Chapman, Kansas crop farm owners Deb and Ken Wood sometimes have to take a step back to see the progress over the past 9 and a half months.
“Some days it seemed like it’s been a real slow process but when you look back it's been less than a year and I’m kind of amazed at times that we are this far along,” said Ken Wood.
The duo weren’t confident they’d make it this far in the days and weeks after an EF4 Tornadoleveled their home and farm on May 25th, 2016.
“There was nothing left anywhere,” said Deb Wood. “There were 10 buildings here total just leveled by the tornado.”
The property has transformed dramatically in the nearly 10 months since. All of the mangled farm equipment is gone, what remained of the underground level of the Wood home has been cleared of debris and filled in with dirt, a new equipment shed is up, and the Wood’s soon-to-be new home is a month away from being move-in-ready across the road.
“We’ve just tried to move forward with cleanup and with rebuilding our lives. It takes time. Things will get back to normal. It won’t be the normal that we knew but we’ll build a new normal,” said Deb Wood.
Advice for Oak Grove victims
Though acknowledging it isn’t something she would have wanted to hear herself in the weeks after the tornado hit, Deb Wood is offering advice for those struck by the Oak Grove’s EF3 Tornado.
Keep a notepad and pen or pencil nearby.
“Write down everything [you think you need to take care of] because you’re not going to remember,” said Wood.
Don’t get your mail forwarded.
“Hold it at the post office and go pick it up because they will not forward anything financial,” said Wood. “So if you reordered checks to pay bills and reordered credit cards that were lost, they’re going to get returned. You know those are some of the little things that we learned that hopefully others won’t have to learn the hard way.”
Ask for help
“Even those who aren’t used to accepting help need to do so. It is too much to do yourselves. I had a friend that finally told me,’Deb, we want to help, just let us,’” said Deb Wood.
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Brian Abel can be reached at brian.abel@kshb.com.
