TORNADO TREES

Tornadoes are a powerful force of nature, and occasionally, columnists can be, too. After Illinois Times columnist James Krohe Jr. lamented in a May 30 column that the “Tornado Trees” exhibit at the Illinois State Museum, 502 S. Spring St., was no longer on display, the popular exhibit is back for a limited time. The exhibit shows sections of trees destroyed in the 1925 Tri-State tornado that hit Murphysboro on its path of destruction. The tornado killed 689 people, injured 1,980 more, and caused $17 million in damage in 1925 dollars. (That’s about $226 million today.) It even drove a wooden board deep enough into a tree to bear a man’s weight. Donated to the museum by a young National Guard lieutenant from Springfi eld named H. Langdon Robinson, the trees were on display for 75 years before being replaced by a new exhibit. They’re now back on display in the museum’s lobby through Aug. 25. For more information, call 782-7386 or visit www.museum.state.il.us.