The Tracy Tornado Tree
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Tracy Tornado Clock

The Tracy Tornado Tree, also, Tracy Tornado Clock. . , The ruins of the Tracy Elementary School and the splintered Tracy Tornado Tree (right) show the tornado's destructive power., The Tracy Tornado Tree , has endured as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Tracy's people in rebuilding from the June 13, 1968 tornado., The Tracy Tornado Tree was a large elm at the corner of Fifth and Rowland streets. Its arching branches had shaded generations of students attending the nearby Tracy Elementary School., Caught square in the tornado's path, the tree's trunk was grotesquely stripped of bark and branches. Twisted and contorted, its once stout limbs crazily splintered, the massive elm nonetheless remained rooted to the ground next to the wrecked school., The spectacularly damaged elm became known as the Tracy Tornado Tree. Unlike other debris left in the storm's wake, the Tornado Tree was spared during the massive clean-up. In 1969, the tree was moved to a Hwy. 14 park location., In 1990, under the sponsorship of the Tracy Area Chamber of Commerce, a steel-sculpture replica of the Tornado Tree was erected, replacing the now badly-deteriorated elm. Steve Jaenisch of Fergus Falls designed and built the new Tornado Tree. A McNight Foundation grant and private donations funded the project., In 2013, a polished granite memorial was erected as a tribute to the nine people who lost their lives in the Tracy Tornado, replacing a small brick marker., Tracy Tornado Clock , Time seemed to stand still in Tracy at 7:03 p.m., June 13, 1968, the moment the tornado began blasting through Tracy from the southwest, and knocking out electrical power to the city., A clock that hung on the walls of Tracy Elementary School was recovered from the storm wreckage, its hands stopped shortly after 7 p.m. National Weather Service records calculate that the tornado struck Tracy Elementary School at 3 minutes and 42 seconds past seven o'clock. The 7:04 p.m. time, when the tornado was ravaging the heart of Tracy, is reflected in the clock symbol on the granite Tracy Tornado memorial that was erected in 2013.