On April 11, 1965, a tornado tore through Northeast Ohio, starting from Pittsfield Township and reaching the city of Strongsville, causing widespread devastation and loss of life.
It was on that fateful day, sixty years ago, when a series of deadly tornadoes struck several states, including Ohio, on Palm Sunday, making it one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in American history. Even Northeast Ohio experienced the tragic consequences of this severe weather event.
Located at the intersection of State Routes 58 and 303 in central Lorain County, Pittsfield Township bore the brunt of the storm. The township suffered severe damage and a tragic loss of nine lives when an F-4 tornado struck on the night of April 11, 1965.
“We drove through Pittsfield, probably 20-30 minutes before the tornado came through there,” said WKYC Assignment Editor Tom Kelley, who was 9 years old back then. His family was returning home after visiting family.
It’s something Kelley looks back on. He was a cub scout at the time, and didn’t know a storm that would bring winds over 200 miles per hour was just moments away. At 11:08 p.m., the tornado touched down just west of town.
He’d return a few days later to help search for personal belongings in the rubble. “I never seen anything like that,” said Kelley.
Neither had John Bedford, 20 miles away in Strongsville, where the tornado headed next. Bedford recalled seeing the twister from his Westwood Drive home.
“We’re close to the railroad tracks. So, we get a wind from the west. You can hear the trains pretty well,” said Bedford. “But this train was roaring down our front yard.”
He was a teen back then and remembers it well.
“When the lightning would flash you could see something out our front door across the field, which we really couldn’t figure out what that was,” recalled Bedford.
This tornado was just one of the dozens of devastating tornadoes in the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak. In all, 47 tornadoes killed 271 people and injured over 1,500. It is still the fourth deadliest day for tornadoes on record. Eighteen people died from this one tornado from Pittsfield Township to Strongsville.
“It just looked like a bomb had gone off because there was so much debris everywhere. House parts, people’s internal belongings were just scattered everywhere,” said Bedford.
“I remember I found a couple checkbooks. I found a diamond ring, I don’t know if it was a wedding ring from somebody, and, a lot of other things” recalled Kelley. “What I do remember the most is the number of dead animals that were laying around in the area. Cows. Horses. Chickens.”
Destruction left by the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado in NE Ohio
The tornado changed lives. Tom is the former Lorain County Emergency Manager. John is the senior communications and technology coordinator for the City of Strongsville. Both men point to Palm Sunday in 1965 as an event that put them on the path to protecting their communities.
“Going through the event has made me more enlightened to the protection we need for the residences here,” said Bedford.
The Pittsfield and LaGrange Historical Societies will host a public event commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado that destroyed Pittsfield’s center, taking nine lives, and then traveling through LaGrange, taking five more lives. The event will take place Saturday, April 26 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Pittsfield’s Maintenance Facility located on the east side of SR-58 (across the road from the Town Hall).
The program will include a commentary DVD created ten years ago interviewing survivors. Roger Pickenpaugh will talk about his book “The Night of the Wicked Winds,” and survivors and local family members will share their memories and stories of the tornado and the aftermath.
Pictures and newspaper articles will be available showing the path of destruction through Pittsfield and LaGrange townships.
Pittsfield’s restored 1838 wooden schoolhouse will be open for viewing. Refreshments will be available including a food truck by Krooked Kitchen.
The Strongsville Historical Society will present a program on the 1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes on August 20 at 7 p.m. at the Strongsville branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. The presenter will be David Maloney of the Historical Society.
