On June 9, 1953, a group of fishermen on the Quabbin Reservoir saw a funnel drop from the clouds heading towards the town of Petersham, Massachusetts. Unbeknownst to them, it was the beginning of one of the worst natural disasters in Massachusetts. A class F-4 tornado was on the ground for approximately 85 minutes, traveling forty-two miles and killing 94 people and injuring thousands making it the 20th deadliest tornado in US history. Over a six-month period, a collection of 160 Shrewsbury police photographs of the tornado aftermath were scanned and documented for this presentation. Google My Maps was used to trace the path of the devastation in Shrewsbury and firsthand newspaper accounts were researched and summarized to bring context around the photo collection.

Paul Bruegemann is a lifelong resident of Shrewsbury along with his wife Janine. He is a graduate of St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury and has a mathematics degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Paul will be retiring from a 42-year career in insurance actuarial data management in March 2026. He has been doing family research for 35 years and is a member of numerous genealogical and historical societies in New England including NGS, American Ancestors, AFGS, RIGS and MSOG. Paul has written genealogical articles and assisted with content on two Worcester books on the Worcester Memorial Auditorium and the 1918 Flu Pandemic. Paul also spends time researching old photographs and writing historical FaceBook posts for the towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Oxford. He currently serves as the MSOG Worcester Chapter and State Treasurer positions.