Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Faribault flooding, more photos September 27, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:48 AM
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This image, taken Saturday afternoon, shows flooded Second Avenue N.W. looking toward Faribault Foods' offices and canning company on the left, and the former Faribo Woolen Mill and Alexander North Park on the right.

FOR ANYONE WHO’S TIRING of my flood photos, I offer no apologies. Right now we Faribault residents are a bit obsessed with the natural disaster that has struck our town.

As I’ve toured the flooded areas during the past several days, I’ve discovered a sense of community that I’ve never felt in my 28 years here. As we gather along the banks of swollen rivers, peer over bridges, stand beside flooded roads, we understand that we are not only witnessing history, but we are a part of history.

That bonds us. We exchange stories—of raw sewage in basements, of failed sump pumps, of  “I’ve never seen the river this high.” While our stories may differ in detail, the setting, here, in our Midwestern community along the Cannon and Straight rivers, is the common thread that weaves together our experiences.

We can’t stop taking photos, which, pieced together, become a patchwork quilt of memories, of history, of stories.

This shot taken from North Alexander Park frames the former Faribo Woolen Mill along the banks of the flooded Cannon River. The two dams here are no longer visible, river water touches the bottoms of the two bridges and some park land is under water.

The flooded Cannon River by the former Faribo Woolen Mill on the right and Faribault Foods canning company on the left along Second Avenue N.W.. The Woolen Mill dam is no longer visible.

This picnic shelter in Father Slevin Park, on a wedge of land between two branches/two dams of the Cannon River by the former Faribo Woolen Mill was covered with river water.

Cannon River waters edged onto park land near the entrance to North Alexander Park.

Water from the swollen Cannon River covers the roadway into North Alexander Park.

The Cannon River skims both bridges along Second Avenue N.W. To the right is Faribault Foods canning plant.

The bike trail to the left (not pictured) near Second Avenue N.W. is flooded.

I shot this scene along Second Avenue N.W. by the Rice County Historical society. Homeowners through-out Faribault have been pumping water, or raw sewage, from basements.

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ALL OF THESE FLOOD PHOTOS were taken Saturday afternoon, September 25, 2010, from North Alexander Park and along Second Avenue N.W. by the Rice County Historical Society.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Faribault flooding update September 24, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:48 PM
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Under the viaduct, in an area that is typically dry land, the Straight River has spilled outside its banks.

THE ANGRY RIVER DRAWS me, as close as I dare walk to the raging waters. I cannot stay away. For the third time in 24 hours, I have moved in close, taken photos, captured in digital format this history, this flooding of Faribault that I am witnessing.

I am not alone. Residents, young and old, are drawn to the water. Dads bring their children, clasp their hands tightly, keeping them safe from the muddy, churning waters. An old man hobbles to the edge of the Straight River under the viaduct, lifts his cane and points. Others flip open their cell phones, snap images.

A man snaps a photo with his cell phone of the floodwaters under the viaduct.

The Straight River runs through TeePee Tonka Park, a low-lying area prone to flooding. Here water covers the WPA bridge leading into the park.

As the sun begins to slide in the sky, glaring across the water’s surface, I take photos. I climb the hill and stairs to the viaduct, intending to shoot a bird’s eye view of the flooded river far below. But, because I am afraid of heights, I cannot force myself to walk onto the bridge and I turn around.

A few blocks away, I slip past the barriers barricading Ravine Street near Faribault Dairy on the banks of the Straight River. I walk past the bright orange sign that warns DANGER RAW SEWAGE SPILL.

A warning sign on closed Ravine Street near Faribault Dairy.

A company employee outfitted in blue and wearing knee high waders guards the entry to the cheese plant. I figure he might give me some information. But he says only, “Everything’s secure and under control. That’s all I can tell you.” He suggests I check a Web site and then says I need to move back, on the other side of the sidewalk line that separates public property from private. My toes are only inches across the line, but he has his orders and I respect those.

An employee guards the entry to Faribault Dairy, which makes my favorite blue cheese, among other cheeses.

Near the wastewater treatment plant, I cannot believe how much the Straight River has risen in 24 hours. Water now skims the bottom of the bridge. The plant is nearly submerged.

Water has flooded into the wastewater treatment plant along the Straight River.

Water skims the bottom of the bridge across the Straight River on 14th St. N.E. by the wastewater treatment plant.

There I meet a young man who tells me that his sister was getting ready to move into the home she purchased about a year ago right next to the viaduct. She’s been redoing the house. But the Straight River overflowed, flooded the basement with three feet and seven inches of water, he says. With three sump pumps working, the water has now receded to 27 inches.

The basement of this house near the Straight River by the viaduct was flooded with 43 inches of water.

By the Faribo Woolen Mill, I duck under yellow police tape to view the flooding of the Cannon River. As I walk onto the Second Avenue N.W. bridge—the road is closed—I wonder for a moment if this bridge could be swept away like the one in Oronoco. The water is that fast, that scary.

Then, as I leave, a cop car arrives and I think that I’ve left just in time. I know I should not have crossed the yellow tape. But, like all the others who have come to see this moment in history, I cannot stay away.

The Cannon River has risen to bridge level on Second Avenue N.W. by the Woolen Mill Dam.

The Cannon River has risen perhaps 15 feet next to the former Faribo Woolen Mill building, which snuggles against the river by the dam.

Water covers portions of Second Avenue N.W. and land by Faribault Foods.

A scene on Second Avenue N.W. near Faribault Foods.

These photos were taken between 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Friday evening.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Advice to residents of flooded Faribault: “Stay home”

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:44 PM
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BASED ON THE VOLUME of traffic passing by my home along one of Faribault’s primary streets, I’d guess that locals are not heeding the advice of city officials to “stay home” while our community is dealing with floodwaters.

“The City of Faribault asks all residents to stay at home and please refrain from using City water until further notice. Thank you for your cooperation,” reads an Emergency Alert posted on the city Web site.

Believe me, I’ve been tempted, too, to ignore that directive and tour the flooded areas. Again. Twice now I’ve surveyed the town.

When my friend Deb called late this morning to invite me on a ride-along, I declined, but not without reservations. I needed to finish a writing project before deadline and I had already been out once today snapping photos.

So, now, as I write, endless vehicles rush by my house at the rate of our typical morning and evening “rush hour,” which, I’m certain to metro dwellers, would not classify as a “rush hour.” But I can definitely tell more motorists are out and about than usual.

As for conserving water, I’m not washing clothes today, as I typically do on Friday.

I’ve also refrained from flushing the toilet after each use.

Then I read these additional Emergency Alerts on the city Web site:

  • “The water system is in operation and there has been no failure. It is ok to flush your toilet.”
  • “The water is safe to drink.”

Drink and flush. I’m good to go as long as I don’t go…and tour the flooded areas of town.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Flooding in Faribault, day two

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:11 AM
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The American Legion and Heritage Place businesses, a block from downtown, are surrounded by flood waters.

WE ARE IN TO DAY TWO OF FLOODING here in Faribault, where an emergency was declared last evening by Mayor John Jasinski.

The Cannon and Straight rivers have overflowed their banks in areas. Crews have been sandbagging some homes and businesses. Several streets are closed, including a portion of Second Avenue N.W. where the road crosses the Cannon River. This is a main arterial route through the city.  An electrical substation is flooded. The wastewater treatment plant is threatened.

We’ve been instructed to limit water usage and to avoid unnecessary travel around town.

In the 28 years I’ve lived in the Faribault area, I have never seen the rivers this high.

Except for a two-hour power outage this morning, my family remains unaffected. Our home lies several blocks from the Straight River, but we have no reason to worry.

Here are some photos I shot shortly after 7 this morning.

Crews have sandbagged Boston's Restaurant along Minnesota Highway 60. The parking lot is under water.

Another image of Boston's, a popular Faribault restaurant near the Straight River.

Motorists pulled off Minnesota Highway 60 near the viaduct to photograph floodwaters and Boston's.

Water pooled in a low area near the viaduct and into Boston's parking lot.

An electrical substation and Lockerby Sheet Metal near the Straight River are surrounded by floodwaters.

Just another shot of the flooding around Lockerby.

Heritage Place businesses are surrounded by water.

Flooding at the American Legion, which sits at the bottom of a hill and not far from the Straight River.

Numerous roads around Faribault are closed like this one by the Legion.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Flooding in Faribault September 23, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:42 PM
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Sometime between 6 - 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Second Avenue N.W. in Faribault, where it crosses the Cannon River, was closed. Two dams are located next to this stretch of now flooded roadway.

“AREN’T YOU GLAD it isn’t snow?” my husband asks as I review his summary of rain gauge totals from our backyard in southern Faribault:

  • 2.7 inches from 6 p.m. Sept. 22 to 8 a.m. Sept. 23
  • 1.6 inches from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sept. 23
  • Plus whatever rain fell before 6 p.m. Sept. 22, an estimated 1 – 1 ½ inches

We are swimming in water here and the rain continues to fall.

