2011 Massachusetts tornadoes: 1 year later, residents tell their stories

Editor’s note: Some of the personal vignettes featured in this article are among the stories compiled by Jenna Weiss-Berman for “Storm Stories: Path of Fury,” a multimedia exhibition that looks back at the June 1 tornado. The exhibit opens on the anniversary at the Museum of Springfield History at the Quadrangle in Springfield and runs through Oct. 28.

“Storm Stories: Path of Fury” is sponsored by MassMutual Financial Group and was developed in collaboration with New England Public Radio, The Republican, MassLive.com, and WGBY Public Television for Western New England. It includes audio interviews with area residents who lived through the storm, news photos of the damage, video footage documenting the event, and a large graphic display with photos showing the path of the EF-3 tornado.

Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to write down their own storm stories, and these recollections will be added to the museum archives.

Helen L. Edgar | Springfield:

"I certainly know when the sun rises (now). There are no more trees. It was like King Kong took a walk during the tornado. It has caused a lot of anxiety. I think it will get better. I’m getting more positive."

John P. Giordano | West Springfield:

"The sky was different colors, green and blue, colors I had never seen before. They swirled together to make them one color. I had quite a few friends who lost their homes. I think scary would be an understatement. Frightening was what it was, like a war zone."

Keya Hicks | Springfield:

I can appreciate the experience that I had. It really gave me a new lease at life. To treasure the things that mean the most in this world and in this life because it could all be gone. So it’s been a spiritual learning experience for me.

Karen King | Monson
Founder, Street Angels:

"I think there’s definitely a resolve with the people of Monson, and that everyone is helping each other. If there’s anything this tornado has done it’s brought us even more together. We were a close-knit community to begin with but this has just really been an event that really has brought a lot of people who care together."

Danielle Koziol | Monson:

"Something that was really surprising was that I started noticing all this new growth. My husband came in one afternoon and said “Hey, we’ve got corn growing in our fire pit.” And I said, “You’re out of your mind.” He came in a few days later and said, “We’ve got tomatoes in the woods.” And I said, “No, that’s ridiculous.” But then his mother came over; she’s kind of an expert grower; she loves gardening. So when she said it was corn and tomatoes, I believed her.

We all went inside and I noticed what looked like a gigantic sunflower across the street growing right in front of the collapsed house. I called my husband and my mother-in-law over and said, “Hey, look at that. It looks like a sunflower growing in front of Bill’s house.”

And sure enough, it was a gigantic sunflower planted by the tornado, growing right in front of the collapsed house. Afterwards, I started noticing sunflowers pop up all over my yard. So not only did we have corn and tomatoes, we now had sunflowers.

About a month later, I noticed something new growing across the street near our mailbox. And I started looking for new growth after this. Even if it was just weeds, I was interested.

Because the land had been cleared, the trees were either down or they had been taken away so there was a lot of sunlight. What I found growing across the street near my mailbox turned out to be a pumpkin patch. When it started to grow into the road, I moved the vine to make sure nobody saw it or would run it over or weed it. And sure enough a few months later we had beautiful bright orange, perfectly round pumpkins growing across the street. We had corn in our fire pit, sunflowers; I even ate the tomatoes that were in the woods all summer. So next year I definitely plan on planting a garden, and I know June first is a great time to do that."

Christine LaFlamme | Springfield:

"My biggest battle is having to learn the law about how to handle all of this. Having to be very strong when you’re very sad. Wondering if your insurance is the proper insurance to handle this situation. Which luckily mine was. My insurance company, Arbella, has been wonderful. My mortgage company has been very difficult. It’s a constant battle. I can’t believe that you have to know what you have to know. And I know that there are people taken advantage of that aren’t smart enough to fight for their rights. And you really have to learn and take advantage of the help that’s out there. Because there is a lot of help. It’s not so easy to get sometimes, but if you really persist on it, it’s there."

Rick Lee | Holyoke | Executive Director, Pioneer Valley Chapter, American Red Cross:

"I think if someone had asked me before June 1, ‘Are we a close knit community,’ I’m not sure I would have said yes. But, after the first of June we really behaved like it, and it was a great thing to see."

Carla M. Lussier | Westfield | Principal, Munger Hill School:

"I was on my way home to Ludlow and the storm seemed to just follow me. Fortunately, we only experienced heavy rain there. As for Munger Hill School, we now send checks to the Midwest and other areas being hit by tornadoes from our dress -down days. We now know what it is like to experience such destruction."

Gretchen Neggers | Monson | Town Administrator:

"It didn’t sink in at first how long long-term recovery really is. Every day since June 1, there’s been something in the day that required time and attention from me that was a response to the tornado."

Thomas J. Perks | Springfield | Salvation Army Citadel Commander:

"The tornado experience greatly expanded my understanding of community response by government, companies and agencies like ours. The massive outpouring of people coming together reminded me we are all so connected and that there are good hearts and will out there. It made us realize every moment counts."

Michelle Phipps | Monson:

"It’s definitely different. I still expect to walk in the old house."

Maria Elsie Sanchez | Springfield:

"We do know now that we are a strong community, and we can come together and change the circumstances. And, I think the most important thing is knowing that every single human being deserves a roof, deserves water, deserves the resources they need. And we are here to support each other."

Roy E. Spring | West Springfield:

"It was like being in the Wizard of Oz, you know what I mean. I haven’t been the same since. I had to leave (my apartment on Merrick Street due to damage). It just upset life in general to be there."

Barbara Wurtzel | Northampton | Patron at Red Rose Pizzeria, Springfield

"I think there’s almost a sense of disbelief about it. And, although I saw the pictures and I understand about it, I still can’t quite accept that I went through it."