The Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross hopes to find other avenues of assistance to aid tornado victims.

Tuesday, May 29, 2001

The Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross hopes to find other avenues of assistance to aid tornado victims.

One of those victims is frustrated over the help offered him and which he has paid for.

So it goes more than three weeks after the May 1 tornado swept through eastern Freeborn County and far western Mower County.

The Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross announced the Federal Emergency Management Association’s hot line will accept telephone registration for Mower County individuals who were affected by the May 1 tornado. That number for FEMA is (800) 462-9029.

"We are so thrilled to be able to find additional resources for those individuals who were affected by this devastating storm," Mary Goetz, assistant director of the Mower County Red Cross chapter, said.

"The Red Cross cares very much and is thankful to our Disaster Services volunteers, who worked diligently to aid their friends and neighbors when disaster strikes," Goetz said.

Historic barn damaged

Lost in the shuffle when a storm strikes are those victims who live in rural areas. While population centers receive immediate attention and publicity from the media, rural residents who are victims of natural disasters sometimes languish.

Ralph and Agnes Waters are an example.

For two days after the May 1 storm, they did not have electrical power to their Turtle Ridge farmstead in far western Lansing Township in Mower County.

To hamper the work of utilities crews, the gravel roads suffered frost boils and their hard, compacted surfaces turned soft and impassable to heavy vehicles.

The Waterses were home when the May 1 tornado struck. They watched the skies and listened to radio news reports before taking shelter in their basement.

A daughter, DeeDee (Mrs. Richard) Bergstrom telephoned her parents to warn them the tornado that struck Glenville was heading for Austin and ordered them to take cover.

"All I know is that it sounded like a freight train coming down the track at a high rate of speed, but the only thing is there wasn’t any track, so we know it was a tornado," Ralph Waters said.

The farm belonged to Agnes Waters’ great-grandfather, Jonas Haney, who homestead it in 1861. It is a bona fide Minnesota Century Farm and then some.

"It was the worst storm we’ve ever had out here since 1941," said Agnes, who was born and raised on the Turtle Ridge farm.

When the hail and rain stopped and the "freight trainlike" sounds of the tornado rushing overhead, the Waterses climbed upstairs from their basement to survey the damage.

Seven generations of her family have lived in the house she occupies with her husband and Agnes Waters had never seen anything like it.

Huge maple trees lay snapped at the trunk, the roof of a machine shed was pulled loose, smaller buildings were moved all around to new locations, a cement stave silo had holes in it and then, worse yet, the grand old red barn was damaged.

"It was a wooden pegged barn, that’s what it was," Ralph Waters said. "There ain’t a single nail in that barn. Several years ago, we used to have Christmas eve services in that barn. It was built by Agnes’ family and there ain’t another one like it."

Ralph and Agnes Waters are now cleaning up the mess of the May 1 storm in time for their much-anticipated 60th wedding anniversary on June 22.

But weather has proven to be the least of their worries.

Although the barn is insured, the insurance company has offered the couple far less than the building is valued and the couple and the company are still haggling.

"When something like this happens, people don’t know all the damage it can cause out in the country. Now, we know," Ralph Waters said.

Red Cross needs help

All Red Cross disaster assistance is a "gift," according to Goetz, made possible by the generous support of the American people.

To make a contribution to the Red Cross for disaster services, send the check to Mower County Chapter, American Red Cross, 305 Fourth Ave. NW, Austin, Minn. 55912.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.