Earlier this evening we toured the town—yes, we were gawkers—and found swollen rivers and closed roads. Four-lane Second Avenue N.W., as it crosses the Cannon River, was flooded with four inches of water and down to two lanes when Randy drove across the bridge around 6 p.m. A half hour later, officials had closed the street.

Near the blocked road and behind the former Faribo Woolen Mill, we met a homeowner in hip waders waiting for the city to deliver sandbags to his riverside home. His property hadn’t flooded yet, but he was worried. He’s lived there since 1985 and never seen the river so high, he says.

Nor have we. Randy has lived here for 32 years. I’ve been here for 28.

Standing atop a bridge on the north end of Faribault, I snapped images of the rushing Straight River. Even from the safety of the road, I felt unsettled, watching as the muddy waters churned and roiled and rushed away, edging away from the constraints of the rain-logged banks.

The rain is expected to continue into Friday.

A view of the raging Straight River from a bridge on the north end of Faribault.

Second Avenue N.W., which crosses the Cannon River, was blocked at Faribault Foods.

The Straight River spilled over its banks into a parking lot and loading dock area at Faribault Foods.

The Cannon River overflowed its banks behind the former Faribo Woolen Mill. Next door, to the left in this photo, a homeowner awaited sandbags to protect his home.

In South Alexander Park, the Cannon River spilled onto park land.

Along Ravine Street, crews kept a watchful eye on the Straight River.

Flood waters caused the closing of a portion of Heritage Place at Heritage Park.

Officials closed flooded TeePee Tonka Park near the Straight River viaduct in the central part of Faribault.

The Straight River on the north end of Faribault continues to rise.

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Most of these photos were taken through the windows of a car in fading daylight.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A ray of sunshine on a rainy, rainy day in Minnesota

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:34 PM
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IN BETWEEN ALL the rainstorms that have defined today and yesterday and so many days here in Minnesota this September, I offer a ray of sunshine.

I am sitting here in my office typing this as the preschool neighbor boy I’ve never met, because our busy, busy street seems as wide as the mighty Mississippi, splashes in water puddled on dips in the uneven sidewalk.

Until this moment in this rainiest of days, I have thought only of how very sick and tired I am of all the non-stop rain, the gloom, this weariness that has descended upon autumn.

And then I see this boy, this happy, happy boy dressed in his sunny yellow t-shirt, khaki pants and flip flops splish-splashing through the water.

Father and son have been outside for more than 15 minutes now. Together they’ve run through the puddles, stomped their feet, splashed and jumped. Run and leap. Turn around and race again through the pooled waters.

I cannot stop watching them.

On this day when I’ve heard of flooded roads and flooded basements, closed schools and rising rivers and more rain in the forecast, I am smiling.

I am smiling at the young father, clad in a tank top and shorts and flip flops. He doesn’t care whether his boy gets his clothes dirty or his feet wet. With the wave of his arm, he encourages his son to forge through the water.

For a moment I have forgotten about the gloom of the day. I see only sunshine.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Minnesota heat wave, Argentine polar wave…what’s with this crazy weather? August 12, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:19 AM
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WHEN MY DAUGHTER e-mailed recently from Argentina complaining about the cold weather, I wasn’t too sympathetic. It’s winter there. What does she expect?

Plus, I’d welcome a blast of chilly air right now to ice down this interminable, steamy hot summer we’ve had in Minnesota.

But then I started thinking, as I’m apt to do, and sent her a list of questions, as I’m apt to do. Fortunately, my second-born indulged my curiosity and replied with an informational e-mail about South America’s recent “polar wave.”

Even that phrase, “polar wave,” makes me smugly smirk as I think of “Arctic air” and “Alberta clippers” in Minnesota. What do these South Americans know about frigid temperatures anyway? Have they ever endured temps or windchills in the double digits below zero like us hardy northerners?

Once I overcame my oversized Paul Bunyan attitude of superiority, I attempted to objectively consider my daughter’s southern weather report.

She wrote: “The polar wave, or La Ola Polar, supposedly is cold air that comes up from Antarctica. It may last for a few days or a whole week, it depends. I think they start calling it a polar wave when it’s around 0 degrees Celsius or lower (32 degrees F). People usually just put on heavier jackets. Gloves and scarves are common, too. You won’t see a large amount of people with hats, though.”

