Mark Twain’s Top Blown off by Strong Winds
Chris Heisel
Friday, March 10, 2000

Three cars were damaged when pieces of Mark Twain Hall’s roof were blown off on 
Wednesday afternoon by winds that reached 50 mph.

Around 5 p.m. pieces of the hall’s roof fell seven floors to the adjacent 
parking lot. No student’s rooms were damaged, and no one was injured. Once car 
was seriously damaged, while two others escaped the incident with a few 
scratches.

Randy Conklin, an employee of MU maintenance, said the hall’s “penthouse”, the 
name of the room above the elevator shaft, was the only part of the building to 
sustain damage.

“The penthouse is the mechanics room that’s on tope of the elevator shaft,” he 
said. “There’s still concrete over all the students.”

Conklin also said the elevator was functioning properly but that the penthouse 
would need a new roof.

Frankie Minor, director of Residential Life, said he estimated the damage to the 
building could be as much as $10,000.

“The university has insurance, “Minor said. “We’ll probably pay a $1,000 
deductible and let insurance cover the rest.”

John Humlick, associate director of Residential Life for facilities, said the 
penthouse still has a sub-roof for protection and the material that fell was 
mostly insulation and a rubber membrane. He said the roof, which is only seven 
or eight years old, is usually good for 20 to 25 years. 

“I imagine the wind got under the lip of the roof,” Humlick said. “It happened 
fast, like a pancake flipper flipping an egg.”

Third-floor resident freshman Michael Yates, who was inside the building when 
the roof came apart, said he though disaster struck.

“It sounded like the world was going to end,” he said.

Lekha Hileman, a community adviser for the third floor, said there were few 
bystanders affected by the falling roof.

“There were two people outside when it happened,” Hileman said. “They said they 
ran across the street when the roof fell.”

The bulk of the debris landed on junior Ben Winfrey’s Chevy Corsica. Winfrey, 
who lives on the second floor, said he was worried about his car until the 
maintenance crew removed the debris.

“I thought I’d come out and see how bad it was,’ Winfrey said. “I was really 
happy when I saw just a few scratches.”

Sophomore Daniel Jackson’s Dodge Ram suffered the most severe damage. Its roof 
was bent and the windshield split. 

Jackson was unavailable for comment.

Students whose cars were damaged should seek an estimate from their insurance 
company and bring it to MU officials, Minor said.

When asked whether he would put his car in Mark Twain’s parking lot on Thursday, 
Winfrey said he probably would.