Gainesville marking 75th anniversary of deadly twister

GAINESVILLE - The City of Gainesville today will pause to remember what happened on this day 75 years ago.

It was at 8:27 a.m. on April 6, 1936, that a massive tornado struck the heart of town... leveling more than 900 buildings and homes and killing 200 people and injuring 1,600.

At a ceremony at 8:15 this morning on the downtown square, a memorial plaque was unveiled (see separate story) and at 5:00 this afternoon, the Northeast Georgia History Center will sponsor a reception commemorating the anniversary of the deadly storm.

On Sunday, the history center - which has a permanent exhibit on the Tornado of '36 - will open at 1:00 with free admission, courtesy of the North Georgia Eye Clinic and Laser Center. Included during the afternoon will be hands-on weather activities, including making weather vanes, tornado tubes and more.

Then, on Tuesday at 7:00, a panel discussion on the tornado will be featured, as survivors recount their experiences during and after the tornado. It will be free for history center members; $3 for everyone else.

Much has already been written and said this week about the tornado leading up to today.

AccessNorthGa.com featured a first-hand account of the twister Sunday from two Gainesville residents, who were teenagers at the time of the storm, and a few weeks ago, Gainesville architect Garland Reynolds discussed his idea for a permanent memorial to the scores of people who perished that day when the twister leveled the Cooper Pants Factory, which then caught fire. (See links below.)