PARKERSBURG -- Matt Wildeboer was among 60 Parkersburg residents on a canoe trip in Mason City when he heard the news. His establishment had been demolished by the mile-wide tornado that ravaged Parkersburg Sunday night.

Though Matt's Bar and Grill was not open, approximately 30 people were inside for a graduation party, according to Wildeboer. Among those inside, about half fled for the car wash across the street and the other half hid in the restaurant's walk-in cooler.

"It was one of the few things that survived," said Wildeboer, who confirmed that all of those at the party survived the tornado.

Wildeboer's business did not. And with a license plate on his pickup that reads "MATSBNG," it was obvious how much the bar meant to him.

But after talking to his claims adjuster, Wildeboer feels confident that he will be covered financially.

According to various reports, Matt's Bar and Grill was among more than 20 businesses that were destroyed by the disaster.

The town's only grocery store, S&S Grocery, was completely leveled. A shed that held an inventory of beverages was tossed about 100 yards south across Iowa Highway 57. A small group was excavating the inventory Tuesday afternoon, and amazingly uncovered several unbroken bottles of beer and wine coolers.

But those may have been the only items of inventory from S&S that will be recovered in the wake of the disaster.

"It's hard to tell what's left, because we can't go inside," said Blake Simon, whose family has owned S&S for 20 years. Simon also lost approximately 20 acres of timber near New Hartford.

As far as the future of the grocery is concerned, Simon said he and his family would "have to talk about. We're just going to take it a day at a time." Simon was in talks with his claims adjuster Wednesday afternoon in a car in the S&S parking lot.

Across the street from the S&S, Kwik Star also suffered extensive damage. A crew excavated the convenience store's ATM from the rubble by attaching it to a chain on the end of a crane. Though the machine slipped free of the chain and crashed back into the rubble, the crew was clearly more concerned about the contents of the machine than the ATM itself, and they were eventually able to free it from the debris.

Both of the towns' banks suffered extensive damage, but Virgil Goodrich, director of the Parkersburg Economic Development (PED) group, said Iowa State Bank could re-open soon. First State Bank incurred significantly more damage and likely will not re-open until much later.

Goodrich named several other businesses in the corridor of Parkersburg that was leveled by the tornado. Among those destroyed businesses were Luhring Monuments, Trinkets and Tots, the Parkersburg Lumber Yard, Parkersburg Family Dental, the Highway 20 CafÃ, Pizza Ranch and a car wash. Parker's Place, a 37-unit assisted living complex that was expected to open in the fall, was also demolished.

Recovery for those businesses - and Parkersburg's economy as a whole - will rely on both insurance claims and relief money. Goodrich said the PED had only about 20,000,000 left in its small revolving loans program, but the Butler County Economic Development is could have some low-interest loans available for businesses in need.

While most other businesses in Parkersburg were closed Tuesday, due in part to the disaster and in part to having no electricity, at least a couple of businesses on Third Street attempted to stay open despite their shortcomings.

The Parkersburg Pharmacy was running on a backup generator and filling prescriptions as a rapid pace.

"Many people lost their medication along with the rest of their possessions, and they could need those medications to function or survive," said pharmacy technician Karla Arends.

Before the pharmacy had power and was able to contact insurance companies, it was providing seven-day prescriptions for those in need.

Across the street at the Dollar General, generosity was also abounding. Though it had no power all day, the Dollar General stayed open to provide necessities for families who had lost everything. According to manager Karen Karsjens, the Dollar General donated all of its refrigerated goods to Red Cross as soon as the power went down.

"We're just trying to help those in need," she said. "We don't want to turn everyone away."

Many residents are too preoccupied with storm cleanup to think about rebuilding businesses just yet and understandably so, said Jeff Kolb, executive director of the Bulter County Development Group.

Kolb, in Parkersburg to help on Tuesday, is willing to be the one to worry about the town's economic development needs for now. He's already put out a call for help to economic leaders in the state, asking for insight from those experienced with post-disaster development.

Leaders want to be ready "so when (residents) pick up the rubble we can be here to help them take that next step," Kolb said.

Some are already determined to start over.

"We all plan on coming right back to Parkersburg," said Chris Bowen, a dental assistant at Parkersburg Family Dental.

Dentist Lori Mason said Parkersburg needs her services and plans to rebuild on location. The tornado severely damaged her office on Iowa Highway 57 in Parkersburg, though the walls are still standing. She also lost her house near the golf course.

She will likely be examining teeth long before the new building is finished. Area dentist offices have offered Mason space to work from in the interim. She has faith she'll be able to access electronic records that contain client information.

"We might be alright with that," Mason said.

On Tuesday, Mason and employees marveled at the debris. The storm dropped a vehicle's windshield inside her office, wedged dental tools through the walls and moved a 100-pound sanitization equipment piece into the waiting room.

More than 350 homes in Parkersburg were destroyed, leaving hundreds homeless in the wake of the tornado. But according to sales specialist Darren Zomefeld of Farmers Insurance Group, many people with insurance will receive checks to cover living expenses until their situation is sorted out.

"We want to make sure people are covered for their immediate needs, such as a place to live, a few changes of clothes and some food to eat," said Zomefeld. "After that, we can start worrying about the structure and personal property."

Several of the insurance agencies had temporary structures set up on the north side of town for victims to get out of the cold, windy weather Wednesday afternoon.

After getting situated with a place to stay and some clothes to wear, Zomefeld said it was important for victims to account for personal property.

"It can be difficult to remember everything a person had in their homes, so we try to get people to visualize each room and what was contained in each of them," said Zomefeld.

Automotive insurance was also an issue Tuesday during the cleanup process.

Undriveable automobiles with comprehensive insurance were hauled off to body shops, such as John's Auto in Aplington, to be evaluated by claims adjusters. Those whose automobiles were destroyed but did not have insurance were being offered cash by several companies for their mangled chariots. The companies may have been turning a quick buck, but were also helping with the excavation and providing cash to those who need it the most.

Staff writer Karen Heinselman contributed to this article.

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.