LORAIN, Ohio — With Ohio on the cusp of breaking its yearly tornado record, the community of Lorain is looking back.
Exactly a century ago, a deadly tornado tore through Sandusky and Lorain, killing a total of 85 people. Friday, families came from near and far to honor the loved ones they never got to meet – those killed in the devastating 1924 storm.
“We heard that the first floor, the walls had blown out and the rafters came down and killed every other person on the stairs,” said Lois Love, the daughter of a tornado survivor.
Siblings Lois, David and Neta flew in from the West Coast for a remembrance ceremony held at Lakeview Park by the Lorain Historical Society.
Their mom lived through the storm, but the rest of her family was killed. Lois, Neta and David have pieced together portions of their mom’s story, but they say their mom never talked about the day. They believe the memory was too traumatic.
“In her retirement, she made a good friend and she said ‘we’re gonna be really good friends, she’s had a traumatic life too,’ and that made me realize how deeply she had carried this even though she hadn’t shared with us very much,” said Love.
Many people who attended the remembrance ceremony bonded over similar stories. Though they didn’t experience the tornado firsthand, their families are marked by its impacts.
“When I think of my mom and her siblings being so young and having to deal with all that without their father, and the whole aftereffects of that, I can’t imagine how they got through that,” said Carolyn Sipkovsky.
Sipkovsky says she never got to meet her grandfather who died in the tornado, but as a lifelong resident of Lorain, she’s worked to get historical markers here to honor his history.
She hopes that others will carry on the story of this tornado and remember those lost.
“I mean as generations go, you wonder if it will be remembered, and I hope with the markers and things like that that the future generations will remember,” said Sipkovsky.
Looking ahead, Ohio is set to break its yearly tornado record.
According to data from the National Weather Service, 62 tornadoes have formed this year in Ohio. The record for the most tornadoes was set in 1992 at 62.
