by Randy Turner
Over the days, weeks, and months, Joplin did recover. Most of the trash, if not all of it, was either taken to the dump or recycled. Homes were on the verge of rebuilding, and businesses were signing construction contracts. The roads were reopened, and flowers even started growing on the sides of the highway again. The Extreme Home Makeover team even came to our town to rebuild a few houses and replenish Cunningham Park. Things almost seemed to be on a normal flow, like before. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. When the storm came by, it changed Joplin. I can’t say with a definite expression that Joplin will ever be the same. We lost so many precious lives in that tornado. We lost our homes, our jobs, our families, our friends. We lost so much, but in our time of need, we were not forgotten. We had the support of not only our nation, but also many other nations.
We had the care and love of other communities as our community tried to pick itself up. Weirdly enough, disaster really does bring a community together. It makes you appreciate what you have rather than what you want. It makes you realize the difference between what is important and what is not. Some people refer to our Joplin, Missouri, community as the heart of America, and when we were hit, they said that the heart was cracked, that there was no hope. That was on the day of the tornado. Now, those same people look at us and say otherwise. The heart is healing. It might have a few rough patches and bumps along the way, but it is healing. Why do they say this? We have the strength and love to prove them wrong. We have the integrity, effort, and persistence to show them that we can rebuild, even if we are starting from the scratch. We have and truly are the wings to the eagle.
Jennifer Nguyen was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year and served as Journalism Club editor.
NIGHTMARE IN THE DAYTIME
BY NICK SHELLENBARGER
On the day of the tornado, I was riding my bike. I would have stayed outside, but I crashed my bike and went back in. I was on Facebook and my dad was asleep. Luckily, he watches boring shows after lunch on Sundays to fall asleep to and had on a local channel.
When the sirens went off, we went to the apartment below us, which was only halfway underground. My dad went back upstairs to grab his phone and the laptop.
The lady who owned the apartment below us was asking me if I wanted a soda, but then I saw it. On the tower cam was the giant tornado. We went to the bathroom and all got into the bathtub. I heard cracking walls and busting pots, but from where I was, I only saw a little crack in the wall. But then I was convinced more was happening when I felt the weight of three roofs falling on me. I say three roofs because it was a three-floor apartment building.
We waited it out, praying through it all, and finally, it stopped. I stayed down for a little bit, just trying to soak in what had just happened to the apartment we had only been living in for about eight months. I was so happy there and felt it was where I needed to be, but apparently, it wasn’t.
I felt the pellets of hail hitting my back, but couldn’t find the strength to yell for help. If I could yell, I wouldn’t have been able to yell over the other screams for help and honking horns. The yelling was coming from about 10 feet away in the same pile of rubble I was in.
The guys from the third floor did not come down, but one of the three men appeared to be severely injured. My dad helped him out and he was bleeding and completely unbalanced. They probably did not come because of all the other fifty billion times the sirens went off and nothing happened.
We flagged down a car and there were two older women and a guy who had just graduated. (I could tell because he was still in his gown.) He and my dad went to get the lady who lived downstairs out of her bathtub.
After we all got into the car, we went to their home. We were there for a long time and then my grandma and grandpa picked us up and took us to Walmart to get some new clothes. I was in sopping wet gym shorts and a t-shirt, covered in mud, and had no shoes, and was still walking through Walmart. I bought some new socks, shirts, and shoes. I changed in the car.
After that, I lived in a little room with my dad in my grandma’s house for about three months. Then I lived in a FEMA trailer for five months. It was miserable. The walls were bad quality and all I had was an Xbox that I got from someone who was generous enough to give it to me.
Now I live in a brick duplex right next to the mall and my church. It has a basement.
Nick Shellenbarger was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
AFTER THE SIREN SOUNDED
BY ABIGAEL KILLINGER
It was a humid, hot Sunday evening, there were a few clouds and the sun was shining bright. It had been one of the best days ever.
More clouds started to roll in, pausing the sun for about a minute, then that minute turned into five, then 10, and then the sky was covered. I went inside to turn on the news to see what weather was coming our way.
I heard a humming noise and yelled at Kaley to turn the TV off. It was a tornado siren. We hurried to gather her sister and our phones. Without shoes on, we ran across the street.
It was awful. Strong winds were blowing and the sky was a grayish black. We ran to her neighbor’s house to figure out what was going on.
Tornadoes had been spotted. My mom called, telling me everything was okay and not to worry, then the second siren sounded.
It was very green outside and the weather was horrible. Mom told me to seek shelter and everyone in Kaley’s neighbor’s house ran across the street. At this point, the raindrops felt like baseballs hitting me. I went into shock, not knowing what to do. We arrived at the next house and banged on the front door.
No answer.
We went around to the garage door and opened it. I didn’t know any of these people. Everyone was freaking out, but we went down to the basement. We were running and that was when the tornado hit- one of the worst tornadoes in history.
