Andy Rieger for The Transcript May 2, 2021
May 2, 2021
As my young family huddled behind a sofa in front of a large plate glass window in our southwest Norman home, we all looked out to the south to see if we could catch a glimpse of a tornado that was headed our way.
We had a box of crackers, the babies had bottles and Dad had his pipe and the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera.
It wasnât the safest situation more than 60 years ago but, like most homes in Norman, there was no basement.
The theory has always been Norman is somehow protected from twisters. The Canadian River was supposed to divert storms as they passed our way. Native American spirits supposedly helped too.
Gene, or Generino as Debi Van Nostrand liked to call him, was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War and a frequent flyer at Max Westheimer Airport.
Gene, however, wasnât flying a plane to the airport. He was coming to eat at Ozzieâs Diner, where Debi would brew him a pot of coffee, and he could watch the planes takeoff and land on the runway.Â
The 800-square-foot restaurant tucked into the corner of the airport was a hidden gem, a popular spot to eat both for its food and for its view. Ozzieâs was owned and operated by the Van Nostrand family â Debi, her husband Mart and their son Derek. Together, the family ran the restaurant for 34 years.