After talking to my grandma today, I remembered how deep my roots are here in Elmwood, Ill. I am a sixth generation resident. My great-great-great grandfather established a farm north of town during the Great Land Rush, and it is still being farmed today by my uncle. My 14-month-old daughter is the seventh generation to be born and raised here.
Saturday night, June 5, I was at my mom and dad’s home three miles north of Elmwood. The weather radio alarm goes off and says a tornado has been spotted north of Yates City heading east right towards Elmwood. The skies were clear enough so I ran to look out the front door and there it was. My first twister. Here’s the photo I took just a moment after I saw it.
Here's a look at the tornado that hit my town
All of the grandkids were there so I shouted “everyone in the basement!” My brother got the sleeping kids picked up and downstairs as my wife, her sister and dad got the other children downstairs. I stood watch and kept an eye on the tornado to see which direction it was heading.
The twister (now considered an EF2) set its sights on downtown Elmwood, which we can see from three miles away. Transformers were exploding and debris was flying along the horizon. The National Weather Service said it touched down near Elmwood City Hall.
I was afraid of two things as the tornado touched down.
- My COUNTRY Financial office is near City Hall.
- My home is only a few blocks away from my office.
At that point I started praying the twister would just lift up and go away. A few seconds later, that’s exactly what it did. It was over and I was fairly confident my home was safe.
From Sunday morning on, everything was a blur. My agency manager Mike Weber met up with me first thing and we went up town to look at the damage. Most of the downtown buildings suffered major loss. It’s a miracle and a blessing that no one was seriously hurt or killed.
Here's a look at the downtown after the tornado ripped through.
We surveyed damage around town (a lot of my clients are based in downtown Elmwood) so we could give our adjusters a rough idea of the extent of the damages. We also had to check out the damages to my office, too.
There was plenty of damage, but oddly very little damage to my desk. Every piece of paper on my desk was still in the same spot. Both deer heads hanging on the wall were still in their place (although they did have insulation hanging off their antlers). The pictures of my wife and 14-month-old daughter didn’t move an inch. How can a tornado have the power to suck the wall off my building but leave my desk as is? It makes no sense.
Thanks for leaving the laptop, twister. That’s all I need to start helping my clients.
Monday morning came early. I started the day by hanging a COUNTRY banner on the front porch of my home to show I was open for business. I asked my office assistant to report to my dining room first thing Monday. We were back in business ready to serve our clients with their storm claims.
The Vaughan residence – my temporary office.
Once we were up and running out of my kitchen, I had to start the clean up process at my office building. With a lot of help from fellow COUNTRY Financial representatives, we filled a trailer top to bottom. If you can believe it, every single important document and file was accounted for, removed and safely stored. And yes, the deer heads are safe, too!!! 
There used to be a wall there.
This is what’s left of my office.
From there, I headed to another city meeting to start discussing “Rebuilding Elmwood” and to focus on next steps. The display of town loyalty by Elmwood residents has been amazing. Lives and buildings have been torn apart, but the pride remains. More than 200 people showed up to discuss the best way to rebuild a community worthy of its tremendous spirit.
It’s midnight as I write this and preparing for another day of uncertainty. But one thing is certain. If little Claire wants to bring an eighth generation of my family into this world, she’ll be able to do it in Elmwood. We’ll rebuild . . . stronger than ever.
Do you want to see what I saw? Check out this amazing video which shows the Elmwood tornado from beginning to end.
(David Vaughan is a COUNTRY Financial Representative and Elmwood, Illinois resident)