A radio was on and I was listening to all of the devastation that had happened. I heard reports of damage by my house. I began to worry. “Are my parents okay?” My phone had died and I had no contact with anyone.
Luckily, Kaley had her phone. My mom and dad were just fine. They came to pick us up. The way back to my house was the worst ride of my life on the worst day.
There was so much damage, I couldn’t tell where we were. So many people were walking and crying. I had never seen this, not even in the movies. My life was forever changed.
AbigaelKillinger was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
A SCARY TIME
BY ALEXANDRA STELTS
I walked out of East Middle School on Friday the 20th thinking I would see all my friends on Monday the 23rd. There were several different ways I could have been in the tornado, and I’m going to share them with you.
One of the ways that I could have been in the tornado is that it could have been a weekend that I was with my dad. He would have had to drop me off at my mom’s at six o'clock. That would mean that I would have been going across town and getting caught right in the tornado’s path. But, it turns out that I was with my mother that weekend, so I didn’t get caught.
On the other hand since I was with my mom, we were going to go out of town. We were planning on going to see our family that lives six hours away in Nebraska. On the way up I took a nap, while my mom drove. As my mom was driving, she was feeling worse and worse. So she decided to turn around. I woke up when she was turning around. We had driven just about two hours. If we would have kept going on into Nebraska. We were planning on leaving at noon on Sunday, so we could get home about six o'clock. As we were turning around and heading home, my mom was feeling better and better, but she still decided to keep going home.
To make up for not going to Nebraska my mom took me to Springfield instead. We went to the mall. Then we went to Branson and went to the racetracks. It was fun. I had to talk my mom into it though.
We had just gotten home right before the tornado hit. My mom was talking to her friend that came over to the house, after a little while she left. Not
soon after the sirens went off. My mom and I rushed to the bathroom. I grabbed my comforter, blankets, pillows, my tennis shoes, Bible, phone, and a flashlight. My mom came in shortly after with my radio. We plugged it in, sat in the tub, and listened. We heard on the radio that there would be a watch until six.
Once six hit, we waited a little bit longer before we went outside. I heard the birds chirping and I told my mom, and then we decided to look out the window just to make sure. I was scared the whole time. I had always been scared of them, but after this I probably will always be scared of them.
My mom’s friend came by after the tornado just to make sure that we were okay. I thought that was really nice. We let them watch the T.V. to check out all the damage. My mom’s friend brought her daughter with her. It turns out that her daughter gave her shoes to some lady who lost everything, so I gave her an extra pair that I never wore.
When I was watching the television, the people were talking about how they thought that St. John’s was going to blow up, so I texted my dad and told him not to go, because he was planning to go and help. During this whole time I was worrying about so many different people: my sister, my dad, my stepsister, my stepmom, my stepdad, and my mom and I.
It was a very scary time for me, and probably the rest of the town. On the bright side, my dad and mom finally were talking again for the first time since they got divorced!
Alexandra Stelts was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
TORNADO WARNING
BY DONNA TOMLINSON
“We need to leave right now. Your mom called and said there’s a tornado warning,” my dad said frantically in the parking lot of the 15th Street Walmart.
“Oh, well. Okay. It’s not like there’s going to be a tornado. There are warnings all the time,” I replied, walking sluggishly to the car.
We were halfway home when the tornado sirens went off. “Oh, my gosh, dad, those are the tornado sirens,” I said, freaking out.
“Yeah, I know. I can hear them, but we’ll be fine. We just need to get home and get the rest of the family,” he said, trying to be calm.
When we finally got home, my mom and I walked up to make sure we were okay and that’s when I saw a funnel cloud and I heard the loud noise. I can never forget how I was feeling that day. I felt a complete terror washing over me. I did not know whether to cry and hug my mom or scream and run in a different direction, but instead we gathered up the children and rushed to MSSU for shelter.
When the tornado was over, I got a phone call from one of my friends, Shyann Long.
“Donna, are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, fine, you?”
“Um, yeah, but our school is gone; it got hit by the tornado and so did 15th Street WalMart,” she said.
“What no. I was just there like 30 minutes ago.”
The tornado changed our lives forever.
Donna Tomlinson was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
CHANGE OF PLANS
BY MAGGIE BAKER
I imagined my summer lying on the beach, drinking a pina colada, but no, instead a few months ago, my family, my town and I experienced the most terrifying thing that has ever happened
It started out at Missouri Southern State University waiting for my sister Breanna to get her high school diploma, when all of a sudden the sirens went off. My sister Molly and I were waiting in the car when my mom and sister got to the car. The sirens had been going off for a while and we did not think anything of it. The traffic was so bad it took us about 30 minutes to get out of the MSSU parking lot.
When we were driving by Macaroo Gyms, we were listening to the radio and heard that there was a tornado. Then about 30 seconds later, my dad called and said there was another tornado!
We were in between the two tornados.
We were on 20th Street and just ahead of us was just a black wall. So we decided to take cover in Walmart.
