Anyone remember the Woodson Tornado of the 70s? There's a film crew on Pickett Road this afternoon for when school gets out... could be on Channel 9 tonight.

Yeh, there is a picture from that tornado in the Old Photos of Fairfax thread. Pickett Shopping Center got hosed.

I love how everyone drives the blue hairs away from this site and then someone starts a thread that only someone over 40 could give information about. Suck it bitches...

There was a tornado at Woodson in the 1970s? Fire Mr.Yost.

here's one pic
Attachments:

Si Wrote:
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> Yeh, there is a picture from that tornado in the
> Old Photos of Fairfax thread. Pickett Shopping
> Center got hosed.


Here it is.
Attachments:

April 1st 1973 Sunday, one more day and there would have been injuries or worst at WT Woodson across the street. I was on my way to Dart Drug to buy spray paint, It got dark rained so bad I and others pulled off Olley Land. Then it slacked and at Olley and 236 the fire trucks came. I pulled into the Dart Drug lot and there was insulation and stuff all over alarms were ringing and the front of the Safeway was in the parking lot. I thought it was a gas explosion like happened off Elizabeth Lane in 72. I got and and walked all over every saw that Commonwealth Christian School bus stuffed into the ABC store. Across at Woodson part of the roof was gone walls in some spots down . Kids were playing ball in the gym none got hurt. The school was closed the rest of the year they went to Oakton. Some of the stores at the time left to right The movie theater entrance in the corner ,Ben Franklin penny candy central, Don't remember the next , Phillipsborn a womens clothing store , Sears which was a catalog order pick up place, the ABC store then Peoples with the lunch counter inside, Not seen Goodyear tire, Giant Food, Picket Inn, Highs, the Hair salon and the barber shop. Across the street in the other side of Pickett shop center was Safeway, some other places, a camera store, the pool hall, the corner a shoe store, a womans cloths place, Pizza Kazannos, The Cleaners, 7-11, Giant Music, Raven Gift shop another womans cloths place and Dart Drug then Firestone. In the parking lot was Hot Shoppe Jr. Across the street National Bank of Fairfax.
I think a paint store was there too.

LOL OMG school bus in store

school bus in building Wrote:
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> LOL OMG school bus in store


LOL OMG school bus in ABC store

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
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> here's one pic

wow, they had electric lighting in the 1970s? are those gas lamps maybe? I see wires though. and a color photograph, wow.

And what did we have.. Pay phones as in the picture, most people had color TV some still B&W, Computers were huge $$ room sized things spitting out yards of paper, Maybe 5 channels 4/5/7/9/20 Actually good TV shows instead of shituation comedy's. No cell phones, car phones were radio-telephones and cost Way big$$ for mayors police chiefs ect only. Records and 8 track tapes, Reel to Reel tape decks, expensive long distance phone calls, Shitty looking "Mod Squad " clothes which I never bought into, Bell bottoms, wide stupid looking ties, long pointed collars. Rednecks and Country Singer types had buzz cuts and Pompadours and some still had ducktails and gave long hairs a hard time, three years later they were long hairs too. .We had 3 Chefs, Burger Chef, Mr. Donut at Camp Washington, Pizza Kazannos, Picket Inn, Genos, Fairfax Hardware, 7-11 parking lots, 3.2 beer at NOVA dance parties.

One thing that remains constant then , now and forever U.S Marines were U.S. Marines and will forever be.. so times change but life will go on in the good old USA.

How many people died? Are they still ok?

Two tornadoes hit Woodson HS. One in 1973, the other in 1979.

here is today's story. Nice shot of the buses.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=260250

I remember back when both of these happened. I was in Annandale as a 4 year old kid in 1973.

I don't remember the tornado (too young), but I remember some of the teachers at Woodson talking about it during my years there (Class of 1991). Red Jenkins and Harriet Mika both mentioned it several times; I recall Mrs. Mika mentioning that one of the other teachers had bought a new car the day before the tornado and was parked in front of the school that day when the tornado deposited the school's roof on the car. D'oh.

Hey in watching the video from Channel 9 - that is the way they had us prepare in the early 60's for the bomb. Like it would have done any good.

@Ye Ole Woodson Man - Slow down man, the thread is not going anywhere and there is no prize for being the first to post a bunch of giberish.

What is the latest account of damage?

Has the school re-open-ed yet?

How many hurt/injured/killed/victimized people are were there?

Is graduation happening as scheduled or do seniors have to re-peat their 12th grade year of high-school at Woodson?

oh wow Wrote:
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> How many people died? Are they still ok?



^^^^^^^REALLY?

It happened in 1973 and another tornado hit the WT Woodson area 77 or 78.Tore up the stadium and some houses in the back of the school.
No one died thankfully in all this, and other then some minor injuries no one was badly hurt a lucky day twice for this area.

