Bank of Holly Springs

Fielder’s Choice

Togetherness after storms

Last Thursday, shortly after waking, Pam asked, “Hey, do you know what happened six years ago today?”

I thought but couldn’t immediately recall.

“The tornado hit Hackleburg,” she said.

It was April 27, 2011.

I was wrapping up some fill-in work on a newspaper route when I received word the small town in Marion County, Ala., had been destroyed by a tornado.

A little later that evening, I headed toward the area where I was raised – to check on family. It was an eery feeling as I found my hometown (Hamilton, a neighbor to Hackleburg) and surrounding areas in total darkness.

A few days later, in daylight, I returned and saw the destruction in Hackleburg firsthand. The home of my aunt and uncle, which was once my grandparents’ house, was leveled. My aunt and uncle were in the home and survived.

Hackleburg has bounced back – a new school, new businesses, new homes, but the rebuilding continues.

About four and half years later, right here in Holly Springs, our community experienced similar devastation. The Hackleburg tornado was an EF-5 and the Holly Springs one an EF-4.

On that afternoon, Dec. 23, 2015, I was in Oxford for a doctor’s appointment. And as tornado warnings had Holly Springs in the path, I stayed in Oxford.

Once again, that drive into a tornado-ravaged area later that evening was an eery feeling.

The next morning, fellow newspaper worker Sue Watson and I toured much of the path of the tornado with cameras and notebooks in hand.

It was terrible – heart-breaking – as we talked to families walking around the rubble of what used to be their homes.

But immediately after the storm, neighbors went to work helping neighbors.

In a time of disaster, Holly Springs residents, Marshall Countians, and folks from near and far united to help those in need.

That love for another was a beautiful sight to behold. It was a time of tremendous togetherness.

This Saturday, May 6, the Marshall County Disaster Recovery Committee will host a celebration of recovery from the tornado of Dec. 23, 2015. It will be held at 2 p.m. in Morehouse Auditorium on the Rust College campus.

It’s a special time to celebrate the true spirit of giving – to celebrate our unity.

As difficult as Dec. 23, 2015, was for this community, it also made us stronger. Because of that tornado, our ties are perhaps tighter than they’ve ever been before.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

– Matthew 5:13-16

 

Holly Springs South Reporter

P.O. Box 278
Holly Springs, MS 38635
PH: (662) 252-4261
FAX: (662) 252-3388
www.southreporter.com