When we got into Walmart, the electricity had already gone out and the tiles were shaking. A few minutes after we had found a place to take cover in electronics, a man said, “It’s coming!” Everybody ducked down and that was when Walmart got hit.
All I could hear was me, my mom, and sisters praying. We were very fortunate that we did not get buried like other people were. There were so many things that we had to climb over. After we got out of Walmart, we thought the whole town was gone.
My family and I were fortunate that we did not lose our house or any family members. The last few months we have been working to repair the damage to our house. And we have been doing great since the tornado.
Maggie Baker was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
IT ALWAYS GETS BETTER
BY CAMDEN SANDERS
The May 22 tornado was devastation. Even if it did not affect everyone in Joplin, Missouri, physically, it affected them emotionally. Even if you did not lose someone or you did not have much structural damage to your home, you still had to see the damage around town and hear the stories.
My family and I were affected. My room had a lot of water from the next day after the tornado. When it rained so much, the ceiling in my room collapsed and the water leaked down into one of my walls. In my room, we had to replace the carpeting, ceiling, wall, ceiling fan, bed, insulation, texturing and paint.
No matter where you live in Joplin, Missouri, the devastation of the EF-5 tornado was experienced by everyone in some way. Everyone, not just in Joplin, needs to remember, “It always gets better; it may have to get worse first, but it always gets better.”
Camden Sanders was a seventh grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
THERE WON’T BE A TORNADO
BY KALEY MOSER
I remember the day of the tornado as if it were yesterday. My mom was at the Cardinals vs. Royals game, so I was babysitting my seven-year-old sister. Abi Killinger was with me and it was very crazy. We tanned and played in the sprinkler. We even had a water right and a mud fight. Abi was obsessed with this song by Rhianna called “California King Bed.” All day, she sang that song. Abi and I decided it had been the best day of our lives. We kept saying that over and over again.
It was around five o’clock when Abi’s mom called and said a storm was coming. Abi started spazzing out, but me, the calm person I am, was shrugging it off as nothing.
“Abi, there won’t be a tornado. There never is; it’s fine,” I told her.
Little did I know I was going to eat those words. We started to make macaroni to eat while my sister watched TV.
Suddenly, the sirens sounded. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I even muted the TV. Abi was hollering while I grabbed my phone. Without even putting my shoes on, I ran to my neighbors’ house, with Mylee and Abi running behind me.
I remember the wind blowing so hard and hail hitting me, which stung. We were finally able to go into the neighbor’s basement.
Mylee had gas, lucky us!
Kaley Moser was an eighth grader during the 2011-2012 school year.
MAY 22, 2011
BY AMBER FLEMING
This day started off like any other normal day. People going to work, eating with family, sleeping in. My day started off at 5:30 a.m. My family was going to Silver Dollar City. It was Me, Kiefer (my brother) Victoria (my sister) Lori (mom) Will (dad) and then my dad’s best friend James, his wife Jennifer, and their daughter’s Kallie, and Jaelyn Jo Nicole. Their other daughter, Emmaleena, three months, stayed with a babysitter in Joplin. Jaelyn was 4 and Kallie was 6. Kiefer is 15 so he got to take us where we wanted to go.
Kallie and I were walking around Silver Dollar City with Kiefer. My parents and the others were somewhere else. Kiefer had his phone and we got a weird phone call from my mom telling us to get to the gates as fast as possible. Kiefer picked up Kellie and grabbed my hand and we ran to the gates as fast as we possibly could. When we got to our parents and started walking to our cars the tornado sirens started blaring in Branson. We didn’t know what to do.
On the way to seek shelter in the lobby at the Radison Hotel, my mom told us what the phone call was about- a massive tornado had just touched down in Joplin. The tornado sirens stopped so we decided to find somewhere to eat. We decided the Plantation food wasn’t very good, but we didn’t care. We were glad we were finally safe.
My mom received a phone call from my aunt saying my grandparents and great grandfather were in the same Pizza Hut as Kayleigh. My grandpa did everything he could to help keep her safe because she was a very close family friend. She died, but my grandparents were ok with small injuries, but we didn’t know this yet.
Everything bad was racing through my head. I figured everyone in Joplin was dead!
When we finished eating, the tornado sirens started going off again. We returned to The Radison and got in the lobby and this was what we heard on T.V. “a massive EF. There’s really no way to describe but a huge tornado just touched down in Jo….” And lighting struck the building shaking everything and the power went out, tornado sirens still going off. We had no idea what to do! Everyone in the building ran down to the lounge, the safest place downstairs. Everyone was trying to contact their friends and families. We got hold of some, so I felt a teensy bit of relief, but not much.
We started hearing popping and massive winds, but you could tell it wasn’t a tornado, just as scary, but not a tornado. When everything came back on and Branson got the clearing we started driving home and my brother, uncle, and dad went out to do everything they could to help people. The first person I knew that was for sure okay was Madison Riddle.