More than two years after an EF-5 tornado leveled most of Greensburg, residents are still picking up the pieces, buildings are going up, and the town is moving forward.
Today there is lots of progress going on in Greensburg. The evidence of the tornado still remains but homes and other buildings are going up among the scarred trees and bare landscape. The odor of fresh paint fills the air and the sound of construction rings through the town.
A few days after the tornado hit on May 4, 2007, Emporian Kathy Johnson was helping her family pick up the pieces of their lives. Her brother Ed Stauth and his wife, Roberta, lost their home in the tornado as did their daughter. On the evening of the tornado, their son was headed to the Stauths’ house to deliver some items for a garage sale the next day — the garage sale they would never have because the tornado hit overnight.
Roberta Stauth spoke on Friday in a phone interview about the progress she’s seen in Greensburg. Stauth said they built their home on the same spot. They had insurance but it wasn’t adequate so they downsized their new home because of the cost of building.
Right after the tornado, residents had nowhere to go in town for groceries — simple necessities. Stauth said the biggest change for residents was when the convenience store opened back up and Dillons added a small grocery store.
“Then you didn’t have to go out of town to do all the shopping,” she said. “There’s no frills but you have the staples.”
Stauth is on the school board and she said one of the big openings was when school was back in session.
“That was kind of nice,” she said. “The kids were so excited about seeing each other. Some of the kids who moved out of town hadn’t come back until right before school started. I think that’s a big hurdle to get over.”
The town’s permanent school should be completed by the 2010 school year and will have its own football field so the teams don’t have to travel out of town anymore. The town’s hospital also is coming along and is partially completed.
“It’s nice to see some progress going on up there,” Stauth said.
Two silo “green homes” have been constructed in town as well. These homes are built using the same materials typically used in a silo. The homes can withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour and on the roof, a garden can be planted.
The Stauths’ home is nearly completed as well. They moved into their home the latter part of December. The Stauths spent just under a year and a half in that FEMA trailer.
“It’s nice to have a home,” Stauth said. “It was great having a FEMA trailer but it shakes and rocks. It’s nice to have a solid foundation where it’s not rocking ...”
Stauth said the community pulled together and is closer than ever following the tornado.
“It’s always been pretty close-knit,” she said. “I think it’s much closer because of what we’ve been through.”
chiefsfan (anonymous) says...
Congratulations residents of Greensburg!! That's whats so great about us Kansan's, we're like the Timex watch, we take a lickin, but just keep on tickin!!!
May 16, 2009 at 5:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )