Speaker 1: And we continue with our American stories and now a
Speaker 1: story from one of our listeners, Paul Cutts from the
Speaker 1: Twin Cities. Paul is also a professor at Saint Mary's
Speaker 1: University of Minnesota. Today, Paul is sharing with us a
Speaker 1: story about when he visited Mayfield, Kentucky, a town that
Speaker 1: had recently been hit by a devastating tornado. Here's Paul
Speaker 1: Mayfield more than a memory. That is what I saw
Speaker 1: on the side of one of the buildings that was
Speaker 1: still standing when I heard on the news that a
Speaker 1: tornado swept through the town area December eleventh, two twenty one,
Speaker 1: I decided to organize a road trip. Road trips to
Speaker 1: unknown places for me have this sense of adventure, history
Speaker 1: and a time to untap new possibilities of understanding other communities,
Speaker 1: but also getting a better idea of yourself. It started
Speaker 1: with a gofund me page for me shortly after the
Speaker 1: tornado had hit. Generous individuals gave money to support this
Speaker 1: town which was hid in the middle of the night
Speaker 1: in mid December, and as the daylight approached, people saw
Speaker 1: with their very own eyes that their entire community was
Speaker 1: ruined by Mother Nature. I spoke with Cindy from Assembly
Speaker 1: of God Church by phone before we departed, and she said,
Speaker 1: the Good Lord has not blessed us with the best weather.
Speaker 1: If you saw the town of Mayfield, this was an understatement.
Speaker 1: They were then hit with an ice storm soon afterward,
Speaker 1: which incapacitated residence for a few days. The salt shack
Speaker 1: had been destroyed by the tornado, so they were in
Speaker 1: need to melt the snow building up. When the tornado hit,
Speaker 1: it intensified, reaching high end e F four levels as
Speaker 1: it toured directly through the center of town, resulting in
Speaker 1: widespread catastrophic damage throughout that historic downtown square of Mayfield.
Speaker 1: Most of the structures in downtown were heavily damaged or destroyed,
Speaker 1: including multiple large, well built, multi story brick buildings that
Speaker 1: completely collapsed. Only large piles of bricks and lumber remained
Speaker 1: in the hardest hit portions of the downtown area, and
Speaker 1: streets were left buried under the debris. The large and
Speaker 1: well constructed Graves County Courthouse had much of its roof
Speaker 1: torn off, sustained collapse of its clock tower, and had
Speaker 1: some of its exterior upper floor walls knocked down. Several restaurants,
Speaker 1: an indoor soccer facility, a barber shop, an automotive business,
Speaker 1: Jim Bank movie theater, health and rehab center, and many
Speaker 1: of their businesses were destroyed. Even the emergency operations center
Speaker 1: lost the ability to transmit radio communications. Three large churches
Speaker 1: were destroyed in downtown Mayfield. A school, bus garage, metal
Speaker 1: industrial buildings, and apartment buildings also sustained major structural damage
Speaker 1: or were destroyed in other areas of town. Residential areas
Speaker 1: of the city were devastated as well, with numerous homes
Speaker 1: being damaged, including many that were actually leveled or swept
Speaker 1: from their foundations. Also, many trees sustained severe debarking, while
Speaker 1: cars were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled. Some dual
Speaker 1: polarization radar imagery the news mentioned showed that the tornado
Speaker 1: had lofted debris up the thirty thousand feet into the
Speaker 1: air as it impacted the city. And more importantly and sadly,
Speaker 1: twenty two people were killed in and around Mayfield, with
Speaker 1: hundreds more injured, many severely well. Meanwhile, my driving partner
Speaker 1: Paul and I ended up in West Frankfort, Illinois at
Speaker 1: around ten thirty pm after having started at seven am
Speaker 1: in the Twin Cities. We traveled through small towns such
Speaker 1: as Canton, Missouri, heading into Illinois on our way to Mayfield.
Speaker 1: We were lucky. Before we ventured from Saint Paul's South,
Speaker 1: a dear colleague dropped off twenty plus quilts to give
Speaker 1: to residence. Her church colleagues made these for a cause
Speaker 1: such as this, and so we loaded those in my
Speaker 1: jeep along with our own suitcases and supplies, and ventured out.
Speaker 1: The go fund me funds served as a springboard for
Speaker 1: money to be used in Mayfield and given to the
Speaker 1: city hall. We were so grateful that these funds could
Speaker 1: go to good use. We were on a road trip
Speaker 1: with a mission. We were headed to a distribution site
Speaker 1: at the County fair Grounds and much awaited us. If
Speaker 1: we could offer even a temporary relief, get a new
Speaker 1: education of what a town goes through when much, if
Speaker 1: not all, is wiped out by a tornado, then we
Speaker 1: were open to a new challenge. Giving people hope was
Speaker 1: the main objective. We made it to Mayfield in one
Speaker 1: piece and had a great day, moving many supplies and
Speaker 1: palettes of supplies, all the while working in the heart
Speaker 1: of where devastation hit the town. We worked in collaboration
Speaker 1: in a massive effort with Army, National Guard, locals and
Speaker 1: those from the outside in Mayfield, Kentucky. It will take
Speaker 1: decades to get back to normal, but I remain hopeful
Speaker 1: because the people are strong. The people we worked with
Speaker 1: at the distribution center in the heart of Mayfield at
Speaker 1: the fairgrounds were welcoming and in need of help. They
Speaker 1: all gave hope to a situation that looked like a
Speaker 1: war zone. The debris had been cleared off many streets,
Speaker 1: but met twisted around poles, structures, overturned roofs, missing, cars, destroyed,
Speaker 1: and even a multitude of our vs were brought in
Speaker 1: to give temporary housing and shelter to the displaced. My
Speaker 1: new friend Dora asked me to move plastic gas cans
Speaker 1: donated to be removed from a top shelf and brought
Speaker 1: within her reach. I asked her if she was a
Speaker 1: resident of Mayfield. She explained yes and with hopeful words.
