Tornado exhibit to premier April 14th
The 1968 Wheelersburg Tornado Exhibit will be unveiled on Saturday, April 14th at 10AM at the Wheelersburg Baptist Church Community Center located at 11725 Old Gallia Pike. It will feature photographs, recorded interviews, footage, and first hand accounts of the deadly tornado that took the lives of seven residents 50 years ago.
The exhibit will run until 5PM on Saturday, and open back up from noon until 5PM on Sunday the 15th. It will then be moved to the Wheelersburg Public Library and be available on April 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and May 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Call the Wheelersburg Public Library at 740-574-6116 for viewing hours or for more information.
Paige Williams, the Director of the Portsmouth Public Library, attended the Porter Township Trustee meeting on Monday to give an update on the event.
“We are making good progress,” said Williams. “Thus far, we have contacted the families of three victims of the tornado. So, from here we want to get the word out and contact the families of the other four victims: Mary Adkins, Clyde Avery, Jo Chatfield, and George Lambert.
“We would love to find their families and get some photos of them for the exhibit.”
Williams says the amount of photos and footage the library has received from the public has been overwhelming.
“We’ve had so many people turn in photographs and footage. Some of it has never been seen before. It should be very interesting.”
In addition to the exhibit, a memorial stone dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 21st at 4PM at Porter Township Community Park. To donate to the dedication fund, contact Connie Ison or Lucas Jenkins of Pioneer Village at 740-876-3268.
