A Terrible Disaster

A Terrible Disaster

By Cort Witt

It was late one night in 1995.  The wind was howling through the open window.  They had announced on the television that we had been placed under a tornado watch and the storm should arrive shortly.  

Dan had to work in the barn later than normal that evening.  I was sitting in the house taking care of our two children.  Karen had just turned ten and I had just returned from the hospital after having John a week ago.  

Normally, Dan and I would work together in the field during the day and then return home to milk the cows together in the evening.  We had not yet asked Karen to start helping on the farm.  We had inherited a tie stall barn from Dan’s father who had moved into a retirement home only one year ago.  

However, tonight was different.  I was not feeling well enough yet to go out and milk the cows so Dan was doing the chores himself tonight.  As we were watching the television, a warning flashed across the screen saying that we have been placed under a tornado warning and we must take shelter immediately.  They had also said the the tornado was headed straight for our small town of Bowling Green, MO and it was an F3 funnel.  I quickly placed new baby John onto Karen’s lap and ran to the barn.

I yelled, “Dan! Come quick!”. 

“What’s wrong honey?”.

  “There is a funnel on the ground headed straight here!”. 

“I will tie up the cows and be in a second.” 

I hurried back to the house and grabbed John and told Karen to follow me to the basement.  When we got settled under the stairs in the basement, we could hear the wind howling and tearing at the trees outside.  John was crying as loud as he could and Karen was holding onto me shaking.  I kept thinking that I should’ve grabbed John’s bottle before we ran down stairs but I was not going to run back upstairs and get it now.  

I began to think about Dan after a few minutes had passed.  I was asking myself, “Is he O.K.?  Does he need me to come out and help him?”.  All this thinking was just making me more and more worried.  I don’t think I am going to be able to raise these children and run a farm by myself!  I needed Dan.  

I was pondering what I could do to make Karen feel better because me being scared was surely not helping.  I came to the conclusion that we should all say a prayer together.  We began, “Lord, please bring daddy in here safely.  Please let us know that he is all right and safe.  Please also keep our house and barn safe from destruction.  Thank you for all that you do for us, Lord.  Amen.”

That seemed to calm Karen and I down.  The Bible said that the Lord is always there to comfort you when you needed, and I needed him now more than ever.  Even though Karen and I had calmed down a little, John was a different story.  He was still crying, now louder than ever.

I wasn’t normally a person who worries a lot, but Dan still hadn’t returned.  It had been around ten minutes now and I was more worried than I had ever been.  My heart was starting to beat faster now and I was starting to assume the worst.  I didn’t want to show Karen that I thought something was wrong because that would make matters much worse.  

It sounded like the worst of the storm was now hitting.  You could start to feel the cold air blow in and the wind was screaming outside.  Then, all of a sudden, a huge crash hit the side of the house.  Karen and I both screamed and John began to cry.  We looked up for a second and then we saw the roof fly off and all we could see was the funnel cloud above us.  

Dan finally runs inside and yells “Sarah! I will always love you!”  Then I told Karen to look away and then Dan was sucked into the funnel cloud. 

That was the last time we ever saw Dan again.  His body was never found.  I cried for weeks after the twister tore through.  It consumed part of the house, the barn, and all of our machinery was destroyed.  

Most of all, Dan was gone.  He was the love of my life and an amazing dad.  He always knew how to cheer me up when I was sad and calm the children when they were sad. 

I think that most of all Karen was hurt the most.  She quit trying in school and her grades fell significantly.  I took her to get some emotional help.  She started seeing the same lady every day for a couple years.  She worked through her trouble and began to live a more happy life.  

John never knew his father.  I am sort of glad that he doesn’t remember seeing his dad being sucked into the tornado.  I raised John by myself and it was a challenge almost everyday.

We never farmed again.  We moved to an apartment in the city for the remainder of the children's childhood. 

Karen married a farmer in 2005 and became a stay at home mom with three beautiful children.  John married a gorgeous girl in 2017 and became a banker for the largest bank in St. Louis and his wife is expecting.  

I know Dan would be very proud of our children just like I am today.