Funny how certain dates stick in your mind. Obviously everyone remembers Sept. 11, 2001, but there were two other dates earlier that year that had a big impact on my life -- thanks to tornado season.
On June 11, we had the worst storm ever to hit Wisconsin Rapids. It wasn't a twister -- but straitline winds that uprooted thousands of trees and knocked out power for hours and hours. We lost some trees on our lot but our house went untouched.
It was the longest night of my newspapering career, though (except the night waiting to see if Gore or Bush won the election). After the early evening storm hit, we didn't have power in Wisconsin Rapids and had to drive to the newspaper office in Stevens Point to put out our paper. Long story short, it was sun-up before I was driving home. What a nightmare.
At least that's what I thought. But that didn't compare to the nightmare my sisters experienced exactly one week later on June 18.
Six years ago today the village of Siren, Wis., was leveled by a massive F3 tornado. The twister was responsible for 3 deaths, multiple injuries and the destruction of more than 200 homes, farms and businesses.
I was at work that night and first learned of the storm when it came across the Wisconsin news wire. Immediately, I started calling family members in that neck of the woods. Rayna and Paul lived on Mudhen Lake just west of Siren, but two other sisters, Romey and Raylene, lived near Grantsburg and could have been in the path of the storm, too. I had no way of knowing. And of course, no one was answering their phones or I was getting the "all circuits are busy" message.
It was maddening but nothing like what they were going through, I'm sure. In the end, they were OK, thankfully. Rayna and Paul had some damage but nothing like the devastation just 200 yards north of their home, where buildings were literally flattened and left as piles of Pixy Stix. Thank God they were OK!
We learned a lot about gratitude that year. Yes property damage can hurt you in the pocketbook, but losing loved ones can break your heart. Remember today (and every day) to be grateful for who you have, not what you have.
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2 comments:
Again, "thanks" for the memories! I had forgotten that it was the anniversary of the tornado. Sometimes when you go through that stuff, you put it out of your mind. Also, sometimes it's easier to move away than to have constant reminders of the devastation. But I guess I did not have to move all the way to Texas. :) Really though, the daily reminders (trees still uprooted & scarred, pontoon boat still in a tree, the cement slab where a neighbor's cabin was) did always make me "sick." In fact, when I went up there to visit last month & drove through the area, I felt my nerves become jittery and felt slightly sick to my stomach. Like the song line, "Oh what a night" it was! Uff-da! Don't want to go through that again. Sorry to put a "damper" on your light side story! R#1
Yes. That was quite a night. Thankfully we only had property damage. Enough of it. But, there is nothing like getting a phonecall from your brother-in-law, whom works for an electric company, that your husband's ex-wives house,where his sons were, was not there anymore. THANKFULLY, they were okay. Thanks to an old rootcellar. That's what saved them.
They of course had a total disaster. But, thank God, not a scratch on them. We do have to remember to be grateful. Thanks for the reminder. R#8
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