Black and white photograph (10.5 x 6 cm.) described on the reverse side as, back of Ringwalt's, showing Theodore Ringwalt's house after it had been damaged by the tornado that hit Omaha, Nebraska, on March 23, 1913. Ringwalt's house was located at 429 North 38th Avenue.
Few disasters have devastated Omaha as completely as the Easter Tornado of March 23, 1913. The storm descended with terrible force just after Easter services on Sunday evening. The tornado created a path of destruction seven miles long and a quarter mile wide. It killed 140 Omahans and injured 400 others. Theodore L. Ringwalt and his brother John R. Ringwalt were prominent insurance agents in Omaha. They specialized in fire insurance. The Ringwalt brothers were born in Pittsburgh and moved to Omaha in 1880. Theodore Ringwalt was married and had three daughters. Although their residence was extensively damaged in the Easter Tornado of 1913, none of the family members were killed at that time; Theodore Ringwalt died three years later in 1916. John Ringwalt's son, Jack, also went into the insurance business, founding the National Indemnity Company and selling it in 1968 to Warren Buffett for 8.5 million dollars. John's other son, Arthur, worked in the diplomatic service, holding such posts as vice-consul in Shanghai (during the early 1930s) and first secretary of the American embassy in London (during the mid 1950s). Sources: Lethem, John. Historical and Descriptive Review of Omaha. Omaha: John Lethem, 1892; A Lot of Fun Out of It. Omaha World-Herald, February 2, 1932; Britain Remains Our Best Ally, Omaha World-Herald, January 15, 1957.
