This one says it all you guys.
| Imagine all that you own totally destroyed within a matter of seconds. Imagine trudging through a pile of rubble that used to be your home, all belongings and memories completely vanished. Imagine staring hopelessly at the neighborhood where you grew up, only to find it all wiped away.
At approximately 9:15 PM on April 21, 2001, the people of Hoisington, Kansas experienced such devastation when a tornado struck their town mercilessly. The tornado was rated an F4 and caused mass destruction in only a matter of seconds, sneaking in, demolishing anything in it's path, then disappearing as quickly as it made itself known. The good people of the small western Kansas town were caught unaware and were given no warning. Dozens of injuries were reported and unfortunately, one death. The tornado sirens never alarmed the inhabitants of Hoisington.
On April 23, Al and I had the opportunity to drive to Hoisington and see up-close the devastation. What we witnessed were people of all ages rummaging through mounds of debris in which they once called home, searching for anything of value, whether it was material or sentimental, that could be salvaged. Some were embracing their loved ones, showing their emotions outwardly. Some were more reserved, just silent and distant, but inwardly sobbing over the horror of the situation, having lost all faith and hope and having not a clue where to begin. To tell you the truth, it put goosebumps all over my body just realizing what we take for granted.
However, all sorts of people from neighboring towns purposely made time out of their busy schedules to come help the residents of Hoisington put their lives back together. They came with trucks, rakes, shovels, and all the necessary tools to clean up the mess and begin rebuilding what was once a nice, quiet, little town. It was reassuring to me and I'm sure to the people of Hoisington also, that Kansas citizens have not lost the good old-fashioned values of helping others no matter how difficult the task. Those from towns further away who could not physically be present to lend a helping hand began donating items to those in need in over-abundance. |
We have several pics , click on the small images to see the larger size pictures, if you have any suggestions please sign the guestbook.
New Pictures taken on 4/23/2001
