April 3rd 1974, is a day I’ll never forget…and neither will Mary Wallace of Greensboro Indiana. The Tornado Super Outbreak. Mary was 8 yrs. old and attending Kennard Elementary in Henry County. My school bus coming from Knightstown Elementary and got my sister and I home just before a Tornado touched down in farm fields across the road.
Just before 3pm, Mary had just boarded her school bus in Kennard when the principal made the decision to get the kids back inside the school. Mary described the sound of the tornado ripping through their little town, like “a deafening freight train“. It scared her nearly to death as she sat in the “tornado” position inside a tiny coat closet. It frightened her enough that she stood up and began to run, only to be toppled by the school janitor, who took a hard hit to his head from a flying desk.
The aftermath was devastating. 70{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} of Kennard suffered damage, and the lone fatality was a 4 day old baby. The reports show that Kennard school took a direct hit from an F4 Tornado. To this day, Mary thanks the principal Mr. Newcomer and the school custodian Mr. Fultz for saving the lives of the students at Kennard Elementary.
Photo Credit: Screenshot of @kennardin tweet
