CSM Campus Narrowly Escapes 1975 Tornado
It was the last day of the semester – May 6, 1975 -- at College of Saint Mary. Classes ended around noon. Hours later, a large tornado left a swath of devastation, including a direct hit to Bergan Mercy Hospital, along 72nd Street, causing at least $150 million in damage and killing three people. Somehow, the CSM campus was spared.
Among the many who witnessed this historic event was Janet Dooley, a 1975 CSM graduate. She vividly recalls the day, having just finished her classes in the medical record administration program. She was at a party at an apartment complex at 74th and Pacific streets along with her classmates when the tornado struck.
“I remember walking outside. You could hear the sirens,” she said. A man nearby pointed out what he thought were birds in the sky. But it wasn’t birds, it was debris from the tornado, which was later rated an F4 on the Fujita scale. “The last thing I remember was ducking under the kitchen table and seeing a picnic table flying outside the window.”
The tornado was first sighted at 132nd and Q streets at 4:29 p.m. Minutes later, it struck Bergan Mercy Hospital at 7500 Mercy Road, just across the street from CSM. All 825 employees and patients survived. Vehicles in the hospital parking lot were tossed and destroyed. Damage at the hospital amounted to about $5 million.
The tornado narrowly avoided the Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack, forcing most of the 8,700 patrons to seek shelter. Numerous buildings sustained significant damage at 72nd and Dodge, including Nebraska Furniture Mart. The U.S. Post Office was destroyed.
As the tornado crossed Dodge Street, many of the buildings were reduced to rubble. The Omaha Community Playhouse lost its roof, and the Downtowner Motel suffered major damage. Numerous homes and apartments were severely damaged, along with Creighton Prep School, Lewis and Clark Junior High School, the First United Methodist Church, and Temple Israel.
The tornado lifted just before 5 p.m. near Benson Park.
The apartments where Dooley and her classmates took refuge were heavily damaged. The CSM students stayed to help those affected by the storm before walking back to campus.
“If we had driven to the apartment, our cars would have been destroyed,” said Dooley, who noticed some tree damage on CSM’s campus.
Upon returning, students stood in the hallways of the residence halls, talking about what they had witnessed. The Nebraska National Guard landed helicopters on campus. Members of the Guard also patrolled 72nd Street.
“It was just eerie,” she said.
Four days later, CSM celebrated its 51st Commencement. The ceremony, which was to be held outdoors on campus, was moved to the University of Nebraska at Omaha fieldhouse.
“It was still difficult to get there,” Dooley said.
Nearly 50 years later, Dooley, a resident of Waterloo, Neb., aided those affected by the tornado that hit Elkhorn, Bennington and Washington County on April 26. She serves as a volunteer at the Community Outreach Program of Elkhorn.
Dooley and her family were fortunate as that tornado was just two miles from their home, close enough that they watched it from the window. Most people don’t expect to have two encounters with tornadoes in their lifetime.
“One was enough,” Dooley said.
By Leeanna Ellis
