Saugatuck Tornado 1956

Oral History

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Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Name/Title

Saugatuck Tornado 1956

Entry/Object ID

2024.41.335

Scope and Content

"Tracking the Storm," a 2006 Grand Rapids channel 8 WOOD TV documentary about the April 3, 1956 F-5 Tornado that killed 17 and injured 340 people in West Michigan. This digital copy of the television program is copyrighted material and includes the commercials framing the original broadcast. The documentary is hosted by Storm Team 8 meteorologists Bill Steffen and Craig James. The first segment presented by meteorologist Joe Sullivan begins at Oval Beach and traces the tornado's northewestern path of destruction from the Presbyterian Camp, to the Oval Beach House, and the Kalamazoo Light House. Joe Sullivan interviews Gene Schoeneich at the Cook-Bennett mansion (Gene's father was the mansion's caretaker) and Jack Sheridan at the site of the lighthouse.

Context

This tornado destroyed the Stoughton Hall at the Presbyterian Camps, the Beach House at Oval Beach, the Lighthouse, homes and farms. The broadcast team rates the 1956 tornado as an F-5 (the highest possible) and theorizes that the damage was actually the work of two tornadoes.

Collection

Weather, extreme

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2024.41

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection

Credit Line

To view this recording, scroll down to the bottom of this entry and click the blue web link. This video was created by Saugatuck-Douglas History Center volunteers or was donated to the Center in a good faith effort to preserve local history. If you feel this content should not be available to the public — or have additional information that will add context to this interview — please contact the SDHC Archives at archives@mysdhistory.org.

Oral History Details

Interview Date

Mar 27, 2006

Length of Interview

27

Dimensions

Dimension Description

DVD version

Width

5 in

Depth

5 in

Location

* Untyped Location

AWS/VidArch SSD/DVD originals drawer

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Kalamazoo Lighthouses 1839/1858/1956-present, Cook-Bennett-Denison Mansion b.1916/1920, Sheridan, John "Jack" O. 1938-, Schoeneich, James Carl 1927-1992, Schoeneich, Eugene "Gene", Saugatuck Beach House

Related Events

Event

Torando April 3, 1956

Web Links and URLs

https://sdhc-collections.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/videos/096-Tornado.mp4

Create Date

June 21, 2025

Update Date

June 22, 2025