Golden Class members recall surviving 1974 tornado — a shining example of the strength and resilience of their alma mater

Above: Dr. F. Erik Brooks, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, places a Golden Class medallion over the head of Gwynn Gillon Richardson during the Class of 1974's 50th anniversary dinner on May 9. 

Memories of attending Ohio’s only public HBCU shared during annual dinner 

Centralians hugged, laughed, reminisced, and shed a few tears when they reunited during the Golden Class of 1974 Dinner on May 9 at the Central State University Student Center.  

It was an emotional and electrifying evening for the class members, guests, and University administrators as they recalled the catastrophic April 3, 1974, Xenia tornado that damaged over 80% of the campus of Ohio’s only public Historically Black University in Wilberforce. The historic event threatened to end Central State. 

Despite calls from some state and national officials to close the school, administrators and students rallied in the aftermath of the devastation, rebuilding the campus with grit and determination. Just over two months after the tornado, the Class of 1974 graduated on time — a promise that then-President Dr. Lionel H. Newsom kept. 

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Office of Alumni Relations Director Keith Aaron Perkins, ’82, offered opening remarks during the 50th anniversary dinner, recognizing the class for changing the trajectory of not only the University but also his and countless others’ own lives. Perkins was a 14-year-old Lima resident when the tornado struck and, four years later, walked across campus in the revered Candlelight Ceremony for incoming first-year students.  

Then-Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan and President Richard Nixon met with Newsom, Perkins said, “and shared with him that since our Institution, our alma mater, had suffered so much damage that they thought they were just going to close the University, just close it and move on. Those of us who remember Lionel H. Newsom knew he wasn’t going to have that.”  

Newsom is quoted as responding to public officials’ aim to shutter CSU with three decisive words: “I’ll be damned,” adding they would rebuild the Institution like they would any other state institution.  

Perkins said the purpose of the gathering was to honor the class “and tell you just how important you are, as if you didn’t already know.”  

“So, here we are today,” Perkins continued. “Everybody went home after the devastation, as you remember. Some folks had to stay because they didn’t have any place to go. But Lionel Newsom thought about that Class of ’74 that had worked so hard and wanted to graduate.  

“You came back about two weeks later. You thrived and you graduated — after sustaining suffering, going through (the E5 tornado). Without the Class of 1974 thriving, surviving, I would not be here and would not have graduated in 1982. I would not have come as a freshman in 1978. Central State would not exist. ... This is a special class. You are the class because you held it down.” 

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Class member Christine Townsell was the last attendee to arrive. She had worked tirelessly with Perkins to ensure classmates would commit to attending the Golden Legacy Commencement Walk weekend. Ironically, Townsell's flight to Ohio was canceled three times due to tornado warnings in Atlanta, Georgia, causing her delay. 

"I spent my entire day waiting to board Delta Airlines out of Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport," Townsell said. "The thought of missing our 50th Anniversary Dinner was heartbreaking, as I had worked so hard to make it happen and I knew this occasion would never come again. This is the reason behind me making a grand entrance into the dinner that evening, shouting with much joy and excitement, as they called my name, 'It's me, I'm here!' I made it!"

Telling their stories  

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Some alumni at the dinner said they were out of town during the tornado but returned to see the devastation. Others shared remarks about how important Central State was to them. One of those was Sharon Edley Ponquinette, who gave a passionate recollection of how far she had come since growing up in the countryside between Marysville, Mechanicsburg, and Urbana.  

“A lot of you came from the city. I didn’t know any Black teachers, any Black doctors, any Black lawyers. The only person of color who I could even identify with was the preacher,” Edley Ponquinette said. “And then somehow, by a miracle ... I landed at Central State University.  

“Can you imagine what it was like for a young girl living out in the country, graduating with a class of 45, the only Black in her class for 12 years? Can you imagine walking on these hollow grounds? When I graduated from Central State University, I had 12 job offers. Since that time, I’ve been in situations where I’ve afforded entrepreneurs to gain millions (of dollars) of contracts in federally funded projects.”  

Edley Ponquinette worked at CSU from 1989-97, including serving as director of the Office of Admissions. “Central State University has a very, very, very special place in my heart, and I am so glad to be here today.”  

Dr. Denise McCray Scott said she thought she was in heaven when she first arrived on campus.  

“I saw all these beautiful Black people,” she said. “I was told when I was in high school that I wasn’t college material; that I should go to a trade school. I should do something with my hands, and I would never make it. 

“After my freshman year, I went back to Withrow High School, and I showed my counselor that I had made the dean’s list. ... Now, I have my Ph.D., and I’m doing well. So, for a girl who wasn’t supposed to go to college, I’m OK. ... (Going to an HBCU) is an experience like no other. We’re a family. You come on campus and even people you don’t know, they just embrace you right away.” 

McCray Scott was completing a field placement in Cincinnati when the tornado hit, she said. When she returned to campus, she was devastated. 

