Woman treated after 1956 tornado again relies on Mary Free Bed

Meghan Bunchman
·3 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Newaygo woman who is back at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital this week for therapy recalls the first time she was a patient at the rehabilitation center following an F-5 tornado that ripped through West Michigan in 1956.

“There is a God, let me tell you,” Ardith Payne, who goes by Artie, said. “Because if he wasn’t there, I would have been gone this time and that time.”

Payne continues to recover this month after she suffered a severe infection following a kidney stint. She told News 8 that the doctors said she was close to death and if her grandson hadn’t called 911, she wouldn’t be here today.

“He saved my life,” she said. “He called them and said, ‘My grandma’s real sick. She needs you.’”

While Payne remains at Mary Free Bed Friday, she spends her time between therapy appointments regaling hospital staff with her stories from the first time she was a patient there.

‘Black as coal’: Eyewitnesses reflect on West Michigan’s deadliest tornado

“(The) first thing I remember is my minister standing over me when I woke up. When I came to. And I looked at him and I said, ‘My daddy’s dead.’ I figured that’s why a minister was there. He said, ‘Yeah, he is,’” Payne said.

Payne was just 9 years old when the 1956 F-5 tornado ripped through the areas of Hudsonville and Standale. She, her five brothers and her father sought shelter, but the tornado claimed her dad’s life, along with 16 others.

  • A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
    A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
  • A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
    A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
  • A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
    A look at some of the damage caused by three violent tornadoes that tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (WOOD TV8 file)
  • People pore through the rubble left behind after three tornadoes tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (Courtesy National Weather Service)
    People pore through the rubble left behind after three tornadoes tore through West Michigan on April 3, 1956. (Courtesy National Weather Service)
  • A file image shows the damage left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
    A file image shows the damage left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
  • A file image shows the damage left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
    A file image shows the damage left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
  • An aerial photo shows the path of destruction left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
    An aerial photo shows the path of destruction left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
  • An aerial photo shows the path of destruction left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
    An aerial photo shows the path of destruction left by the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado. (via NWS)
  • A file image of the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado, which killed 17 people and injured hundreds more. (via NWS)
    A file image of the 1956 Hudsonville-Standale tornado, which killed 17 people and injured hundreds more. (via NWS)

“I was thrown about a block from my house,” Payne said.

She suffered severe leg injuries which resulted in a full body cast and months of rehabilitation. While at Mary Free Bed’s original facility off Cherry Street, Payne’s Bible was found two miles away from her home. It was returned to her and she told News 8 she was moved to tears.

  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
  • A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)
    A file photo of Mary Free Bed. (Courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital)

Now, nearly 68 years later, that same Bible sits by the side of Payne’s hospital bed as she shares her story and newspaper clippings once again with hospital staffers to pass the time.

“One of the doctors said, ‘You sound like a cat with nine lives,’” she said. “And I said, ‘I’ve already used five of them.’”

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