles distant about 4 pm in Indiana. There were 689 casualties in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in a record of 3 hours. The following year a Bull pine tree, sprouting from a cone which the storm deposited there, pushed roots into the fertile soil of a vacant block of Bismarck Oddfellow Cemetery. Lodge members and those in charge of the mowing and upkeep probably never heard the legend of this lone pine, but its existence has never been threatened. It is a living memorial to those 689 who lost their lives in the most disastrous tornado in world history on March 18, 1925. And for all who lie within the perimeter of this cemetery, this alien pine stands in reverence. |
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Click HERE to view article containing further information about this deadly storm. |
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