On April 3, 1974, the tornado that struck Xenia and the town of Wilberforce wiped out 80% of Central State University's campus.
“By the dinner hour, Galloway Hall was no more. But the tower stood tall. It is a symbol of the resilience of this community,” says Mike Gormley.
He's a mass communications assistant professor at CSU. The tower he’s referring to the Walter G. Sellers Alumni Tower, one of the few university structures that stood in defiance of the deadly storm.
Wednesday afternoon on April 3, 2024, the 50th anniversary of when that tornado hit, Gormley led a special memorial service outside the tower. Students, faculty and community residents honored those who rebuilt the campus as well as those who perished.
Freshman Laura Lee Hull, she died when the tornado struck her car as she drove from campus down route 42 to her family home in Xenia. Maintenance worker Ralph Smith, the tornado struck his truck on Stephenson Road. CSU Credit Union treasurer Evelyn Rockhold, flying debris hit and killed her as she attempted to leave campus. Postal clerk Oscar Robinson died when the tornado demolished the Wilberforce post office.
“It was a beautiful day before that, sun was shining, it was raining lightly,” said Obie Houston, a senior in 1974. On April 3 at 4:38 pm, he and his girlfriend were on campus in her dorm room in Green Hall. That’s when he noticed the trees wildly bowing outside her window.
“I saw the trees go down and come up. Went down and came up and I said, get behind the bed," Houston recalled. "There was a lot of screaming in the hallway, then a loud noise came up.”
According to the National Weather Service, the deadly storm was part of a Super Outbreak of 148 tornadoes affecting 13 states in the eastern United States.
A minute later, Houston emerged from behind the bed and ventured into the dorm lobby.
“All the glass was on the floor. The curtains were gone. Half of the trees were gone behind Green Hall. There were curtains in the trees," Houston said. He teared up behind the memories.
"We walked down the street. There were cars rolled up against the industrial arts building," he said. "The water tower that was back there was laid over into the infirmary. Roofing hanging off the building and every time the wind blew, like it is now, the girls would start screaming. That was the most unnerving thing— the constant blood curdling screams.”
Defying expectations, Central State did not close
The tornado destroyed 80-percent of Central State. But what really shocked and impressed the business major was what happened on campus after the storm– amid predictions CSU’s two week shutdown would actually be permanent.
“The faculty, they got their schedule together and we had classes on Saturdays and Sundays. Sometimes class started at 8 at night or 9 at night. You know, they were going 'til ten or eleven o'clock," Houston said. "They made up every minute. And a lot of people said, oh, y'all didn't get all your time. You didn't finish. We made up every minute, every minute. So I was so proud of our staff and faculty. They brought us through that."
Obie was a CSU senior in 1974 when a deadly tornado ripped through the campus, Wilberforce and Xenia.
Houston says this experience solidified why Central State is so important to him. "Central State, it's just family. I love this university. This is home."
