Book re-released on 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

STURGIS — When Dan Cherry of Sturgis penned a book on the 1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes more than 20 years ago, he believed a few copies would sell and he would move on to other research projects.

As the 58th anniversary of the infamous tornado outbreak approaches in April, interest in the book, "Night of the Wind" remains strong.

Cherry, a graphic designer at a Sturgis company as well as a freelance writer for the Sturgis Journal, expanded his 2002 book on the tornadoes that affected southern Michigan and released it March 1. Cherry sold out the last of the 250 ordered copies at a book signing March 25 in Sturgis, and more are on order. The first edition from 2002 sold more than 3,000 copies.

A native of Lenawee County, Cherry said he grew up around survivors and their families, many of whom were from the hardest-hit parts of the Michiana area. It was a topic rarely spoken about, he said, because the memories were often too painful to recall.

"It was years before I found out my aunt and her family were nearly killed in Hillsdale County by the first tornado," Cherry said.

In 1999, in the months leading up to the 35th anniversary, Cherry said the curious historian in him prompted him to ask a neighbor and survivor if he felt enough time had passed, that people would be willing to have their memories recorded. Until that time, only one book, "The Mighty Whirlwind," by David Wagler in 1966, had been written on the outbreak.

"My neighbor said he thought enough time had passed and he gave me a few names of people to talk to," the 49-year-old Cherry said.

One interview led to another, and eventually Cherry had stories from more than 100 survivors and eyewitnesses preserved. More than 200 pictures were archived.

The book was originally intended to be a reference project in area libraries. Throughout 2003 and 2004, survivors asked how to get copies for themselves.

"This was their family history and for many, this was the most they had ever shared about that night," Cherry said. "It was therapeutic for them to talk about what they went through or saw."

The book first came out in 2004 and sold more than 3,000 copies. The printer files were lost in 2017, prompting Cherry to take all the additional material collected over the years and add it to the original manuscript.

The book is now 432 pages and includes color photographs of the aftermath. While most of the original stories are from Cherry’s home area near the Hillsdale-Lenawee county border, more people have come forward from St. Joseph and Branch counties.

"Sturgis was largely spared from the full impact of the tornadoes," Cherry said.

Strong tornadoes cut through the Elkhart-Dunlap areas, near Shipshewana before dissipating just a few miles south of Sturgis. Many residents on the south side of town reported minor to moderate damage, and debris from many miles away.

"Residents remember seeing the dark clouds passing south of town, and corn stalks and roofing materials raining from the sky like confetti," Cherry said.

Cherry said more people from the Sturgis area are coming forward with what they recall about the night of April 11, 1965, painting an even larger picture of perhaps the most memorable tornado outbreak in the region’s history.

While many physical signs of the tornado from long ago have disappeared, some evidence remains tucked away in undeveloped areas.

"I was doing a senior photo session in a wooded area southeast of Sturgis last fall, when I noticed rusted corrugated roofing everywhere," Cherry said. "I asked the senior's family where it all originated. I was fairly sure I knew what the answer would be, and they confirmed it was material that rained down from the Palm Sunday tornadoes."

Cleanup efforts at the time focuses on farmers' fields and house properties, to get residents back to their lives. Wooded areas were not a priority and many items there were simply left alone to be reclaimed by nature.

"It was the largest undisturbed time capsule I have seen from Palm Sunday 1965," Cherry said.

Pictures of the surviving debris appear in the book. The topic itself is Cherry's most-requested presentation, from local groups to the Historical Society of Michigan.

The book can be purchased from Cherry by emailing him at bookguy91@gmail.com or through the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Michigan Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Book re-released on 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak