Fourth in a series

GREENSBURG, Kan. - When the storm system blew through town, a tornado decimated buildings and swept away much that was Greensburg

For all that was lost May 4, 2007, parishioners at the Mennonite church find comfort in their faith and in a cornerstone and time capsule salvaged from the ruins, Pastor Jeff Blackburn said. When his congregation rebuilt, they incorporated both pieces of history into the new structure.

The cornerstone is prominently displayed inside the new church, dedicated on Nov. 2.

"Those are the little things that make people feel protected and secure," Blackburn said.

Eighteen months after the F5 tornado nearly obliterated Greensburg, residents strive to balance the past and the future. The town is rebuilding its houses, businesses and churches.

Even for those focused on the present, last year's tornado continues to affect everyday life. And in some ways, events before the storm feel like something from another life, Blackburn said. At the same time, the calendar seems stuck.

"In some ways, we are not up to May 5 yet."

For many in Greensburg, the tornado offered a different perspective, and many residents are eager to share lessons they learned with Northeast Iowans as they work through recovery from their own natural disasters.

Blessed

In terms of buildings, material possessions and goods, the tornado spared little in Greensburg. The town lost its City Hall, its schools, most of the houses and almost every business. The storm also claimed 11 lives in Greensburg.

"Everything was taken," resident Doug Callis, 66, said.

The storm also dealt a fatal blow to every church in town and nine congregations, and talk circulated that perhaps God had it in for the small Kansas town.

Blackburn and others of faith heartily disagree, pointing out all that happened when the wind subsided. The storm provided opportunities for hurting residents and strangers - who flocked to the rural community to clean up and rebuild - to experience compassion on a grand scale.

After the storm, members of the Kiowa County Ministerial Alliance prioritized its efforts and constructed a thrift shop and food bank. Nancy Reed is the manager.

"God has blessed us so much here," she said.

"If anyone says they haven't been blessed in our town there's something wrong with them," she added.

Accepting a hand, however, isn't always easy.

"We are the ones who help other people, and suddenly we had to learn to accept help," Blackburn said.

The storm knocked down barriers of denomination and class. While Parkersburg and other communities touched by the tornado in Iowa experienced haves and have-nots, Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixson noted almost everyone in his town lost everything.

Pastor Marvin George of First Baptist Church in Greensburg noted an equality that bound the community.

"The playing field was completely leveled for a time period," George said.

For weeks after the storm, the various churches held joint services. The tent meetings served a practical purpose but also cultivated a sense of unity, residents said. Churches continue to worship together though on a less frequent basis, even as congregations return to their own places of worship.

"It was community services that really brought the community together," George said.

In Iowa, some who survived the Parkersburg tornado on May 25 also report a renewed sense of community.

Dustin Kellum, 32, says he talks to his neighbors more than before. As he watches the town rebuild, Kellum, who lost his home in the storm, also feels a deep sense of pride for his town.

Kellum isn't originally from Parkersburg. Those ties belong to his wife. But now, Parkersburg is home.

"I'm never going to leave here," Kellum said.

As Greensburg and Parkersburg rebuild, Sue Greenleaf, a school counselor in Kansas, thinks residents need to periodically take time to celebrate successes.

"I think if you have to dwell somewhere, you dwell in the recovery," Greenleaf said.

Callis, a widower, lost his home in the storm and said he can't afford to rebuild in Greensburg. He is renovating a place in the country. Even so, he chooses to believe good can come from the storm. The challenges reaffirmed the importance of his church family at First Baptist, Callis said.

"I had to believe, whether I understand it or not, that God's ways are perfect," he said.

Lessons

In Greensburg, rows of students wearing winter coats and backpacks file into trailers for math lessons and band practice. They line up again at lunchtime and later for a middle school pep rally.

Since the tornado destroyed both of Greensburg's schools, students attend classes in temporary trailers. The district counted 275 students prior to the storm, according to elementary Principal Staci Derstein. Enrollment is now under 200.

District officials and staff members spent the summer of 2007 tracking down school supplies and preparing trailers to serve as classrooms and offices. Derstein remembers hours spent scrubbing trailers. Three days before the first day of school, the portable structures still had no electricity.

When the first day of school arrived, some students had desks but no chairs. Books and computers took several weeks to arrive, but class was in session.

The Greensburg School District reconstructed a building to serve as a gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium. Officials also installed above-ground tornado shelters, which sit in a row behind the gym.

The setup at the school presents challenges. Storage space is in short supply and athletic teams rely on facilities in neighboring towns, Derstein said. But students and faculty have settled into a routine, and they've had an entire school year and several months to adjust.

"Last year felt like we are reinventing the wheel every time we turned around," Derstein said.

Some Iowa school districts can relate.

In Aplington-Parkersburg, the tornado destroyed the high school. In Dike-New Hartford, high water damaged a school, and in Waverly-Shell Rock, the flood swamped three buildings.

Aplington-Parkersburg shuffled students between two remaining buildings and utilizes several trailers. In Waverly, officials converted a former mall into a school for fifth- and sixth-grade students. Volunteers and staff members were able to save the elementary and middle school in New Hartford.

This summer, Aplington-Parkersburg started work on a new high school. In October, Greensburg officials broke ground for a building to house kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Consistent with efforts in town, the school is designed to be an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly space.

"We are going to end up with much nicer facilities," Derstein said.

Her son also surprised her with a new perspective as Christmas approached last year, saying he didn't really need any presents.

"I think kids appreciated the little things a whole lot more," Derstein said.

Time

Prior to arriving in Greensburg, Blackburn served a church in Indiana. That congregation had weathered its own tornado about 20 years earlier. Blackburn was surprised how often parishioners mentioned the storm decades after the fact.

Now he understands.

Eighteen months after Greensburg's tornado, families are reestablishing their lives. While signs of stress aren't obvious, Blackburn says the disaster continues to affect him, and others, in unexpected ways. Realizations of loss have come in waves, and Blackburn deals with them one at a time.

Signs of progress, like a new home or business, stir mixed feelings. Blackburn and his wife enjoy a beautiful new house, he says, but the rooms and furnishings are unfamiliar and it doesn't feel like home.

Sometimes, anxiety threatens to creep in, even as residents replace what was lost.

"Because you know all this could be blown away again," Blackburn said.

He offers hope to those working to rebuild in Iowa.

"It does get better. Life does come back. It does improve."

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.