From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 10, 1974:

A tornado described by witnesses as a black column a mile wide had hit the city of Emporia over the weekend, killing six persons and injuring 100 as well as causing damage estimated at over $20 million. The twister was reported to have wiped out 22 businesses, a trailer court of more than 100 mobile homes, and 150 homes in a residential area when it hit the city early Saturday evening. President Nixon signed a major disaster declaration this morning before leaving on a tour for the Middle East. The request for disaster relief had been made by Gov. Robert Docking after he had twice toured Emporia on Sunday. The tornado had formed suddenly and almost directly over the city of 21,000, first hitting an industrial park on the west side before moving in a northeasterly direction through a shopping center and residential areas. All but one of the deceased had been killed at the Lincoln Village trailer court, the last spot in the city hit by the twister before it crossed the Neosho River to the north.