OK, no stocking caps, no ear flaps, no wool coats or parkas or winter boots. And, for gosh sakes, don’t those Argentines know that your fingers will stay warmer if you wear mittens instead of gloves?

Then, surprise, surprise, “some places in Argentina even got snow,” my 22-year-old daughter continues. “For my friend Sam in Tucuman, it was his first time seeing snow! An article in the Clarin (Buenos Aires daily newspaper) from August 4 said that on August 3, it got to  -7.1 degrees C (around 19-20 degrees F), with a windchill of -11.5 C (about 11 F) in San Antonio Oeste in the Río Negro province, and that was the lowest temp recorded for the day. Another Clarin article said that on Aug. 4 the coldest place in the country was in Río Mayo in the Chubut province, where it got to -25 C (-13F). This was the coldest temperature recorded in the past 5 years. In the Mendoza province, they had to suspend classes in 23 schools b/c the pipes froze.”

About then I realized that maybe this polar wave isn’t all that humorous. Likely, these South Americans don’t have the heating systems or insulated homes to deal with such unexpected frigid air. And, certainly, they don’t have the seasoned, inbred knowledge we Midwesterners have for comfortably surviving harsh winters.

After a bit of online research, I discovered that this recent cold weather has claimed many lives—in Bolivia, 18; Paraguay, 10; and Argentina, eight (in a single weekend), according to a July 20 CNN World report.

Thankfully, weather conditions are improving in South America, including Buenos Aires where my daughter lives. “After a week in the 35-40 degree range, it’s now around 55-60 degrees,” she tells me.

The warmer weather arrives in Argentina just in time for the arrival of her older sister today from Minneapolis.

I’ll be curious to hear: Which does she prefer, Minnesota heat wave or Argentine polar wave?

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Minnesota or Arkansas, heat or mosquitoes… August 11, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:47 AM
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WHEN MY UNCLE BOB proclaimed last week that he had just gotten his first mosquito bite in 15 years, I nearly flipped over in my lawn chair.

But I quickly rebounded. “Well, then,” I suggested, looking him squarely in the eye, “why don’t you take a whole van load back to Arkansas.”

He declined my offer while my Aunt Rae disputed his 15-year claim. Despite the differing opinions, I surmised that mosquitoes apparently aren’t all that common in northern Arkansas where my relatives retired to from Minneapolis 15 years ago.

But I’ve heard about the unbearable, muggy, oppressive heat down there, similar to what we’ve experienced in Minnesota this summer.

However, on the day my aunt and uncle visited my Faribault home last week, the weather was picture perfect after a string of unbearable, muggy, oppressive days. As we sat on the patio visiting, Bob remarked how nice it was to sit outside in the cool evening air.

I, too, was enjoying the respite from the heat and humidity, and from being cooped up inside in the air conditioning.

As dusk approached, my relatives announced that they should leave for their daughter’s Minneapolis home, their day’s final destination.

“Come down and visit us sometime,” Aunt Rae invited, as she does every time I see her and Uncle Bob.

I was non-committal. I’ve already had enough of the heat and humidity, I thought to myself. But that mosquito-free environment did tempt me, for just a second.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Minnesota teen debuts Dylan-style hit, “The Unforgettable Storm” July 30, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:27 AM
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TAKE NOTE, DYLAN FANS. Minnesota musician Emily Mattison’s debut performance of a Bob-Dylan-style song this past weekend has fans buzzing about this talented teen.

Strumming her guitar and following the talk-sing style of Dylan, the 16-year-old presented “The Unforgettable Storm” to a small-town audience in a city park edged by cornfields.

Fans embraced and applauded the young singer for her original lyrics that accurately captured one woman’s experience during a severe storm that ravaged the state Friday night.

Emily sang this rendition of a memorable ride through that storm following the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove:

Going home to Vesta

From the Pageant

A bunch of happy campers…not.

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It was storming

The wind was howling

It was one of those Minnesota Moments*

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My heart was pounding

The weeds were laying flat

And, mom, I saw them

It was very scary

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At the Pageant

I’d had a good time

Watching Laura Ingalls in real life

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But after it ended

The ride home was terrible

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I put my camera on the floor

I don’t know what I was thinking

I was just waiting and praying

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When the ride

Finally ended

I screamed “thank you, God!”

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Then I went to my mother

And I gave her a hug

“that was so scary”

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But now we can joke about it

I don’t have to worry about it

I wish I’d taken some pictures

Of the unforgettable storm

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The unforgettable storm

Yeah, the unforgettable storm.