Did I ever hate those Mod Squad clothes of the 70,s..LOL and slowed way down just given young folk a idea of what life was like back then. Retro lovers ..yes bring back the 60,s... forget the 70,s. Clothes wise at least.

The bus crashing into the ABC store is a classic picture.

Is the school up and running?
Have they rebuilted the playgrounds?
Are they accepting monetary donations?

Ye OLD Woodson did you hang out behind the power box at WTW.

I remember the tornado of 1973, walked out my house and saw hailstones the size of golfballs on the ground after the tornado passed.

Are there any photos of the tornado?

shoot. at xlkdjf HS in fairfax, our coach would say "it's a hurdle" and make us take our shoes off.

Is Woodson HS built on an old Indian cemetery or something? Twice a tornado hits the school - '73 and '78. No injuries just structural/ material damage? Is there any history of tornados traveling that path or any path in Fairfax, for that matter? Bizarre.

Blow Baby Blow Wrote:
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> Anyone remember the Woodson Tornado of the 70s?
> There's a film crew on Pickett Road this afternoon
> for when school gets out... could be on Channel 9
> tonight.

There lots of Information about the Tornado in the library

WOODSON STUDENT Wrote:
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> Blow Baby Blow Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Anyone remember the Woodson Tornado of the 70s?
>
> > There's a film crew on Pickett Road this
> afternoon
> > for when school gets out... could be on Channel
> 9
> > tonight.
>
> There lots of Information about the Tornado in the
> library


Which library?

WOODSON STUDENT Wrote:
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> Blow Baby Blow Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Anyone remember the Woodson Tornado of the 70s?
>
> > There's a film crew on Pickett Road this
> afternoon
> > for when school gets out... could be on Channel
> 9
> > tonight.
>
> There lots of Information about the Tornado in the
> library


Assuming you mean the Fairfax Regional Library?

I was 13 at the time, and I remember hearing lots of talk about the schoolbus being thrown into the ABC store. So it's really GREAT to see this photo you posted of that exact thing!

I remember that tornado.

Anybody remember Shaky's Pizza? Or the Three Chef's?

Anybody remember Time Out over at Springfield Mall? Or Farrell's ice cream?

Anybody remember that crazy sign at 7 Corners? The one with the big 7 that would tell the weather??

Anybody remember that airport off Columbia Pike and Rt. 7 at Bailey's x-roads? You know that one of the original hangers still exists (hint: it is now a storage place, but it looks exactly like an airport hanger!)

Anybody remember that Arthur Treacher's in Fairfax Circle? The one with the great fish and chips and Fanta?

I remember it like it was April 1, 1973

We lived in the apartments behind Pickett. I napped through the storm but woke up to a sunshiny day and my tricycle embedded into the ground, just partway of course. A lot of cars were smashed w/ damage from an act of God, our car was spared.

Walking around w/ the family and checking out the destruction was exciting and terrifying at the same time. The damage to the Safeway brought out the "looters" I didn't have a clue what that meant.

My big brother went to W.T.Woodson and they had to share an opposite schedule w/ Oakton. The H/S kids were glad to have half days.

Life was easy.

My brother worked at Roy Rogers, and when the old cowboy when he visited his name sake restaurant, some boy child from Woodson hit Roy (an American icon) in the face w/ a pie. I'm sure he thought it was funny. I thought it was awful. How could someone do that to Roy Rogers, the legend w/ his Sons Of The Pioneers present. I think the kid go suspended for something that didn't even happen on school property. I'd hate to see the coverage of this spectacle today, what w/ the cell phones and crap kids have these days. I still have my Buckaroo Club Card around here somewhere. Good for a free order of fries w/ the awesome bar--b-que sauce. That all you can eat fixings bar and grease ground into the jeans bro wore. Mom washed them separate. Bros first girlfriend had to say, "Howdy Pardner".

Anyway, the mess from the Hurricane Agnes was cleaned up, life moved on and Ben Franklin closed. So did the movie theater and Giant Records. Even the 7-11 is gone from the plaza now.

Yep, Woodson was hit twice by big winds. Must have to do w/ it sitting up high on the hill. Now it's known as the suicide school because the kids have too much pressure on them to perform and excel in everything, sports, grades, every club know to man and woman and girls think they are boys and don't know what bathroom to walk into and how to even use anything that might be considered the least bit private. Why? Confusion and plain dumbness on the part of parents and administrators.

Sure wish we could go back to the good old days when a fun Friday or Saturday night meant ice skating at the brand new rink.

Now kids want to snap and chat and waste their lives on social media trying to impress each other. For what? I don't get it. maybe the next hurricane will make us feel like Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz ans we can all think that "there's no place like home", but we are certainly not "in Kansas" or Virginia.

We're all riding the crazy train to Looneyville.

What can you do? Nada. Just roll w/ it and see what turns out.

I'll be okay and I hope to Holy Heaven you are as well. Peace.

Two Cents Wrote:
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> The bus crashing into the ABC store is a classic
> picture.


45 years ago today. My how time slips away.