Jeremy Kappell / Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Stories from '74: Morgan Elementary's Scott Trowbridge

Scott Trowbridge was a third grader at Morgan Elementary on April 3, 1974. He shares his experiences during the tornado strike at the school and his dad's plight to get to his son.

Quieter than doing the mascot bowl. The mascot? Bowl? Alright Scott. How grade were you? I was in second grade on the seven years old. The tornado hit. Trying to slowly different angles. OK, alright, go ahead. I was in second grade, 7 years old when the tornado hit that day.

What do you think about the that day? Or anything about the day? 00:46 I do remember watching the Today show that morning and the weather guy you know on the national news that's been talking about tornado possibilities and I can still see the tornado one across the map right over our area. But you know didn't think anything else that. Was that Willard Scott.. You could tell me anybody else say OK, I don't know, I don't remember.

So second grade, Morgan Elementary. You're just in your classroom. This afternoon. And you know, 01:21 at that age, I just kind of have images, but I did remember sitting in the classroom and Mr. Marshall sticking his head in the back door and heard him saying tornado. And very calmly, you know, wasn't any emotion to his voice and and 01:40 I just remember getting out and getting into the hallway and crouching down and put a book over our head. But I didn’t have any idea there was anything real serious going on at. at least at that moment. I don't know.

When did you know it was real? We were. 02:00 The kids were kinda joking around, you know, because during a tornado drill, that’s what you do at that age. But I remember, I remember here in the wind, and I'll never forget that, that. Louder. Louder. And we will save like a like a train. And then and then I'll do something with you. You knew something was going on. I had no idea how close this monster tornado was to us. And then I remember the wind, the doors opening and looking down the hallway, glancing down. And there was one of the staff members that had long. Hair looking and seeing her go from one side all the way to the next and her hair blowing. I have that still have that image in my head. Now, I mean it was, we knew it wasn't a drill at that point, but there was No Fear. I mean, we still were. We didn't know that we were, you know, in any danger. I think that's a credit to the staff, you know, because there was no panic on anybody out there. You know, there was just like a drill with wind.

Here is. Train like sound. How were you feeling? Just kind of neat, you know, second grade. So you know it was loud and you know it just. And still hear that, that noise. So it didn't when you're freaked out at that point by any means. Was just kind of a, you know, was better than math. HAHAHAHa getting hit by a tornado is better than.. At that point, because we didn't know the situation, you know?

What did you think when you saw the damage? Later, because my dad, you know, he was a teacher down N Harrison and before the tornado got to Morgan and passed over N Harrison High School and dad was teaching class and somebody with his classmate said, hey, look at that. So he was a photographer. So he, he came out and photographed it. You know, some of those photographs made, some of the, you know, the media later on. So they're gonna be looking at those photographs. Similar to. OK. And then the tornado has it passed. N Harrison, you know, few minutes later that was out there at one of the administrators there. 20 Morgan's been hit, and they need help. So this is this is where we start to realize because next thing I remember we were walking through the cafeteria and there that he went and filled up. He didn't go out and put it into the radiator because he had blown these radiator hose. Well, probably what normally would have taken the 12 minute drive in the morning and then that didn't know, you know, what our situation was, He probably did that. And then? And then I can. My next version is when we were pulling away from the parking lot there at Morgan. Turn around and looked and I can see. There's something that happened that it wasn't just a drill. It was a long time after that before I realized how close we were to, you know, something really bad.

The situation with your dad at the HS... He was a high school teacher in North Harris. And I remember him telling me that one of his classmates said people, the kids that he was teaching, looked down and saw the cloud and said Mr. Troy Graves, look at this and you like God, you know, look it out, so. And. They somehow got outside and just, you know, when his camera started taking pictures of it. I don't think that it was kind of straight towards me. You know they've been hit, you know they need help. So I just remember there was calm. In 20 later, how that was the longest 6 or 7 minutes of his life, trying to get from North Harrison to Morgan to make sure I was OK.

What did you think when you saw your dad? I I don't remember. You know, he just, you know, we walked out. You know, he was just like Mr. Marshall. Rest of the staff calm, you know, there was nothing that sent to us kids that this was. You know. People say I forgot to tell you. When we were in the hallway. You know ohh, you know Oh my God, whatever. That's when the roof was blown off the other end of the. I. So I did hear the guests, you know so and you know as as, as talking on we knew as kids that there was something to this but. That was that was probably, you know, half. People talk about the community coming together.. My Grandpaw at the time, Russell Allen owned Allen’s Market. And he filled his car up with groceries. Loaded everything he could in there. And by that evening he was out driving around looking for people that had just lost everything, you know, and he gave them water and food and make sure they at least had something to eat while they were picking up the pieces. So. It was a community, small community that. That brought a lot of people together. It really did. Fantastic there. Alright, Any other thoughts about that day or your experience would be No, not really. That's all I remember. Um, it's 08:19 It's been fascinating to hear over the years. The other stories, you know that that I didn't know. And just how close we were to it being a really bad event for us, you know? So just feel very fortunate and and I will say again. That the administrators missed, starting with Mr. Marshall and all the way down. The staff at Morgan worked great that day. Mean the kids we were. I don't remember anybody crying or being freaked out or nervous or anything. I mean, we were. It was just another drill, you know, You didn't sense it in their voice that something was bad. And always appreciate that. Brandenburg. This week. Where's the working? You know, wait the day of the Henryville tornado again. The Weather Channel was here. What's his name? Jim Cantore was in town that day and did it, and my wife and I was out delivering hot dogs that morning and you know, schools were letting out school. Kathy and I kind of scoffed at that. Like, boy, that never would have happened, you know, in our day, you know, and how lucky HenryvilleSchool was that that school was evacuated before that thing hit them, because that would have been a disaster. So you know as you as you grow and have experiences you you learn that you know you're you're lucky when you've got good people making decisions for you when you're when you're young with the other way of ohh I I'll always you know I'm I'm glad that it that we had the people there that we had. You know, voluntary and that's other point it was, it was calm, yeah. I appreciate you.

-Jeremy Kappell

Meteorologist, Journalist, Writer, Speaker, Broadcaster