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Yup, Emily’s version of my experience caught on the road with three other family members during a severe thunderstorm that packed 70 mph winds is spot on accurate. I did enjoy the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove. I did see the weeds blown flat along the side of the road.

My heart was pounding. I was praying. I did set my camera bag at my feet in the rocking car. (Why didn’t I take pictures?)

Yes, I hugged my mom and said, “that was so scary” when we safely reached her house an hour after we began the 20-mile drive back to Vesta.

I didn’t scream thanks to God, but I did quietly thank him. That’s OK, Emily. “Scream” sounds more dramatic and there was a lot of drama Friday night, at least for me.

The storm was, as Emily sang in verse three, “one of those Minnesota Moments.” A clever choice of words given I write for Minnesota Moments magazine.

Thanks, Emily, for putting a humorous spin on a truly terrifying experience. And thanks for publicly performing your original hit, per my gentle (maybe not-so-gentle) prodding at the annual Kletscher family reunion.

I loved the song, even if I didn’t love the unforgettable storm.

Minnesota musician Emily Mattison

TWIN CITIES AREA musician Emily Mattison is a member of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, has been playing violin for six years, guitar for two and nine months ago began strumming the ukulele. She wrote the lyrics for “The Unforgettable Storm” in about 20 minutes.

© Text Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

© Lyrics Copyright 2010 Emily Mattison

Photo courtesy of Ronda Mattison

 

Terrifying tornado tales from Minnesota June 24, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:22 AM
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ONE WEEK AGO TODAY, numerous tornadoes ravaged Minnesota, killing three, destroying hundreds of homes and injuring many.

This morning, thankfully, weather conditions are calm with low humidity and no indications that more storms could develop.

Even so, we Minnesotans remain unsettled, still reeling from the destruction wreaked upon this land, and upon our psyches, only seven days ago.

Memories of such devastation linger for years, if not decades. Just last night, while working on a trivia contest for an upcoming reunion, I am paging through a family history book when I come upon a story written by my Uncle Merlin, the family historian.

He writes of an F5 tornado (the most powerful) which decimated the small southwestern Minnesota farming community of Tracy on June 13, 1968, killing nine. At the time, Merlin, his wife and their two young children lived about 20 miles away just outside of Lamberton three towns directly east of Tracy along U.S. Highway 14.

My uncle had just returned home from work when the weather turned ominous. “We were watching for tornadoes as the conditions were right,” he writes. “Then to the southwest we saw it—a huge tornado. As we watched, we saw large amounts of debris lifted into the sky—we thought it hit Revere and about that time Iylene (his wife) took one-year-old Janelle and I took Ronda down into the basement. About an hour later we found out that this tornado hit Tracy causing a large amount of destruction and costing several lives.”

Reading my uncle’s story, I feel his anxiety as he rushes his young family to safety, fearing the twister is within miles of his home.

Then I flip the page of the history booklet and read of Merlin’s first tornado encounter, on today’s date—June 24—in1953 or 1954. Although only about 10 years old when a twister struck his childhood farm south of Vesta, he clearly remembers the details and that day, his sister Elvira’s wedding anniversary.

“The sky turned all kinds of colors and we kids were really scared,” my uncle remembers. “My dad and brothers were out doing the chores and milking the cows. Harold (his brother) got caught in the hog barn as it hit and my dad and one of my brothers had to hold the double doors of the barn closed on one end and two of my other brothers did the same on the other end.”

His words draw me in, placing me there in the barn with my grandfather and uncles as they hunker down, struggling against the fierce winds to hold the barn doors in place.

“There was one loud crash and then stillness,” Merlin continues. “My sister Jeanette looked out the north window of the house and shouted, ‘Mom, the whole grove is gone.’ That was really close.”

The tornado spared the house and farm buildings, but destroyed the stand of trees sheltering the farm site on the flat, open prairie of southwestern Minnesota.

Almost three decades later a twister struck nearby, on the farm where I grew up, taking down a silo, tossing wagons about in the field, ripping a railing from the house… Even though I was grown then and no longer living at home, the psychological impact of that storm still remains.

I fear tornadoes, a fear imprinted upon me after viewing the devastation wreaked upon Tracy in 1968 and then reinforced all those years later on my home farm. I sometimes dream about tornadoes.

Yet, I know my dreams, my feelings, are nothing compared to those Minnesotans who experienced the destructive tornadoes of a week ago. For them, nightmares are reality.

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IF YOU HAVE A TORNADO story you would like to share, please submit a comment to this post.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling