Documentary to commemorate 50th anniversary of tornado
Apr. 3—On April 3, 1974, a storm tore through Madison County that night and took the lives of seven Madison Countians — Dan Long, Mary Long, Barbara Long, Benny Joe Pearson, Carol Pearson, Alvin Lainhart, and Rutha Lainhart.
A documentary is currently in the works to mark the as the 50th anniversary of the catastrophic tornado. Organizers are hoping to collect photos and begin interviewing locals who weathered the storm beginning this summer.
"There were some concerns about the weather and all, but people just went about their daily lives. By 8:30 that night, a killer tornado cut across the northwestern section of the county and killed seven people. It did millions of dollars worth of damage in 1974 dollars — electricity, and water were out all over the place," said Battlefield Park curator Phillip Seyfrit. "Eastern Kentucky University and the public school system were closed. Emergency services at that time just weren't up to the level that they are now."
Seyfrit is one of the organizers of the project. The documentary will be similar to "The Day Richmond Stood Still" — a project which detailed events surrounding a fatal plane crash in 1972.
The tornado was part of an outbreak of storms that battered a wide swath of states in the U.S., as 148 tornadoes were spawned in a 24-hour period. The storms killed 319 people in total — 71 of which were in Kentucky.
Seyfrit said several subjects have already been lined up for interviews. While he said that organizers of the documentary would like to talk to as many people as they can, there is no guarantee every interview will make the cut due to time constraints.
Anyone interested in sharing their experiences with the tornado of 1974 via pictures or interview is encouraged to contact Seyfrit at 859-624-0013.
