Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman
GRAND ISLAND – June 3 is the 45th anniversary of the June 3, 1980, Grand Island tornadoes.
A children’s book that gained fame after the event was “Night of the Twisters” by Ivy Ruckmann.
I had the opportunity to interview Ruckmann several times while working as a reporter for The Grand Island Independent. In 2000, 20 years after the tornadoes, she spoke at College Park about her book. I wrote a story about her 2000 appearance at College Park.
Ruckman was a Hastings native, Hastings High School graduate and 1953 Hastings College graduate who lived in Salt Lake City. She majored in English at Hastings College and taught English at high schools in Wyoming and Salt Lake City.
I have a copy of “Night of the Twisters” autographed in 1986. It says, “For Carol, who survived this tornado. With every good wish. Ivy Ruckmann.”
Ruckmann said that she considered south central Nebraska as her home.
Ruckman’s 1984 book is based on the experiences of her cousin, Florence Rozendal of 822 E. Bismark Road. The Rozendals’ home was destroyed during the 1980 tornadoes.
Up until “Night of the Twisters,” no one had written a children’s book exclusively about a tornado, Ruckman said.
The Platte River, Mormon Island State Recreation Area, Fonner Park, The Grand Island Independent, Westside Lanes, Meves Bowl, St. Paul, Dannebrog, Phillips, Capital Heights, Kuester’s Lake, Dodge School and Dreisbach’s are items of Central Nebraska mentioned in the book. “Night of the Twisters” tells about a boy’s experiences during the tornadoes.
Ruckman spoke at Dodge Elementary School, then invited a group of students who had lost their homes to Rozendal’s house as part of her research for “Night of the Twisters.” Ruckman taped her interview with the students.
“On the tape, their voices are quaking with emotion,” she said.
Two men wrote a screenplay based on “Night of the Twisters,” Ruckman said. The television movie first aired in 1996.
