Before the Tornado

Mural of Utica, Illinois in Joy & Ed's Bar, showing the nearby area wiped out in the tornado.

On our short camping trip this month, we visited Utica, Illinois, the hometown of my husband's fishing buddy.  On the wall of this bar, Joy & Ed's, is a mural of a part of the old downtown area which was destroyed in a sudden tornado on April 20th, 2004.

Detail of mural showing the Millstone Tavern & the Ambulance Service Bldg

The house our friend grew up in is hidden by the lady's head on the left. Fortunately his mother wasn't home at the time. And she wasn't at work either that day at the Ambulance Service (the blue building beside the tavern), so it obviously wasn't her time to go. However, his best friend was killed in the Millstone Tavern, along with eight others, as he grabbed two children off the street and rushed them inside to what he thought was safety. He died a hero because the children survived. That whole block was demolished.