Wednesday, April 3, 1974 will never be forgotten in the Dayton area. That was the day of the great Tornado Super Outbreak across east central United States that spawned 148 tornadoes in a 24 hour period that killed 319 people including the deadly tornado that ravaged Xenia, Ohio. A total of 32 people were killed and 1,150 were injured in Xenia with $100 million in property damage in less than ten minutes. The F5 tornado destroyed ¼ of the city and caused severe damage to another ¼ of the city. It was considered the worst of the 148 storms that hit that day. The year 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the tragic event.
I was nineteen years old working as a recreation leader for Moraine Parks & Recreation Department at the Moraine Meadows Elementary School Afterschool Recreation Program. I remember that day, standing outside the school looking east as the swirling skies turned incredibly dark around 4:25pm, about five minutes before the tornado struck Xenia. The tornado entered western Xenia and completely flattened the Windsor Park and Arrowhead subdivisions then lifted and blew over several railroad cars as it entered and destroyed downtown. Moving northeast it destroyed apartments, businesses, homes, churches, and Xenia High School. The tornado lifted up a bus and dropped it on the school stage where students had been practicing a play minutes before.
The next day on Thursday, April 4, me, and fellow city worker Steve Ward made flyers that were passed throughout Moraine Meadows Elementary School for residents to donate canned goods and clothing for the Xenia victims. The following morning parents and children dropped off donations that filled up two City of Moraine dump trucks and my small car. Our three vehicle caravan drove to Xenia, passed through the national guard checkpoint and dropped off supplies at Cox Elementary School. I then drove throughout the ruined city and took hundreds of photos and super 8 film footage. The photos shown today are photos I took 49 years ago. By the way, don’t be fooled that Moraine will never be hit by a tornado. Ohio averages 19 tornadoes per year with peak tornado season in Ohio from April through July.
That wraps up our quick look at Moraine’s Involvement in the 1974 Xenia Tornado Disaster.
