The Bethany Standard

The Bethany Standard Community members of Bethany, Oklahoma, rallied to rebuild their city after a historic tornado ravaged homes, tore through a school and left 23 dead.

By Judie Matthews, Special Collections & Research Department

Oklahoma County is no stranger to wild weather — especially tornadoes — but the Bethany tornado shocked many in 1930 with both its timing and its strength.

The twister touched down around 9:30am on Wednesday, Nov. 19, slowly moving through eastern Bethany for half an hour. In its wake were 700 destroyed buildings, including over 100 homes, and 23 dead.

Most upsetting may have been the loss of life at Camel Creek School. Survivors shared that the tornado blew apart the school building just as they fled for cover and their teacher and five classmates lost their lives. Despite these saddening losses, the outpouring of support for the Bethany community from fellow Oklahomans exceeded all expectations. Occurring just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the tragedy set the standard for Oklahomans’ response to disasters in our state.

In 1930, Bethany was not seen as a suburb of Oklahoma City, but a distant Nazarene village. The town had only been founded 21 years prior as the new home for Oklahoma Holiness College. Steady consolidation of other Nazarene institutions grew the town’s population to over 2,000 at the time of the storm.

The timing of the tornado surprised everyone, and it’s still one of only three violent tornadoes to touch down in Oklahoma during November. The day’s weather report called for cooler air and some rain, but storms and fierce winds were not anticipated. After the events, weather observers noted that low pressure pockets of slow-moving cold air from the Rocky Mountains moved abnormally and mixed with warmer air from the south. This combination resulted in severe weather that could not have been accurately predicted in 1930.

About a fourth of Bethany was destroyed.

The Red Cross, Salvation Army, several local organizations and many volunteers worked day and night to find the missing, treat injuries, feed and shelter those without homes and comfort the mourning. Photos confirm the Red Cross arrived in Bethany almost immediately after the storm cleared, setting up a makeshift field office in an empty downtown storefront. The National Guard searched in ruins day and night. The task was monumental. Damages in today’s dollars were estimated around $12 million.

The storm proximity to Thanksgiving may have encouraged generosity in nearby communities. The Daily Oklahoman company raised $30,000 (today $500,000) within 36 hours from community pledges across the state. Some even delivered cash right to the newspaper’s office. The paper wrote: “Never before has there been a more spontaneous demonstration of sympathy and unselfishness. People of means gave generously and hundreds … contributed their bit. Little tots contributed the contents of their savings banks — people with no money to give, offered their services. Everyone was anxious to help in some way.”

Over 200 households were registered to receive support by the Red Cross. Drives for used clothing and household goods were phenomenally successful. New homes were erected in the tornado’s path less than a week after its terror. The community’s resilience was remarkable, and fittingly, the Bethany Nazarene Church canceled its Thanksgiving Day service for the first time. The head of the church, the Rev. A.I. Parrott, said, “We have carried on bravely, but I believe I speak for the city when I say … we would rather go somewhere and rest.” u