Article clipped from The Star Press

Pupils Huddle in School Basement While Tornado Crumples Kennard By LARRY LOUGH KENNARD About a dozen persons were injured in this western Henry County community of 700 Wednesday when a tornado dipped into the north part of town, but students who huddled in the basement of the elementary school escaped injury. Scores of homes were damaged. The tornado blasted through town at 3 p.m. as school children were being loaded on buses, but the funnel gave enough warning that students could be rushed back into the safety of the building. The town siren also sounded the alarm as the storm approached. Elsewhere damage was reported at Knightstown, Charlottesvitle, Grant City and Mt. Summit where Blue River Valley High School lost much of its roof. The tornado smashed a few homes County, uprooting trees, tearing down just west of Knightstown and state power lines, leveling farm buildings and police warned residents of the town to leaving in its wake paper, wood and take cover. But the storm suddenly metal debris. headed north just before reaching the Firemen credited Principal Gene town. Myers with personally saving three children by covering their bodies as part of The twister headed northeasterly and the ceiling of the school collapsed leavmade itself evident again at I-70 and ing all but the front wall a giant pile of Ind. 109, where a new truck stop-serbricks. One of the empty school buses vice station was hit but not severely was blown over by the racing storm. damaged. The high winds ran over the rural in southwestern The small community of Grant City area Henry about three miles north of the Interstate suffered extensive damage from the storm, which apparently blew right through 20 residences there. No serious I KENNARD through the small town in western The twister's touchdown in Kenreported in the county. NO I SOLICITING WITHOUT LICENSE Unwanted Visitor The debris wrapped around the sign on Kennard's north side and the wrecked home in the background were a small part of heavy damage injuries were reported. The tornado continued northward, running roughshod over farm country. ONE OF THE FIRST to see the storm approach Kennard was Ed Smith, a resident of the town for only the past two weeks. He was unfamiliar with the town's' warning siren, and said he was not bothered by the loud sound he mistook for the railroad warning on the track that bisects the community. But when Smith looked out his kitchen window as he went for a drink of water, he saw the funnel coming toward him. He said debris was flying from the tornado which he estimated as 200-300 feet wide, and large hailstones accompanied the high winds. About onequarter of a mile before it reached his home on Kennard's southwest side, the tornado lifted, he said. His home suffered only minor damage when struck by the flying debris. The rest of the town wasn't so lucky. (See KENNARD on Page 8) done by a tornado which ripped Henry County Wednesday afternoon. nard was the most serious of four. 39 Killed as Twisters Pummel Entire State Indiana's worst tornadoes in nine years killed at least 39 persons Wednesday and injured hundreds more as the deadly twisters stormed through Indiana on four separate paths. Five deaths were reported at Rochester in Fulton County, in northern Indiana. An unconfirmed report said up to 17 may be dead there. More than 100 persons were being treated at White County Hospital, after a tornado touched down in the middle of downtown Monticello. At least 70 others were hospitalized at Lafayette. In southern Indiana, about 90 injuries were reported at Madison and Hanover. Damages were estimated at $10 million at Hanover College, where two students suffered minor injuries and classes were cancelled for Thursday. THE RED CROSS reported storm damage in 19 counties and set up disaster

Article from 04 Apr 1974The Star Press(Muncie, IN)

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