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Six lost their lives in storm 43 years ago, today Storm warnings and suspicious skies like we've had over the past few days remind us to take spring weather seriously. Adair County has experienced some bad storms over the years, but none more deadly than the tornado of April 27, 1971. Six people were killed that night as winds raged in a circular speed of 150-300 miles per hour travelling across Adair County at a hit and miss speed of 40 miles per hour. RELATED: Deadly F4 Tornado hit Adair Co., KY 43 years ago today By Pete Walker In Columbia Statesman, April 29, 1971 Out of the elements and across the countryside of Adair County an angry streak of destruction swept, leaving in its wake enormous property damage, over 30 injuries, 6 deaths, and untold misery and grief. Bobbing up and down like a child's rubber ball, the ruinous tornado struck around 9:30 to 10 p.m. traveling in a southeastward path across the northern part of the county. The path of destruction varied in width from 50 feet in some places to as much as 600 in others. Its only rival in destructive energy is the man-made hell of an atomic explosion. Eyewitnesses testified to the freakishness of the storm. In parts of the county homes standing side by side would see one destroyed completely, the other untouched by the storm. J. W. Vance reported that a trailer 50 feet from his back porch was completely destroyed, the family blown out of the trailer, but his own home unscathed. The family occupying the trailer escaped serious injury. Bill Page, Cave Valley, watched the storm from his porch as a lightning-sheeted sky lit the landscape. A deathly stillness was followed by an ominous roar as the storm struck. The new brick home of a neighbor, Clifford Page, was totally destroyed. The Pages, who had taken refuge in the basement emerged unharmed, coated with insulating material, stunned but thankful to be alive. Adair hardest hit in human suffering Near the Mt. Pleasant church on the Holmes Bend Road, the storm claimed three victims, Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Smith and Mrs. Hershel Cundiff. Mrs. Cundiff recently widowed, was staying overnight in the Smith home. The house was completely demolished by the winds; Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Cundiff were killed and Mr. Smith died a short time after rescuers had taken him to a hospital. Mrs. Cundiff's home, a few hundred feet away, withstood the ravages of the storm.Also dead in the storm were Douglas Froedge, seven year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Froedge; Ruth Ann McCarroll, 7, and her mother Robbie McCarroll, 27. Thirty-five to forty injured persons were treated. Adair Memorial Hospital, where most of the victims were taken, was briefly paralyzed after a community power failure and lightning damage to the auxiliary power system. A Greer Brothers and young Construction Company generator was used to power emergency outside lights while Raymond young, Columbia electrical engineer, repaired the hospital generator.Columbia doctors worked tirelessly throughout the night comforting as well as healing the stunned survivors. By their side, providing the spiritual comfort so needed, were local ministers, Bro. Paul Keneipp and Bro Raymond Martin, spent the long hours of the night at the hospital and their presence was an obvious source of comfort for anxious and bereaved families. Hospitals in Glasgow, Campbellsville, Greensburg and Louisvlle also received victims of the storm. Tempest's aftermath leaves numbed citizenry, communications, power dead In the storm's aftermath, power lines and telephone communications were down. In the eerie darkness punctuated with floodlights and warning signals from rescue vehicles, searchers looked for the storm's victims. Relatives from out side the tornado's erratic pattern frantically hunted for the families. Kentucky State Police, the Adair County Sheriff's Office and the city officers, through their radio network coordinated rescue work throughout the night. Adair County Jailer, Hailey Neagle, grasping the magnitude of the disaster when the first reports of the tornado came in, immediately summoned ambulances from surrounding counties. The Columbia Fire Department and Civil Defense Unit worked tirelessly to locate and aid the victims. They welcomed the assistance of the Green County Civil Defense Unit. Grover Gilpin who farms in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, says, "This community owes a debt of gratitude to the Green County Civil Defense Unit who brought a degree of professionalism to rescue operations. They moved in as we were hunting for victims, and their training was immediately apparent as they fanned out to help conduct the search, caring for the victims." Offers of help from the community were spontaneous and immediate Mayor Hollis Keltner and Hospital Administrator Ken Rice set up emergency shelter for the homeless survivors in the Columbia United Methodist Church. Cots were furnished by Downey Furniture Store. The K & F Market offered emergency food supplies. College students assisted in rescue operations. For some homeless but uninjured, escape from injury seemed providential For many left homeless but uninjured, their escape seemed providential. Mr. and Mrs. Luther Wheat of Vester emerged unhurt from the rubble of their home, one of Adair County's newest and most modern dwellings. Mrs. Wheat related how the family dog, after his doghouse was blown away, sought shelter in the demolished house where Mrs. Wheat had escaped injury by lying underneath a bed and Mr. Wheat had been protected by the only wall of the house left standing. None of the patients in the Goodin Nursing Home were seriously injured despite the destruction of a trailer parked near the building and damage to the building itself. Wednesday morning dawned on an appalled community. Many citizens had not known of the disaster so close at hand until they awoke. Small planes and helicopters overflew the wasted territory during the day. Governor Nunn announced that he had viewed the area and had asked for federal aid to help the victims rebuild. Insurance adjusters estimated damage in the millions of dollars to homes, other buildings and livestock. One insurance man estimated damage in a small 600 foot strip on Highway 206 at a half million. Curiosity seekers clogged the highways, ogling the remains of destroyed homes. Like the fulfilling of the Old Testament prophecy, the land was laid in waste. Miles of fencing was blown loose from the posts. Freshly plowed fields were sown with personal possessions, strips of weatherboarding and roofing. One pathetic sight was bed clothing, which perhaps a short time before had covered a peaceful sleeper, flapping grotesquely from the trees. Friends and neighbors helped the victims and their families begin to pick up the pieces of their disrupted lives. The mute nods exchanged by grieving neighbors as they met spoke eloquently of their shared sorrows. This story was posted on 2014-04-27 13:54:00
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115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
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