Batavia doc keeps eye on sky this time of year

You can't blame Dr. Richard Grayson of Batavia if he tends to look to the skies a little more often in April.

The 83-year-old semi-retired physician, who still practices internal medicine and does medical exams for pilots at his home office, was on the communication front lines April 21, 1967 as northern Illinois suffered the rage of Mother Nature when more than 20 tornadoes roared throughout the region.

"My interest in Civil Defense was ham radio and communications," said Grayson, who came to St. Charles with his family in 1963. "I wrote an unpublished essay in 1967 in the aftermath of the tornado that hit St. Charles and Geneva on April 21."

That essay was called "Tornado Radio Watch," which was a guide to better communications for hospitals and emergency services when a tornado was threatening the area.

In his report, Grayson touched on the severity of what took place that day, though the Tri-Cities region was spared the devastation that Belvidere suffered to the north. A tornado hit Belvidere that day at 3:50 p.m., about the time many kids were getting off school buses.

More than 24 people were killed and 410 injured in that town.

Grayson reported in his essay that medical staff working at Community Hospital in Geneva received word that a village, such as Elburn, to the west of the Tri-Cities, had been "wiped out."

When only four people from west of the area were brought to the hospital, Grayson said, it ultimately proved that the rumor about a village being "wiped out" was inaccurate.

Twelve houses north of St. Charles were damaged at 4:30 p.m. and eight houses in Geneva reported damage shortly after that. Luckily, there were no injuries reported in the local incidents. This area was blessed, compared to Oak Lawn, which suffered the hardest hit at 5:30 p.m.

Many of the questions Grayson raised about the inefficiencies of communication between and within agencies have improved since 1967 with advanced technology and a better understanding of storms.

While the outbreak in April of 1967 heightened awareness and triggered discussion about communications improvements, Grayson noted that alert public safety officials made use of the tools at hand to save lives that day.

"The Civil Defense Center in St. Charles utilized other sources of weather data, including a citizen's band group of 20 mobile radio stations," Grayson wrote in his essay. "As a consequence of this rapidly activated communications system, the public in the Fox Valley area was kept fully informed of approaching tornadoes. When the sirens went off, practically everyone took shelter."

Dr. Grayson and others like him paved the way for this area to have top-rate communications when we need it most - during tornado season.

Cookies galore: Just a quick note to our troops overseas: The Tag-a-Longs are better than ever. Tag-a-Longs, a wonderful combination of chocolate and peanut butter, just happen to be my favorite Girl Scout cookie.

And because of the efforts of more than 520 troops in the Fox Valley, a record number of 18,000 boxes of donated cookies are being sent to the troops. Last year, the girls were able to get 10,000 boxes donated, and it was feared that poor weather and the down economy would work against efforts this year.

But those involved in this "Gift of Caring" project were thrilled with the response - and some soldiers will soon be enjoying the result.

A recession buster: Recession Noir. What better name for a bottle of wine made specifically to raise funds for a worthy cause?

We received an interesting note that Prairie State Winery in Genoa was releasing a wine named Recession Noir, with the intent to donate $1 per bottle sold to the DeKalb County Salvation Army to help families in need. It's described as a "soft and slightly sweet" red wine that retails for $8.99 and is a blend of Illinois grown grapes.

Wine lovers can get more information at www.prairiestatewinery.com.

Sandwiches off campus: In responding to my recent columns about buildings that changed hands, but their former names stayed stuck in our minds, Rev. William Beckman said he also remembered the Rojo's deli that is now called Jalapeño Grille in St. Charles.

He said he remembers it mostly from his days as principal at Valley Lutheran, when he had to stop at nearby Rojo's on occasion to make sure students weren't eating lunch off campus.

Another reader, Janice Gargantiel of Batavia, had a son at Valley Lutheran after her family moved to this area in 1976.

We don't think her son was one of those whom Principal Beckman was checking on, but Janice mentioned that her family also remembers the site as Yellow Submarine, which came in after Rojo's.

For those new to the area, Valley Lutheran High School is also a memory of the past, along with its predecessor, Mount St. Mary girls Catholic high school. That site is now occupied by the ViewPointe homes overlooking Geneva Road (Route 31).

dheun@sbcglobal.net