West Stockbridge — All hell broke loose in West Stockbridge 50 years ago this month. Four people were killed and more than 40 injured when a tornado tore through the State Line section of town. The twister leveled a diner at the Berkshire Truck Plaza and destroyed several nearby homes. Acres of trees were snapped like twigs. Utility poles were ripped from the ground. Numerous trucks and cars were overturned and mangled. Debris was carried by winds as far away as South Windsor, Conn., where documents bearing the name “State Line Diner” landed in several residents’ front lawns. Today, the site of the old truck stop is filled with solar panels, as shown in the bottom photograph.