Speaker 1: I love my town. But when I came through the
Speaker 1: devastation recently, I actually got lost because all the markers
Speaker 1: I once knew were gone. When you work with others
Speaker 1: and share stories, you build a common bond that, even
Speaker 1: though you may not walk together again. In you connected
Speaker 1: and found that we are all so similar in what
Speaker 1: we need as people. Love, care and a place to
Speaker 1: call home and a purpose well. Shipment after shipment came in.
Speaker 1: My colleague and I spent most of our time with
Speaker 1: that hydraulic equipment moving paper products such as towels, toilet trees, diapers,
Speaker 1: baby wipes, hand cleansers, toothpaste bags, food, all the sites
Speaker 1: on the floor of the fairgrounds. Sometimes donations were mixed.
Speaker 1: I came upon what I thought were some gray towels.
Speaker 1: They were in fact depends Kaleen, one of the coordinators
Speaker 1: with a vision for the big picture, said you never
Speaker 1: know when you need a diaper, no matter what your age.
Speaker 1: We all laughed. She said, glad you have a sense
Speaker 1: of humor. I need to see people laugh and smile
Speaker 1: around me. It helps get me through each day. Earlier
Speaker 1: in the morning, I had thrown out my lower back,
Speaker 1: but as I stretched it out, I said to myself,
Speaker 1: I can't let these people down. Somehow my pain subsided
Speaker 1: to get the task done. As the night approached, and
Speaker 1: as we got back to rest for the night, the
Speaker 1: pain emerged again, but I felt good that we could
Speaker 1: laugh and be present with others who spent days trying
Speaker 1: to rebuild their lives and their town. As we got
Speaker 1: our rhythm, my colleague and I seemed to be on
Speaker 1: automatic pilot, and I trained others in the process of
Speaker 1: transport and stocking and serving the residents who desired goods
Speaker 1: to sustain their lives. You could feel the love and
Speaker 1: the camaraderie. Everyone wanted each other to succeed in our
Speaker 1: common mission to serve Mayfield. On Saturday night, we took
Speaker 1: a little time to go to a bar named in
Speaker 1: honor of Bob Seeger's song Night Moves, and a guy
Speaker 1: named Bob came up to me and said, great to
Speaker 1: see you again. He talked about Super Bowl picks, how
Speaker 1: he moved from Chicago to Paduca and never regretted it.
Speaker 1: Since I was in Kentucky, I had to have a
Speaker 1: jack on ice here. You approached the bar, get your drink,
Speaker 1: and then take your seat. The band bellowed, tip your
Speaker 1: weight stamp generously and then launched into another song from
Speaker 1: the eighties and later. The fact is I had never
Speaker 1: been here myself or with my colleague until this night.
Speaker 1: The music was very good, and the vocalist and guitar
Speaker 1: player entertained us with stories and played three different sets
Speaker 1: with a drummer who even stopped to see us, noting
Speaker 1: we were having a very good time and was glad
Speaker 1: that we came out after another set. I try to
Speaker 1: Tequila Sunrise, and my colleague was enjoying the songs. The
Speaker 1: guy who claimed to know me kept telling me about
Speaker 1: his own experiences and how an apartment complex he owned
Speaker 1: had been three quarters devastated, but hope was sustaining him
Speaker 1: and the insurance adjusters were working on it. I hope
Speaker 1: a decade from now or sooner, Mayfield and surrounding areas
Speaker 1: will be thriving again so people can recognize their neighborhoods.
Speaker 1: The people's spirits at times seemed diminished, but their sense
Speaker 1: of hope and care for one another, guided by God's
Speaker 1: intentions for the future, shed light on a tough situation.
Speaker 1: Someday I would like to go back and it will
Speaker 1: be a new, beautiful, vibrant reality and community and not
Speaker 1: just a memory. And a great job on the production
Speaker 1: by Faith and a special thanks to Paul Cotts for
Speaker 1: sharing his mission trip, because it wasn't just a road trip,
Speaker 1: it was a mission trip. And Americans do this all
Speaker 1: the time. They go on mission trips to help people
Speaker 1: in need, and they do it when tornadoes hit, when
Speaker 1: hurricanes hit. Heck, sometimes they just do it to feed
Speaker 1: people who are hungry or just hurting. The story of
Speaker 1: Paul Cotts his mission of mercy, and the story of Mayfield, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: Here on our American story.