Tornado victims enjoy day at Clay County Fair
By Russ Oechslin, Journal correspondent | Posted: Sunday, September 07, 2008
Lyndsay Davis, a sophomore at Aplington-Parkersburg High School, helps her little sister, Regan, 7, with her "Tornado Survivor" hat, while sister their Erika, 9, and their mother, Deidre Davis look on. The hat was part of the package that included several shows and rides on the opening day of the Clay County Fair, made possible by several Spencer businesses. (Photo by Russ Oechslin)
SPENCER, Iowa -- With all the sights and smells to take in on the opening day of the Clay County Fair, the first stop for a Parkersburg, Iowa, family was the Creative Living Center.
On display was a quilt made by students at Clay Central-Everly Elementary School in Royal, Iowa. It will be given to the Davis family's counterparts in Parkersburg, whose school was destroyed by a tornado in May.
The three Davis youngsters, Lyndsay, 15, Erika, 9, and Regan, 7, were just three of a busload of kids and adults brought to Spencer on Saturday by a group of local businesses for the opening day of the fair.
It was an effort to take their minds off the devastation in their hometown of about 1,900 in Butler County, said organizer Ted Cate, a retired civil engineer who put together similar trips for victims of a tornadoes in Spencer, S.D., and Bradgate, Iowa, after storms struck those communities years ago.
"Some of these kids are still having nightmares," about the storm that destroyed not only the high school, but many homes in the community as well, Cate explained Saturday.
Young Regan was first to mention the quilt while she and her sisters and mother, Deidre Davis, were taking lunch at one of the Kiwanis cafes.
"Sorry that your school got hit," was the quilt square the 7-year-old most remembers.
Her older sister Erika has vivid memories of the storm and damage. She noted that their elementary school "just had broken windows. But some of the roof was damaged and they have to take all the damaged stuff off. It's really noisy when we're trying to learn," she noted.
A homemade ice cream maker caught Erika's eye on the way to lunch. That was to be a stop later in the day. But the three spent much of the afternoon on the rides for which they were each given $20 to spend as they pleased.
Erika was also impressed by the tigers she saw near the main gate. She has a cat at home, and birds, too, she said.
The eldest of the three, Lyndsay, is a sophomore at what was Aplington-Parkersburg High School, and is now attending classes at the middle school in Aplington. It's a little tight, she admitted.
With an interest in something creative after she graduates, Lyndsay may have been the one pushing to put the Royal students' quilt at the top of the list of things to do.
She is also a manager of the A-P football team and was pleased to explain that the Falcons won their first two games this season. The team helped clean up the community after the May storms.
The girls' mother, Deidre Davis, said that her family was lucky. "We must live on the right side of town," she explained, noting that their home was not damaged by the tornado.
Everyone in the family sported T-shirts promoting their hometown. Lyndsay's was "Upward, onward, forward." The elder Davis wore the school's red and black colors that noted Parkersburg would be "Rising from tragedy to triumph."
Davis' mother, Jo Lewis, proudly pointed out the back of her red and black shirt, emblazed with message, "coming together and helping a community devastated tornado by the F5 tornado of May 25, 2008, in memory of the lives and homes lost."
Lewis said her home was just one away from the damage.
"I was looking out the door and saw a tornado. Stuff was flying through the air. My husband always said 'Parkersburg will never get a tornado because it's on the Beaver River.' So I believed him. But he was in Kansas. I was home alone.
"I turned the TV off. And I didn't listen to the siren. Then came the tornado. It missed my house by one house. But I never went to the basement."
Lewis' friend, Esther Schipper was even more bold. Schipper explained that she lives southwest of Parkersburg, "where it (the tornado) started. I looked out the window and saw it west of my place and I could see fire on the ground -- poles down. Then I could see it as I was heading east in to town."
Shipper said she got in her car to chase the funnel clouds.
"It was a dumb thing. I did it and I just was not a bit afraid or anything."
It wasn't until she got to the high school that Schipper said she "saw all these people on the gurneys. And that's when it really struck me."
Susan and Leonard Myers said they "walked through a lot of buildings at the fairgrounds before lunch," but hadn't found the trains exhibit they were looking for. They had been to the fair four years ago and enjoyed seeing the trains then.
"We're headed that way. We're working at it," Leonard Myers explained after lunch.
The Myers' home, located on the edge of the area of heaviest devastation, was destroyed by the tornado. For the last three months they have been living with their son in Aplington, but look forward to moving into a new modular home that was set on their lot last month. They should be moving in next week.
Friends Lois and Dennis Menuen said the storm ripped the roof from their home just a half block east of the highway in Parkersburg. They have been living in a fifth-wheel trailer on their lot since the storm, while their home is being rebuilt. The house was enclosed just last week. They hope to move back into their home in mid-October.
The couple, who had not seen the Clay County Fair until Saturday, said the neighbors to the south of their home were not going to rebuild.
On display was a quilt made by students at Clay Central-Everly Elementary School in Royal, Iowa. It will be given to the Davis family's counterparts in Parkersburg, whose school was destroyed by a tornado in May.
The three Davis youngsters, Lyndsay, 15, Erika, 9, and Regan, 7, were just three of a busload of kids and adults brought to Spencer on Saturday by a group of local businesses for the opening day of the fair.
It was an effort to take their minds off the devastation in their hometown of about 1,900 in Butler County, said organizer Ted Cate, a retired civil engineer who put together similar trips for victims of a tornadoes in Spencer, S.D., and Bradgate, Iowa, after storms struck those communities years ago.
"Some of these kids are still having nightmares," about the storm that destroyed not only the high school, but many homes in the community as well, Cate explained Saturday.
Young Regan was first to mention the quilt while she and her sisters and mother, Deidre Davis, were taking lunch at one of the Kiwanis cafes.
"Sorry that your school got hit," was the quilt square the 7-year-old most remembers.
Her older sister Erika has vivid memories of the storm and damage. She noted that their elementary school "just had broken windows. But some of the roof was damaged and they have to take all the damaged stuff off. It's really noisy when we're trying to learn," she noted.
A homemade ice cream maker caught Erika's eye on the way to lunch. That was to be a stop later in the day. But the three spent much of the afternoon on the rides for which they were each given $20 to spend as they pleased.
Erika was also impressed by the tigers she saw near the main gate. She has a cat at home, and birds, too, she said.
The eldest of the three, Lyndsay, is a sophomore at what was Aplington-Parkersburg High School, and is now attending classes at the middle school in Aplington. It's a little tight, she admitted.
With an interest in something creative after she graduates, Lyndsay may have been the one pushing to put the Royal students' quilt at the top of the list of things to do.
She is also a manager of the A-P football team and was pleased to explain that the Falcons won their first two games this season. The team helped clean up the community after the May storms.
The girls' mother, Deidre Davis, said that her family was lucky. "We must live on the right side of town," she explained, noting that their home was not damaged by the tornado.
Everyone in the family sported T-shirts promoting their hometown. Lyndsay's was "Upward, onward, forward." The elder Davis wore the school's red and black colors that noted Parkersburg would be "Rising from tragedy to triumph."
Davis' mother, Jo Lewis, proudly pointed out the back of her red and black shirt, emblazed with message, "coming together and helping a community devastated tornado by the F5 tornado of May 25, 2008, in memory of the lives and homes lost."
Lewis said her home was just one away from the damage.
"I was looking out the door and saw a tornado. Stuff was flying through the air. My husband always said 'Parkersburg will never get a tornado because it's on the Beaver River.' So I believed him. But he was in Kansas. I was home alone.
"I turned the TV off. And I didn't listen to the siren. Then came the tornado. It missed my house by one house. But I never went to the basement."
Lewis' friend, Esther Schipper was even more bold. Schipper explained that she lives southwest of Parkersburg, "where it (the tornado) started. I looked out the window and saw it west of my place and I could see fire on the ground -- poles down. Then I could see it as I was heading east in to town."
Shipper said she got in her car to chase the funnel clouds.
"It was a dumb thing. I did it and I just was not a bit afraid or anything."
It wasn't until she got to the high school that Schipper said she "saw all these people on the gurneys. And that's when it really struck me."
Susan and Leonard Myers said they "walked through a lot of buildings at the fairgrounds before lunch," but hadn't found the trains exhibit they were looking for. They had been to the fair four years ago and enjoyed seeing the trains then.
"We're headed that way. We're working at it," Leonard Myers explained after lunch.
The Myers' home, located on the edge of the area of heaviest devastation, was destroyed by the tornado. For the last three months they have been living with their son in Aplington, but look forward to moving into a new modular home that was set on their lot last month. They should be moving in next week.
Friends Lois and Dennis Menuen said the storm ripped the roof from their home just a half block east of the highway in Parkersburg. They have been living in a fifth-wheel trailer on their lot since the storm, while their home is being rebuilt. The house was enclosed just last week. They hope to move back into their home in mid-October.
The couple, who had not seen the Clay County Fair until Saturday, said the neighbors to the south of their home were not going to rebuild.
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