We saw nothing along the interstate to indicate there had been a problem, other than a couple signs down. We arrived at the Bessemer stake center and saw nothing to indicate storms there. We went inside and were given t-shirts to identify as a volunteer worker and told to get with our "group"...which normally meant to join up with other members of our ward, but in some cases we were split up. So Tommy and I happened to see Richard Davis across the hallway and he had us join up with him. We rode with him and his father, Bishop Davis in Douglasville, over to the location of our first work order. It was the most winding route you ever saw! Every road was numbered, and to get 11th Street, we had to go down 11th Way and cross 11th Court and 11th Avenue!
Our area was a community called Pleasant Grove. It's actually the same community where my mother and aunt were little girls, and 2 of my uncles and another aunt were born there. So for me, this was an opportunity to take care of my roots. To enter any of the streets that led to the devastated neighborhoods, you had to have a pass on your windshield (and it was best to have a yellow t-shirt too!) that identified you as either a resident or a volunteer associated with a specific group. If you didn't, the National Guard wouldn't let you through. We had the necessary identifiers so we drove into the neighborhoods. Have a look at what we saw as we drove through looking for our assigned address...
We thought that looked pretty rough. I guess in reality, it could be looked at as an opportunity to mentally prepare for what there is still to see, but I didn't feel prepared like that. As we drove further in, I could only gasp and hold my breath.
So sad.
Now these pictures are small for load time reasons, but the reality of them is enormous.
We got to our first house and found Kevin Knox already had a crew working there. We jumped off the road and put on our gloves, getting right to work trying to find the driveway for this house. Trees were all over her backyard and front yard. We cut and piled limbs till about 11:30am Alabama time.
Look there on the right side. See that young girl? That's Sophia...hauling a TREE! Don't tell me girls ain't tough!Off to our second work order address and look at the change in the neighborhood... gives me chills...
Our assignment didn't seem to have much problem in the front yard. Seeing all the other mess everywhere, we were puzzled for a second as to why we were sent to this one house. The homeowner was at the front door when we pulled up so we asked what we could do to help her. She sent us to the back yard. NOW we understood! This lady had been an avid gardener it seems. She had potted plants strewn all over. Her rose bushes no longer had leaves, and you couldn't see them! You could only feel them when they stabbed you as you pulled the tree limbs and roof shingles off of them. The house next door had lost part of its roof. We found it for them....in the yard WE were working in! We worked and worked for a few hours. We stopped for a lunch break during that, and visited the house across the street. Take a look....
It looks like Stanley is walking across the clear foundation- no floor, no walls, nothing. It's an illusion. This is actually the front porch.
You're right! There's no house attached to this porch!
If you stand on the porch and look down, this is the basement. Nice Snapper mower, huh? I hope the family comes and gets it! So where is the house?.....
It's the green/gray colored building you see Tom looking over at. It's knocked clean off the foundation and emptied completely. I didn't get a picture of it, but there is a closet underneath this cement porch I'm standing on for this picture. The door had blown off, but the contents were still intact. I hope the family (if they were home) hid inside there. It's the only place that wasn't demolished. This is dead center of the eye of this storm. You can tell it because the way the trees look. There is a path cut and all trees that the tornado engulfed look like this- no green, nearly no bark, and few limbs. Check out the neighborhood around this very same house....
Can you read that sign? It says "For Sale, Open Floor Plan"-- yeah, its ALL open floor!
So we finished up this location and went just a little ways down the road. We ended up at the sweetest lady's house! She was a widow lady, and had been saying her prayers pleading with the Lord to send us that day. Ten minutes later, we were knocking at her door. She was an older lady, and just as precious as you can imagine! She worried over us and watched us work.
We had gotten pretty tired, as you can imagine. The sillies started to show a little. As you look at our progress here, notice the antics. I think Barry Barton had something a little hinky in his lunch ;)
See? Maybe Laura will see this and pack his lunch FOR him next time!
I really DID do more than just take pictures...honestly!At the end of this work order, we talked with the lady. She was so gracious and thanked us profusely. She had no idea how she would be able to pay someone to do that job. She was fighting tears as she talked. She told us about a lady who had been killed just down the road from her and how terrible the whole ordeal had been. She pulled on my heartstring, that's for sure!
When we finished the day, we went back to the church yard and camped out. I've never seen SO many people anxious to be in bed by 9pm in all my life! It was so quiet so fast!
At 6am, people were rolling out and packing up tents. At 6:30am Sunday morning, volunteers had come to the church and were cooking pancakes and bacon for us. We ate and were ushered into the chapel where the Bessemer stake president addressed us. We had a sacrament meeting and one speaker. They took pictures of the group and did a headcount. If we read their lips right, there were around 350 volunteers packed into the chapel and the overflow area. It was so wonderful! We heard there had been accidents too. One in particular we heard through the grapevine... a volunteer had gotten into the whole where a tree's root ball was. He was trying to use his chainsaw to cut the roots loose and when he cut through, the root ball fell on him, crushed him, and he died. He was only 30 years old.
We spent Mother's Day giving relief to others. I feel SO good about my efforts. We had 3 more places we visited, and all members of our ward worked together this time. We were so blessed, and I will never forget this.
We counted 34 members of our ward participating, but the blessings bestowed on all are countless!
Beautiful post marianna! Seems like this isn't the first mother's day that was spent cleaning up after tornadoes! We miss you all and are so grateful that everyone was safe.
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