COMMUNITY SLOWLY RETURNING TO NORMAL

Salina Journal

Tears were heavy when the morning sun graphically revealed the tornado's devastation.

Stephanie and Larry Hettenbach's home lost its roof in the June 11, 2008, storm, and it was painfully evident that the family had to move.

The garage had fallen in on their cars and their home was littered with debris, but all of the Hettenbachs -- the couple and children Matt and Sara, plus three cats, three dogs, two birds and a fish -- "made it out alive," Stephanie said.

The family spent the night at a neighbor's home. At first light the next morning, Stephanie walked the half-mile to their home, "seeing pieces of our house, pieces of our life," along the way.

"As I turned the corner ... to see it in the light of day was very, very hard," Stephanie said.

Later that morning, as a friend fired up a chain saw "to cut down our house," Stephanie witnessed the first uplifting scene of the recovery.

Seated at the piano, in the dark among the rubble, was her teenage daughter, Sara, playing the Beatles' song, "Let It Be."

"The more of the house that was cut away, the louder she played on the piano," her mother said. "I would have loved to have had it on video."

Sara, a junior to be at Southeast of Saline High School, said she wasn't competing with Doug Chlesener's chain saw, but rather coping with the loss of her home.

"If I'm upset about something that happens at school, or excited, that's how I deal with it. I go play the piano," Sara said.

The piano, now just a touch out of tune, was saved and moved to a rented house in Kipp, where the Hettenbachs lived while their home was being rebuilt.

They have had to live those "Let It Be" lyrics several times over the past year while waiting for their earth berm home at 814 S. Whitmore to be rebuilt.

It was one of several homes east of Salina to be severely damaged or destroyed -- a community on Holmes Road was hardest hit -- by a funnel that minutes earlier had damaged south Salina businesses, among them Crestwood and Philips Lighting.

Trees were downed, fences riddled, sheds and outbuildings obliterated south and east of Salina.

Later that night, a tornado tore through Chapman, flattening a large chunk of the town and destroying most of its school buildings.

"It was very fast, it was loud ... very chaotic," Stephanie said. "There's no doubt in my mind that if we would have been above ground, there would have been nothing left."

Only one post remained from the Hettenbachs' barn on a hill to the west of their home. The shed to the east was gone, she said, along with most of their vehicles.

A smaller barn and the shed have been rebuilt, and the house is "almost identical to what it was," Stephanie said, only now, the home has a storm shelter. Once their carpet is installed, the family -- and their piano -- can move in.

"We're spending tonight (Thursday) there, on the anniversary of the tornado," Stephanie said. The family may be able to move in for good on Sunday.

While she wouldn't recommend the experience, Stephanie Hettenbach echoed the sentiments of many, that the flood of assistance and emotional support from many helped them endure.

"No matter how you try and stand on your own two feet, it's always nice to have somebody there to catch you," she said. "We've always tried to be there for others, so it's a very humbling experience to be caught."

It was a stressful year

Here's what other victims are saying about their tornado rebound:

Cathy and Phil Pieschl knocked down and hauled away what was left of their home at 3135 S. Holmes and rebuilt on the same spot.

They moved in during the second week of May, just before Cathy's daughter, Kylie Losey, graduated from Southeast of Saline High School.

"Almost her entire senior year was spent in an apartment in Salina," Cathy Pieschl said.

With the help of friends and family, Phil, a contractor, and Cathy spent the year rebuilding their home. A storm shelter was added.

"It's totally different. We just started over, and so did the mortgage," Cathy said.

In November, Phil took a week and volunteered on the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" TV show project in Chapman. The centerpiece was a new home for injured war veteran Patrick Tutwiler and his family.

It's been a stressful year, Cathy said.

A registered nurse at Salina Regional Health Center, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. She has recovered since surgery.

The family's lives are so busy that there's hardly been time to pause and give thanks to so many friends and strangers who helped, and the encouragement from many during the months that followed.

"There was so much support. We weren't even able to thank some people who were there the night of the tornado," Cathy said.

In a sense, the rebuilding continues. Two of the Pieschls' five grandchildren are building a swing set in their grandparents' back yard, replacing the one that was taken by the tornado.

"This one's the Cadillac of swing sets," Cathy said. "They're having a lot of fun with it."

Worse than the tornado

Since the tornado knocked their home off of its foundation, destroyed the garage and a barn at 3109 S. Holmes, much has occurred in the lives of Jim and Pat Lennox.

"To be quite honest, it's even been worse than the tornado," Pat Lennox said.

She lost her best friend of 53 years, Cynthia Grassi, of St. Louis, when she was hit by an impaired driver July 10. She died two days later.

Jim Lennox lost his job when Palmer Trucking shut down its Salina operations last month.

The couple sold their house on Holmes Road to Troy Reinert, a Salina contractor, who was reared in that area, and he's repairing and rebuilding it.

"From the road, I'm sure it looked like our home wasn't that bad, but it was totaled by our insurance company," Pat Lennox said.

After spending some time in a hotel, the Lennoxes lived 3Ôªø1âÑ2 months with family near Falun before buying a new home in Salina.

While she will miss the scenery and the country walks, Pat Lennox, an optician at Sears Optical, said they are adjusting to their new digs in town.

Their enthusiasm for life has been tested since June 11, 2008, she said.

Family, friends and many volunteers they don't know helped immensely, Pat said. Their key to recovery has been family support "and believing that everything was going to be all right," she said.

They won't forget the blessings of a "very close" neighborhood.

"That night was awesome. Everybody was crying on each other's shoulder," Pat Lennox said. "The police, fire, Red Cross, everybody was out there. We were still in the basement when firemen came through, screaming to see if we were OK.

"They were on it for sure."

Been a lot of hard work

It took nine weeks for Philip and Cecelia Sanchez to rebuild their home at 3103 S. Holmes. All that was left after the tornado was a walk-out basement.

During construction, they stayed with their son Tim in Salina.

Philip and Cecelia moved back to Holmes Road in September.

Emotions have been mixed, Cecelia said.

"A lot of it's really good. We have a new house and new furniture, but it's been a lot of hard work, too," she said.

Crestwood a better firm

Six employees were in Crestwood's building when the tornado took a substantial portion of its roof at 601 E. Water Well.

Five of them made it to the company storm shelter and one held onto a concrete column, but none were hurt, said Mike Junk, president and part owner of the family business, a custom cabinetry and furniture maker.

Despite sustaining about $2.5 million in damage, Crestwood's recovery was swift, Junk said, thanks to the help of many.

Subcontractors who do business with Crestwood greeted him the next morning.

"They were at our door, saying 'What do we do?' They were all out there," Junk said. "It was very heartwarming."

Crestwood's insurance provider, Salina-based Sunflower Insurance Group, formed a "rapid response team" to serve the business.

"It was another Salina business coming to our rescue," Junk said.

The tornado hit on a Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning, water was being evacuated.

By Monday, production was back to 50 percent, and it was back to 90 percent five days later.

"We built a building inside our building. Then we worked around it," Junk said. "Time's money for us. That tornado hit us at a pretty busy time of year. With the help of the community, we were only late on one delivery, and that was just a few days."

The tornado recovery was a growing experience, Junk said. He praised Crestwood's 165 workers.

"Everybody just stepped up to the challenge and did what it took," he said. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but for us it was a good experience, and we became a better company through it all."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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