GREENVILLE – The May 7 tornado outbreak was said to have caused significant damage across the Miami Valley, including Greenville where a lot of the damage had shut down Greenville City Park.
Buildings were destroyed and numerous trees were downed, not to mention power lines, leaving some without power for several days.
At various spots around the city, damage showed where the downed trees fell onto buildings and vehicles.
It’s probably safe to say that the park was damaged the worst, while Greenville Union Cemetery also suffered the loss of numerous trees. A lot of the buildings in the park were damaged as was the football stadium and destroyed the press box.
It was estimated that at least 75 to 80 percent of the trees were damaged during the tornadic storm. And, now there is currently a drive seeking donations to replace these trees and rebuild the park.
One account reported that an EF1 tornado touched down in Greenville and traveled 11.9 miles in 18 minutes. Estimated wind speeds for this tornado maxed out at 110 mph. It was approximately 800 yards wide.
It started near the intersection of Greenville-Nashville and New Madison-Coletown roads around 8:24 p.m., where multiple trees were uprooted, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado traveled northeast, crossing State Route 502 causing minor damage to homes on Daly Road. The twister’s width increased as it moved into Greenville, snapping and uprooting trees in the Greenville Union Cemetery.
“The tornado damaged trees throughout the city and also caused minor damage to multiple homes. Most of the impact was shingles and siding removed from the house,” according to one report.
The twister left Greenville near the elementary school and moved along Kruckerburg Road, resulting in more damage to homes and outbuildings. Crews also noted damage along Children’s Home-Bradford Road and ended near Gettysburg around 8:42 p.m.
The property in the 600 block of North Broadway in Greenville where couple Matthew Guyette and Eddie Enjos live was one of many that were damaged that fateful day.
However, neither were home at the time.
“I was in Murfreesboro, Tenn., riding my Harley up to Ohio for the Summer,” Guyette said. “My four dogs were with my husband at our other house in Pensacola, Fla., where he works.”
Guyett recalled that his neighbor, Brian Meade, texted him a photo.
“Brian wrote that my tree was on top of his shed. At first, I thought only my property had been affected as I have many old trees, but then I slowly began to realize the full extent of the devastation. My brother did a survey of the damage and sent me about 25 photos the next day. I was shocked and saddened by the tremendous power of the storm and the havoc it wrought.”
Guyette, who has never experienced anything like this before, reported that several old trees came down on top of the back of their house.
Little did he know that anything like this would ever happen.
“Well of course it’s always possible but we had not seen tornados hit Greenville since we moved here in 2006,” he said.
He described the damage that was done: “The initial job of safely removing four large trees from the roof and hauling away the debris was about $22,000. Fitzwater did a very professional and efficient job. They had a great, hard-working crew and plenty of new equipment. It took them about 2 1/2 days with a crew of six. There are other trees down at the back of the property and further stabilization and possibly tree removal which will need to take place.”
Is it costing him financially to get things back in order?
“My deductible is over $5000 plus there’s a lot of work yet to be done to stabilize the house and replace the damaged roof,” he responded. “Some displaced bees have set up house in my eaves and they will have to be removed by a licensed beekeeper before the roof work can proceed.”
According to him, Eric Fee and a crew from the EUM Church did a tremendous amount of work initially in the front yard and along Broadway.
“We are forever grateful for the help of these selfless angels of Christian mercy,” said Guyette, who describes his home as ‘the big old yellow house.’
“The tornado brought out the best and the worst in people…rubberneckers cruising around to gawk at the damage and impeding first responders and homeowners trying to dig their way out, and groups of other people who were not affected but wanted you to help those of us who were in any way they could,” he recalled. “Some dragged limbs, some brought food and water for residents who had no way of cooking as power was out; others set to work clearing roadways and drives to allow residents and emergency personnel to get in and out.”
He commented on his property now: “Yes it looks very different. I would never have removed these mature trees if a tornado hadn’t uprooted them. But now it feels like a new beginning…a clean slate. Fitzwater Landscaping did a phenomenal job of clearing the debris in a professional and timely manner while minimizing further damage to the yard.”
Does he have any advice for others on upcoming impending weather?
“Check your insurance coverage to make sure you actually have the coverage you think you have,” Guyette replied. “An insurance company can write whatever coverage and deductible level you want but that will affect your premium. It’s a balancing act.”
Shannon Clark, a local entertainer and businessman, said his property on East Main Street in Greenville was also affected by the second major storm this year.
“At first, we didn’t think much of it but when the storm hit,” he said. “It was quick and very scary. You could hear tree after tree being knocked down.”
According to him, they lost their band trailer (Shannon Clark & The Sugar) with some of its gear.
“Lots of fences and trees were down and there is a huge hole in the roof to our office that also got a lot of water damage,” he said. “Insurance estimates are around $20,000.”
How is the cleanup going?
“We are still cleaning up some but the day after the storm the community was amazing,” he replied. “Volunteers from Radiant Lighthouse with additional volunteers came to our house with trucks and skid loaders and within hours had cleaned most of the major stuff out of the way. We also had a volunteer crew from TDB associates, a local business, come out and help. It was amazing to see the community rise up and lend a hand. I’m so proud of our city.”
He added, “Thank you Radiant Lighthouse for the crew you sent out…April and Wes Lynch, Eric Fee, TDB, Camilynn Joy Snyder and Jason for sending over some help, all the people that called and offered help…Tommy Johnson, Mo and Diana Saniti, Jesse Peters, so many folks. We have 90 percent of everything cleaned up. I feel so thankful and blessed. If you can give back and help, do it. This is what makes the world a better place.”
His advice to others on upcoming impending weather? “Listen to the weatherman,” said Clark, whose family has owned the Nacho Pig food truck for 12 years.
He said they hid in the closet and prayed.
“I just want to say there are always two types of people in these situations. People who want to help and get out and help don’t wait for an invitation,” he said. “Then you have people that might say ‘It’s not my problem or my mess’ and they don’t help, maybe even complain about things instead of being grateful for being safe. Please be the helpful type of person because the world has enough of the other type of people.”
He’s never experienced weather such as this.
“I don’t think anyone ever thinks it will happen to them but I’ll tell you one thing if I ever hear tornado sirens going off, I’m headed straight to a basement.”
Gaylen Blosser, co-owner and editor of My County Link, was another victim of Mother Nature that night.
“I looked out our back patio door that backs up to Greenville Senior High School and I could see the tornado wall come within 100-150 feet,” he said. “We had damage to large trees in the back yard and lost some shingles off the roof of our house.”
He went on, “I knew it could get bad quickly, but I kept watching while telling my wife to get down in the bathtub. I threw a big, overstuffed pillow over her.”
He continued, “I was in some pretty bad storms in Vietnam, where some of our guys got struck by lightning. When I was in the Army, I was on my way to Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, and Becky and I stopped on I-70 and watched a tornado touch down ahead of us. I have been around for a few years, and nothing surprises me.”
Blosser said they had to hire a company to clean up their backyard.
“It took large chainsaws and workers climbing high up in our trees to get all branches down,” he explained. “I spent $1,500 cleaning up the backyard. We have not had the roof repaired yet. Another expense.”
He said he was offered a little help, but he took care of most of it himself.
“Others were much worse off than we were,” said Blosser, who lives on Honeysuckle Dr. in Greenville.
Yes, being the photographer that he is, he did get a few photos but indicated it was pretty dark probably due to the power outages.
“We are fortunate the tornado didn’t stay on the ground,” he concluded.