“We did not know if we were going to have a Commencement exercise because there was nothing here but trailers. Everything was demolished,” she said. “Thanks be to God, to Dr. Newsom, and some of the others who came down from Cleveland ... they came down and said, ‘You will not close this school.’ And it remained open.” 

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Former Central State University Board of Trustees chairperson Gary Dowdell said his grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles all attended Wilberforce University and Central State after its split.  

“It was ordained for me to come,” Dowdell said. “I just enjoyed the atmosphere, the sense of being really wanted and cocooned.” 

The former Board chair said he served during a tumultuous period.  

“There were forces that were saying, ‘Why do we need Central State University?’ And they were serious because they knew this was going to have an impact on student enrollment. It would be tough. It took the Board, at the time, to stand together and push back and say, ‘Why don’t you need a Black school? Why do you have military schools, women’s schools, Catholic schools?’” 

Donald Cash of Cincinnati said he and classmates were finishing dinner in the cafeteria when they observed a sudden change in the weather. The sky continued to darken before they headed back to their dorms. “I’m coming down the steps going past Lane Hall. (An adult) was saying, ‘You guys need to get into Lane Hall.’ I said, ‘I’m going right over here.’ They said, ‘No. We’re highly recommending you go into Lane Hall. Do you see what’s going on? We have minutes.’” 

The students were convinced to go into the basement. “I look out the window and I see what looks like a part of car. I could see the tire and front end of the car swirling around in the air. Somebody said, ‘You ain’t seen nothing. There was just a house a minute ago.’ Now we’re spooked out. 

“It was a blessing that that person, whoever that was, directed us to Lane Hall. We were trying to get across campus. Some of us possibly wouldn’t have made it.” 

Others who shared their experiences during the dinner included Victor Davis and Obie Houston Sr., who also spoke during the University’s Communication Week tornado survivor panel.  

A class like no other 

As the classmates made their way around campus during the May 9-11 Commencement activities — for some, the first time in decades — they saw the evidence of their efforts and the growth that has taken place at a thriving CSU. But the iconic Alumni Tower that was part of the destroyed Galloway Hall stands tall.  

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Before offering a prayer over the meal, the Very Rev. Ellis “PopCorn” Clifton Jr., a native of Michigan and a member of Phi Beta Sigma, shared that his path took him the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. He serves as a priest at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin.  

“I just want to tell you how much you mean to me,” Clifton said. “Here at Central State, I was allowed to grow ... and I was able to thrive. The life experiences that I had here ... have taken me well into life. 

“Thank you so much, Class of 1974. Thank you, Central State, for everything that you did for me because I know that I would not be the person that I am right now if not for my experiences here.”  

He later shared how his congregation and friends in Virgin Gorda responded when he talked about returning to his alma mater. The church “was pushing me out of the door. ‘Father, it’s time. Don’t miss your plane!’ Because they knew how much that it meant to me.” 

“They said, ‘We haven’t seen you like this since you’ve been here in the British Virgin Islands.’ What I was doing was bringing back all these memories and names from back in my freshman year. How many remember the Candlelight Service? And Leonard Tate, student body president said, ‘As long as you live, don’t walk by another Black person and not speak.’ That influenced me. I’ve only served Black congregations, and I’ve worked hard to uplift Black congregations. Why? Because something affected me during that Candlelight Service. When you see a Black person and they’re down, you do something to help. I was inspired by that.” 

Incoming Central State University President Dr. Morakinyo Kuti, ’85, who serves as vice president of Research and Economic Development and director of Land-Grant Programs, said, “A wise person once told me, ‘You have to know when to speak and when to listen.’ I’m here to take notes, to learn from your wisdom today."

“Your class represents resilience. The University has come through many things — national, manmade, politicians, educators. We’ve always had that strength throughout our history.”  

Central State University Interim President Dr. Alex Johnson addressed the attendees with reverence, saying they represent a significant part of Central State history. 

“If it weren’t for your determination, your zeal, your enthusiasm to return to this Institution two weeks following the tornado, I would not want to imagine where we would be today,” he said. “But you endured. You saw the damage. It affected you personally, but you came back, and you completed your education. And aren’t we proud that you did."

"Because of your action, Central State University has thrived.” 

Kimberly Jones, ’89, interim vice president of Institutional Advancement and director of Corporate Engagement and External Affairs, invited the class to visit the wall of former Miss Central State University queens, recognizing the queen in the audience — Gloria Greathouse Rolle.  

“We honor your presence,” Jones said. “We appreciate you paving the way for us and being determined to keep this University here for myself and those to come.”  

Dr. Ryan L. Griffin Sr., vice provost of Engagement and Persistence and dean of Student Development, shared an anonymous quote to begin his remarks: “If a task is once begun, never leave until it’s done. Be that labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” 

“You had a task in front of you, and you took it head on. Because of what you’ve done, our students, alumni, and everyone are standing on your shoulders,” Griffin said. “I welcome you back home to this great, sacred place called Central State University.”