COLUMN: Tornado caused damage, strengthened relationships

Compiling the series of articles on the 10-year anniversary of the tornado in Creston in 2012 was an interesting project. I hope those who resided here a decade ago enjoyed reminiscing a bit about how we came together to recover quickly, and I that newcomers learned something about a major incident in our community’s history.

In doing the interviews, I heard harrowing tales of nerve-wracking drives by some key individuals responsible for the welfare of some big public institutions damaged by the storm — Monte Neitzel, chief executive officer of Greater Regional Medical Center; Tom Lesan, vice president of economic development at Southwestern Community College; and Brad Baker, then an elementary school principal and now Creston Community Middle School principal.

Neitzel had been in Maryville, Missouri, to watch his son Nick play in the Northwest Missouri State University spring football game. Phone service was spotty in and out of Creston, but a friend of Nick’s had said the weather in Creston wasn’t very good. Then, when an assistant said she couldn’t get to the hospital to check on its welfare because streets were blocked, imagine the butterflies in his stomach as he raced back to Creston!

He feared the worst. But, thankfully, the end result was much better as patients were safely transferred and there were no fatalities. There were some injuries, particularly to residents of nearby townhomes, but it could have been so much worse.

Lesan had just stepped into his basement on North Birch Street when he felt his ears pop from the pressure change of the storm moving through just to the north. (The path seemed to follow Townline Street from the hospital and slightly to the northeast for 10 miles.)

He got a phone call from a board member, Denny Davis of Greenfield, that kept cutting in and out. But the words “tornado” and “the college” were interspersed in the halted conversation due to phone service issues, so he jumped in his pickup and hurried to campus. It’s a short drive, but certainly an agonizing one that evening.

Baker had been coaching a youth tournament in Fort Dodge and was headed back to town when his wife Becky attempted to call him. He heard “we’re getting hit” and then the call cut off. Their home is on Dogwood Avenue, almost directly in the path of the tornado. The home was not damaged beyond the loss of a few shingles, but Baker didn’t know any details until he was able to speak by telephone with Superintendent Tim Hood as he got closer to Creston.

Wondering if your own family is safe and if you still have a home intact has to be an unsettling trip.

I came away from the project with a reminder that sometimes the best in people shows up strong in the worst of times. There was such a sense of fellowship as people just showed up to help clear debris. Businesses provided food, water and supplies to the volunteer workers.

We were all in it together, and in these divisive times that spirit is refreshing. Nobody cared who was in which political camp. They all stood side-by-side to clean up the mess left by the wrath of Mother Nature that Saturday evening.

Likewise, I had good memories of a selfless spirit by a strong News Advertiser news crew that weekend. Communication was spotty by phone, but we all bolted to stricken areas and jumped into reporter mode on a Saturday evening, and met early Sunday to plan a special weekend edition of the coverage.

In these days of trying to fill openings on a smaller budgeted staff, I remember the great work we were able to do that weekend. The news team included editor Stephani Finley, associate editor Kyle Wilson, myself, Shawna Creveling and Amy Hansen. Courtney Dake was news clerk and Scott Vicker was our sports editor. (I assisted Scott and Stephani in a dual role then.)

In doing the series this week, I combed through hundreds of photographs taken by the staff that weekend. I’m proud of how we were able to respond. As Neitzel said in describing the move to digitized medical records in the aftermath of water-damaged paper records: “When you’re served lemons, you make lemonade.”

I heard KCCI from Des Moines is doing a revisit with the Twister Sisters — Linda Hartsock, Cheri Finken, Midge Scurlock and Connie Rhine — who were gathered in a nearby townhome that night for a meal that they weren’t able to finish during the tornado. They have quite a story to tell.

It truly was a blessing that the human toll wasn’t more severe, considering the path of the tornado.

And, in the days that followed, we saw Creston at its best.

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Contact the writer:

Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

Twitter: @larrypeterson