WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY

James Crawfis told The Icon that it was like finding a buried treasure.

It is exactly that. On an 8 mm home movie camera, James’ dad, Gary, filmed the aftermath of the April 1965 tornado that tore through the Bluffton countryside. The reels remained in a storage box until this year when James transferred the movies to digital.

In fact, The Icon is not aware of any movies shots of the tornado’s after match. Crawfis shared the now-YouTube video with the Icon and we share it here with viewers.

Much of the video shows the destruction to the Emmanuel United Church of Christ. and the area surrounding the church.

For viewers too young to understand the tornado, here are some facts:

At 9:45 p.m., on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, a tornado ripped across the rural Richland and Orange Township landscape. It was like no other natural disaster experienced prior or since then in this community.

Had the tornado’s path been one mile north it would have struck the Village of Bluffton. Had it been 600 feet farther north it would have hit 32 planes parked at the Bluffton Airport.

• Nine persons in rural Bluffton died in the tornado. They were:
• Mrs. J. I. Luginbuhl
• Mrs. Ulysses Reichenbach, her son, Joseph, and her mother, Eva Clymer
• Mrs. Lillie Manahan
• Emma Dunlap
• Mrs. Merrill Arnold (died in Bluffton Hospital)
• Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Pifer

The tornado touched down at 9:45 p.m. It left a path of destruction and death in a straight line from Cairo to Hancock County.

The hardest hit area was from the Emmanuel UCC to Hancock County Road 29.

The tornado tapered off and ended near State Route 68.

Here are some of the facts concerning the tornado:
• Property damage in the Bluffton area was estimated at $4 million
• 333 buildings in Allen County and 316 buildings in Hancock County were completely destroyed
• More that 20 families had total loss of homes
• Over 40 persons were treated at the Bluffton Community Hospital
• The storm destroyed the Bethesda EUB Church five minutes after the last worshipper left the building following a Sunday evening service.
• The storm destroyed the Emmanuel United Church of Christ on Phillips Road.

Here are some of the aftermath statistics:
• 200,000 hours of volunteer clean up took place
• More than 5,000 meals were served to volunteers
• Clothing was provided to between 200 and 300 persons