A Day Never Forgotten

April 9, 2011 is a day my family (Lori Hopkins) will never forget. On that warm & humid evening tornados struck our farm. A neighbor called with the warning that a funnel was headed straight for us, so I went to the basement while my husband stayed upstairs running from window to window. Fortunately we did not lose our home. A new machine shed that housed a lot of machinery was blown away along with some of the machinery and tools. Our cattle shed disappeared! The cattle inside it were not harmed, but were wandering the fields in the light of the moon. Several grain bins were demolished and our hog houses were also badly damaged. Other neighbors were not so lucky, losing everything they owned. What a mess it was!

The things I remember most are the many people who arrived to help. Family, friends, neighbors, churches, and even schools brought their kids out to help with the cleanup. Several neighbors helped get our cattle rounded up in the dark. The fields were covered with muddy debris and lots of dead ducks too. So many helped in this terribly dirty cleanup job! Our office went into claims overdrive mode, reporting losses to companies as fast as we could, finding places for customers to stay, and making sure those with damage were getting the help they needed.

Once again its tornado season here in Iowa, and although we hope that no one will experience any of these storms in 2019, it is likely they will happen somewhere. If you are one of the unfortunate ones that has to deal with tornado damage, we want you to know that we understand, we know what it’s about, and we know what to do. We are here to help and will be with you through life!