This month, the Archives has been focused on the history of the April 3, 1974 tornado. While the 50th anniversary has passed, we are still collecting stories and photographs from the community to be preserved in our digital repository. These stories help bring the human element to the history of the tornado, recording how the Greene County community responded to an unimaginable situation.
We are exceedingly grateful for those who have shared their stories and photographs with us already. This post contains just a few examples of the items preserved in the 1974 Tornado Community Archive.
Photos courtesy of James and Jane Langan, 1974 Tornado Community Archive.
April 3rd Remembrances
We were amazed, transfixed. We just stood there watching nature fill the sky as it got closer and closer and grew more powerful. We were down at the bottom of the 35-by-pass bridge on Lower Bellbrook Road, so, we could only see the top two-thirds of the tornado at that point; but we could see it was coming right at us. We stood there frozen, silent, amazed, and in awe. It was still a few miles away. Finally, our trance was broken when cars began speeding down over the by-pass bridge past us and the convenience store. And then, several vehicles pulled recklessly into the parking lot and screeched to a stop. People exited their cars and ran for the store. “Tornado,” they screamed as they ran for the doors. “Take cover!”
April 3rd Remembrance, Dennis McManes
Dale and I didn’t move. […] First, we saw the roof shingles spiral up into the air like huge flocks of black birds. Next, the entire roof structures were lifted whole from the brick walls and spun up into oblivion. And then, the bricks were peeled away and looked like dominos chasing one another up into the air. And this was not just one house, this was the entire neighborhood. And on the streets, cars were lifted into the air and spun around and tossed away landing on their sides and tops like an angry child’s tonka toys. This remains one of my most vivid memories because this is the moment that the unimaginable power of the natural world was first revealed to me.
My parents’and siblings’home on N. Detroit, at the outskirts of town at that time, was spared any damage. They, however, had one of the few working phones in the north-end of town. Dad and Mom (Dave and Jo Seiter) let anyone use the phone to contact relatives whether local or long distance. I think the bill that month was about $250for the long distance calls that month that my parents paid. The rest of the afternoon and early evening was checking with family and friends to see if they were ok. I believe we even had a weird snow that afternoon after the tornado. That night as we stayed with friends on the south side of town, it was eerily quiet. Nightfall brought on a darkness that I had never experienced. Very few city lights were on,and Xenia looked as if it had been bombed. It felt and looked like something out of a horror movie. My family was one of the lucky ones. Yes, we lost some items and were displaced for a short amount of time. But, compared to others, we were only inconvenienced and did not suffer the death anddestruction that others had to suffer through. For that, I am eternally grateful.
David Seiter
These and other written accounts and photographs are preserved and available through our digital repository. Explore them here.
And if you or someone you know remembers the 1974 tornado, please consider sharing your story to be preserved.
Until next time!
Out of the Clocktower 