Sister city pledges help for tornado recovery
Russ Morgan
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
As it continues its recovery from a tornado that tore through the town last spring, Reading, Kan. is learning about the depth of generosity of a city halfway across the country — Reading, Mass.
In the days after the May 21 tornado that killed one man and destroyed 54 out of 101 homes in Reading, Kan., residents of Reading, Mass. decided to pool their efforts to help with its unofficial sister city’s efforts to rebuild. Since then, a grassroots movement has grown that spans a number of organizations hoping to provide aid.
“People in Reading, Mass. have come to refer to Reading, Kan. as our “little sister” because we have 25,000 people and Reading has about 250,” said Peter Hechenbleikner, Reading town manager.
Monday evening, residents and officials gathered at the United Methodist Church in the Kansas town to welcome an ambassador from the Massachusetts town. Donna Toole, a cousin of Landace Wayman of Emporia and a resident of Reading, Mass., came to Emporia for a family reunion and visited Reading to bring good will and to learn about the community’s needs. She will take back to Massachusetts the town’s gratefulness and a sense of pride in the town’s determination to get back on its feet.
“One of the things we’d really like to know in Reading, Mass., is what kinds of things do you all need,” Toole said. “We’re collecting all this money and we’re wondering what to do with it and I said, ‘Well, I think we should ask them what they think would be most helpful.’”
The first bit of help from Massachusetts came over the summer, when several youth organizations sent $3,500 for use in rebuilding Reading’s park area. Since then, other organizations have expressed a desire to pitch in and have reached out to the small town. According to Hechenbleikner, the Massachusetts city’s Lions Club has made a direct donation to Reading’s Lions Club; the Baptist and Methodist church communities of both cities have been in touch; and Boy and Girl Scout troops from both areas are getting together to help in the effort. The library in Reading, Mass., also donated books and materials for the Reading Library.
According to Barbara Schlobohm, information officer for the recovery in Reading, Kan., long-term needs for the town are still being assessed.
“What we need first is to get people’s homes ready for winter,” she told Toole. “There are still quite a few that need roofs, windows, siding.”
“That’s why I wanted to come here,” Toole said, “is to ask you what you need.” She also asked if the town would be interested in the possibility of volunteer help from Massachusetts. “If there were someone who could come down for a week, would you be interested in that?”
“We do have some homes that either need to be rebuilt or restored, and we are looking for skilled labor,” Schlobohm said. “Carpenters, electricians, that sort of thing.”
Once finished with the critical step of restoring homes, residents will move on to helping businesses and re-planting trees. Every business but one in Reading was either damaged or destroyed, and 78 trees on public property have had to come down. The town also has to deal with removing 66 stumps. For now, though, the town is still in building and cleanup mode.
“So maybe we should look at late winter for the trees,” Toole said, “and focus on other needs first.”
As part of its recovery, Reading has partnered with the Emporia Community Foundation so donations can be tax deductible, according to Reta Jackson, owner of The Miracle Cafe.
Toole also was concerned with the status of Reading’s population, and asked how many people have moved away since the tornado.
Though many have temporarily relocated to other cities in the area, only seven or eight have moved away permanently, Shclobohm said, and the enrollment at Reading School even went up this year.
In addition to help from a number of organizations in Reading, Mass., Toole said there have been events held specifically to help the cause. Several businesses held a canned food drive, and at the city’s recent Fall Street Faire there was a booth titled “Reading, Mass. Helping Reading, Kansas.” That booth collected over $5,000. There also are donation cans throughout the city.
Future events are being planned as well, Hechenbleikner said.
“We are having an event on Oct. 20 at which we hope to raise some funds,” he said. “It will be a wine tasting and jazz event at one of the local wine stores here in Reading.”
After lining out the basics of the town’s needs, Toole and members of the community toured the town to look at the damage as well as the progress that has been made in the four months since the storm.
“I’m appalled at what happened, I have to say,” Toole said. “To me, I have to hand it to these people and their attitude. That’s phenomenal. So many times after something like this happens, people say, ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.’ But these people, they said, ‘By God, we’re getting in there and doing something.’”
When she gets back home this week, Toole will take with her good feelings about the people of Reading, Kan. and what they’ve accomplished. She also will return home determined to encourage the people of Reading, Mass., to do more.
“We’ve certainly had you in our prayers, I must tell you, because this is just more than people should be asked to go through.”
Throughout the process, the two cities have made many connections, and look forward to making many more.
“We share a common name, and I’ve enjoyed talking to the people out there,” Hechenbleikner said. “They seem like really nice folks. Whatever we can do to help, we’re willing to do.”
For more information on the efforts of the people of Reading, Mass., search on Facebook for “Reading Cares.”
midnightlilly (anonymous) says...
I looked at that video, most of the information was wrong, there is no grocery store in Reading, or a Gas Station, just a place where you can go pump gas, they needed to edit the video before they put it up.
October 4, 2011 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bluebonnet (anonymous) says...
This is so cool! It is amazing what can be accomplished when people just step up and do the right thing, instead of expecting a government handout or bailout every time something goes wrong.
October 4, 2011 at 3:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )