It was forty years ago on Wednesday, April 3, 1974, our small community was witness to something many had never seen before – a tornado skirted our village and left behind a path of destruction. The eNews will reprint a few articles from local papers that covered this event in Continental’s past. Perhaps our readers will remember where they were and what they were doing that spring evening. A special thank you to Norma (Tucker) Fitzwater for sharing her scrapbook and pictures with the eNews.
TORNADO VICTIMS TELL OF FLIGHT FROM STORM’S PATH (an excerpt from the Putnam County Sentinel, Wednesday, April 10, 1074):
Residents of the Continental area will never forget the tornado of April 3, 1974, and many have hair-raising stories to tell about it. Probably the most shocked were Mrs. Shirley McDougle, 38 and her daughter, Sandra, 16, who were in their home when it was struck by the full force of the twister. They took shelter near their automobile in the garage, when the entire home and garage were literally lifted off its foundation and blown away. Parts of the house could be seen in tree tops across the road the next day, but there was nothing left of the foundation. Mrs. McDougle said she could not remember getting out of the garage, where she and Sandra received only minor cuts and bruises. They were too dazed to remember what had happened.
Next door the home of Mr. & Mrs. Walter Tucker was also completely wrecked. Mrs. Tucker and her daughter had been home but they were warned by their son who was working in Continental. They drove away in their car and were about a mile away when they saw the tornado hit their home. A dog belonging to the Tucker family was picked up and dropped unharmed about a quarter of a mile away.
Next to them is the home of Mr. & Mrs. Gary Grant. Mrs. Grant said they crawled under their house for shelter but the home was spared. There was some damage to the roof, and a picture window was blown out. A splinter of wood could be seen jutting from the front of the house near the roof.
Thursday morning the garage at the Grant home looked like the scene of a giant garage sale, as neighbors began the task of picking up clothing and furnishings which could be salvaged for the Tuckers and McDougles, and sorting it in the garage.
The Fred Roehles on Road E also were fortunate enough to see the storm coming and left home. They took their two small children and were about a mile away when it hit. They did not see it hit their home, but when they returned the house ws sitting cross-wise on the foundation and ruined beyond repair.
The family of Al Porter, who is principal at Continental High School, was gone from home when their property was destroyed.
Frank Rockhold who operates a grocery store a few yards down the road from the Grant home, said that was the fifth tornado he had lived through in his lifetime. He said he also saw it coming and jumped in his pickup truck. However, by the time he got onto the road wires were torn off utility poles and fell in a shower of sparks on his truck. He drove out from underneath them.
Just a short distance across the road to the north sat two trailer which were unscathed.
When the tornado first was spotted west of Continental, residents of the village were fearful it would strike them and the fire siren was sounded as a warning. A number of persons drove up and down streets shouting warnings of the twister’s approach, and within a matter minutes Main Street was jammed with traffic trying to get out of town.
One man told of picking up two small children in his truck but was unable to get through the traffic. However, by that time it was apparent that the twister was going to miss the town. Continental Mayor Richard Williams said he saw the tornado coming. “It looked like it was coming right at us, but then it danced around and headed north of town….I couldn’t believe only three people were hurt when I saw those houses,” Mayor Williams said. “It was just a miracle that most of the people were away from their homes.”
