Washburn rebuilds from rubble
10:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, 2006
As you walk around the Washburn University campus today, the scars left from June 8, 1966 are hard to find.
But what rose from the rubble is unmistakable - modern classrooms, beautiful landscaping and state of the art buildings.
And while most of the signs of the destruction from the Topeka tornado are gone, the memories of that terrible night have lived on.
Photo Gallery
'66 Tornado
2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1966 tornado that ripped through Topeka. Here are some photos of the tornado's destruction at Washburn University.
Evelyn Bunge and her husband Eldo lived about two blocks from campus. Eldo was the head of the English department at Washburn. When they got word of the tornado, Eldo made a split second decision.
"I said maybe we'll be alright here and he said 'I don't think so, I think we better get on to the campus,’” Evelyn said.
As they rushed to campus, the tornado was closing in on Washburn.
"And I looked around and saw everything flying up in the air,” she said. “It looked like big pieces of wood and things that could damage things, big branches flying. That was a terrible sight."
Evelyn and Eldo sought safety in the basement of Morgan Hall.
"It was a terrible rumble. I remember that. I just wouldn't want to go through it again,” she said.
The tornado tore a path of destruction through campus in a matter of minutes.
"It was just devastating. I had seen pictures of Europe during the war. It was just like that here,” said Mike Sarkesian, former Washburn professor.
The tornado destroyed most of the buildings on the Washburn campus and 124,000 square feet of classroom space.
"Those huge limestone buildings were the most impressive thing to see,” said Carol Vogel, Washburn professor. “Buildings that you thought were so solid, that nothing would ever take them down, were just collapsed in rubble."
Topeka tornado
- Family reason why tornado victim survived storm (June 8, 2006)
- Manhattan hit first by destructive ’66 tornado (June 8, 2006)
- City of Topeka prepared if disaster to strike again (June 8, 2006)
- Dealership owner beginning career when tornado struck (June 8, 2006)
- Former mayor recounts devastation after Topeka tornado (June 7, 2006)
- LJWorld.com: 40 years after tornado in Topeka, technology boosts forecasting ability (May 24, 2006)
- Washburn rebuilds from rubble (May 23, 2006)
- Tornado aftermath devastating (May 22, 2006)
- Survivors recall deadly twister of '66 (May 21, 2006)
Vogel said the campus was almost unrecognizable.
"Now wait a minute. Is that Rice Hall, or is that Boswell? You got very disoriented,” Vogel said.
The damage was so extensive at Washburn, some wondered if it was too much to overcome.
"For a brief time, there was some thought that perhaps this was the end of Washburn University, but that line of thinking didn't last very long,” said John Hoogenaker, Washburn professor.
In the face of a massive clean-up effort, Washburn administrators tried to keep a sense of normalcy on campus. Summer school was moved to Topeka West High School, but it started on time, just three days after the tornado.
When students returned to Washburn in the fall of 1966, the college experience had changed.
"We felt like we were camping, I think, over the next couple of years,” Vogel said. “We went to what we fondly called "Trailer Tech" because the campus was dotted with little villages. Those were where we went to class as they were just double-wide trailers emptied out with blackboards and desks put in them."
Washburn President Dr. Jerry Farley said the rebuilding effort started at Carnegie Hall, a building devastated by the tornado.
"All the stone was off the building and the roof was gone from the building,” Farley said. “You can barely see there was a building there and they decided this would be the one they restored. So this one was restored and it’s turned out to be a beautiful building."
Since the tornado, the University has expanded and modernized. But with the resurgence, some people thought there was something missing.
Everyone 49 News talked to said before the tornado, the Washburn campus was rich with tall shade trees and sprawling ivy. But when the tornado swept through, it took with it much of that New England feel, leaving behind a barren landscape. The University recently made some big strides to bring back some of that nostalgia. They planted almost 600 trees around campus.
"So that's been great. You look around campus and you'll see trees six or eight feet stakes in them, that in 20 years will be 40-foot trees,” Farley said.
Dr. Farley said the Topeka tornado actually helped Washburn become what it is today.
"I think that provided so much impedance to the campus and so much enthusiasm about the continuance of Washburn and I think that carries forward to today,” he said.
And so, 40 years later, the campus stands as proof of the power of Topekans who came together to help Washburn rise from the rubble.
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