Lakewood Lore

Wind storms wreck havoc on city

Almost 21 years ago—on July 4, 1969—Lakewood Park took the brunt of one of the most savage storms ever to hit Ohio.

A big Independence Day crowd had gathered for the evening’s outdoor band concert. People say in the bench rows in front of the bandstand or on lawn chairs brought from home. Others sprawled on blankets in the grass.

The sky over the lake became leaden and angry, flashing lightning. However, winds that were kicking up soon died down and, for a short spell, a sinister calm cloaked the park.

Then suddenly, at 7 p.m., the storm swept in, with gusts up to 100 mph and torrential rainfall.

The throng fled for shelter. Heavy limbs crashed down. Power lines snapped. Debris catapulted everywhere. Two young women were killed by falling trees.

Though Lakewood was bludgeoned badly, it was not the only target. All along the shoreline, from Toledo to Ashtabula, property was shredded by the fury of the winds.

In all, there were 42 fatalities, seven of them Greater Clevelanders. Damages were estimated at $100 million.

Lakewood history discloses other memorable storms -- among them, the hedge-hopping tornado of June 8, 1953, and the line squall of May 12, 1956.

The 1953 storm struck the West Side hardest, killing nine persons. It leveled 50 homes and caused major damage to 457 more. An Eastlook Road resident in Rocky River reported hailstones as big as chicken eggs, while a homeowner on Cove Avenue in Lakewood found some the size of baseballs.

Although the death toll and property loss were greater in the earlier storm, more people were affected in 1956 than in ‘53. In the ‘56 disaster, Lakewood lost 3,000 trees. Many blew down on homes. Damage, estimated between $6 million and $7.5 million, was so widespread in our community that more than 50 streets were closed and the Ohio National Guard was sent in to keep order.

Some 200 Civil Defense volunteers helped in the cleanup. The Red Cross fed them at Horace Mann School. Mayor Frank P. Celeste said that afterwards 5,135 truckloads of litter, or 13,921 tons, were hauled from Lakewood.

During the heights of the ‘56 storm, an amateur meteorologist on Lakewood’s Beach Avenue watched the wind gauge on his home shoot up to 100 mile per hour. The gauge blew away.

This article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post May 17, 1990. Reprinted with permission.

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