MPR’s Cara Hetland reports that the tornadoes in Comfrey and St. Peter has brought memories back for the residents of Chandler in southwest Minnesota. A tornado in 1992 wiped out nearly all of the town. They have rebuilt their town and gone one with their lives but the memories and emotions are still strong.
No one in this small 300-resident community will ever forget June 16, 1992. Severe weather warnings were issued for 12 straight hours that day from central South Dakota into Wisconsin. The Chandler tornado struck shortly after five and another one touched down nearby at nine that night.
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CARA HETLAND: No one in this small 300 resident community will ever forget June 16, 1992. Severe weather warnings were issued for 12 straight hours that day from Central South Dakota into Wisconsin. The Chandler tornado struck shortly after 5, and another one touched down nearby at 9 that night. Grace Walgraven and her husband live on a farm a mile outside Chandler. At the local grocery store, she recalls leaving for Sioux Falls, only to turn back when it started to hail.
GRACE: Oh, we didn't know what it was, but it was the tornado. It was a big cloud with a barrels of water on the side, and we stood up on the South Hill and watched it take the town.
CARA HETLAND: Walgren tells the story with little emotion, but she cries when she thinks about the devastation and the recovery she went through and what's ahead for the people of Comfrey and Saint Peter?
GRACE: Oh, you get this kind of a feeling. Sorry for the people because you really know what they're going through.
CARA HETLAND: Several residents of Chandler took electrical generators to Comfrey Monday afternoon. They are eager to help because they do know. But they also know the residents of the devastated communities have to be in control and keep busy. Chandler city clerk Alves was a spotter during the 1992 tornado, and his vehicle was nearly sucked into the funnel.
He and two other volunteer firefighters headed the command post. He has nothing but praise for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and National Guard, but he cautions not to let them run the show. This says it's important for people to keep busy and to see their loss right away.
SPEAKER: And then when you have this type of a disaster, don't take that domain away from them. Let them be there. Let them help in with the decisions that have to be made.
CARA HETLAND: This says of the 131 homes in Chandler, all but nine were damaged or destroyed. All but seven of the 29 businesses in town were lost or damaged. The area was declared a federal and state disaster. He says the state provided money from the Department of Trade and Economic Development, and visiting politicians promised immediate financial help. He says the $816,000 from the state didn't arrive for months until just two weeks before the election. He says the state repeatedly denied claims for financial assistance. Normally, a talkative storyteller, Alves said this about the financial assistance.
GRACE: So all total, we had some insurance companies came through just tremendous. People relied on their own finances, the ones that could afford that. The SBA, Small business administration, they came through with SBA loans. And so all total, I think we spent-- we're right around $14 million.
CARA HETLAND: This says the volunteers from neighboring towns and states were the biggest help. Lonnie Clark was the Chandler assistant fire chief in 1992. He says keeping busy and supporting each other is the best way to get through a disaster.
LONNIE CLARK: I would say, make sure you don't quit going to church and make sure you don't quit seeing your friends and take help from people that come in to help because it's such a big thing that you can't get through it by yourself. You have to open up and let other people help you. But you also have to take hold and say, I can do something too and become part of it, and that will help you heal.
CARA HETLAND: Another tip on healing is to photograph everything during every stage of the recovery. Write diaries, poems, and stories and collect them into a book. The 1992 Chandler tornado book is seen on bookshelves in the local bank. Alves says he still hasn't read the whole thing because it's still too hard. He went to Comfrey Monday.
SPEAKER: And when we saw that devastation, you get flashbacks immediately. And it almost seems, instead of 5 and 1/2 years ago, it almost seems like it was 5 and 1/2 weeks ago. And you do get choked up and words just can't come.
CARA HETLAND: People from Chandler will soon go to walk farm fields near Comfrey to help clear the debris and anything else that needs to be done. In Sioux Falls, I'm Cara Hetland, Minnesota Public Radio.