Kentucky MDS project Update from Joanne

​What Happened?
​From December 10-11, 2021, a major tornado outbreak occurred in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky. This outbreak is the deadliest on record in December, with 89 deaths and at least 55 injuries. Up to 75% of Dawson Springs was destroyed by the ER4 tornado. At least 19 people died as a result.

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March 9, 2024

Dear Friends,

It is a quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon here. The cooks are unloading the dishwashers. A crew leader is repairing a skill saw. I could be loading out my truck for work on Monday. Perhaps the rain will stop and I can do that later. Hank, a crew leader from Winnipeg, said to me “Oh I know a person from Oregon. Do you know them? Their names are Clark and Carolyn Yoder”. And as unlikely as it might seem, I do know Carolyn. They are filbert farmers in Canby who live near my sister-in-law.

Everywhere about me, things have begun to bloom. The willow trees have tiny, bright green leaves. Other trees look like big balls of cotton candy, they are covered with pink or white blooms. It smells like spring.

We are finishing the last five houses here. On March 30, when we all leave, MDS will have built 17 houses in 17 months. Seven of the houses are on Hall Street, where nine people died in the tornado. Homeowners choose the interior and exterior colors for their houses, and Hall Street looks like an Easter Egg of cheerful colors. I have been working at the Ladd house. A group of Amish youth came to paint, install doors and flooring with me last week. They sang throughout the day as we all worked. The group that left this morning is from Illinois, along with a few from Ohio and Kansas. At the Ladd house we built window extensions, installed baseboards and window trim, cabinets and countertops. At the other houses there was mudding and taping going on, painting, and final cleanups on two houses. There is to be a house dedication for Norma Russell’s house this coming Friday.

The days and weeks pass very quickly. We have had a productive mix of talented craftsmen and eager learners. Jobs are broken down to bite-size tasks, instruction and support provided, and the work gets done amidst learning and practice. Then, jigsaw puzzles and Rook take over the focus of evening time together.

Most meaningful has been the times we are visited by homeowners: Lila Torres and her children, 87-year-old Ms Russell, Ms Duke (whose 14-year-old grandson comes to help work on her house with us after school and on weekends), The Davis family. Each of them has a story to tell of the storm, and their hopes for a future in Dawson Springs. Andy, whose house was completed last summer, continues to visit MDS houses each Friday, bringing volunteers donuts and colorful stories of life before and after the tornado in Dawson Springs.

Last summer the Presbyterian Church in Princeton, 15 miles away, hosted a week-long day camp for children. This nationally recognized program is called Camp Noah and helps children who have experienced disaster develop resiliency and coping skills. (Three sessions of this camp have been offered in the Eugene area following the Holiday Farm fire of 2020.) In July Camp Noah will offer their services to the children of eastern Kentucky where severe flooding destroyed houses.

The rain has stopped for the moment, and there is even a bit of sunshine, a good opportunity to load my truck.

Joanne