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May 01, 2008 06:42 pm
Tornado-whipped town boasts renewed sense of accomplishment
Column: A lot has happened in Franklin in the five years since the tornado that killed longtime resident Josephine Maghe, destroyed dozens of homes, the post office and the community center.
By Mike Pound
CNHI News Service
FRANKLIN, Kan. — Nearly five years later, Beverly Turner can still remember the phone call from her husband.
“He said, ‘I’m standing where our house was, trying to figure out how to tell you that it’s gone,’” she said.
I waited for a second and then said, “When you say gone, what do you mean?”
Beverly gave me a hard look and then smiled.
“Gone,” she said emphatically.
Gone, as in not there. Gone as in out of here. Gone, as in completely blown away. That’s what Beverly meant when she said her house was gone. Tornadoes will do that sometimes. Especially tornadoes like the one that blew through Franklin, Kan., on May 4, 2003.
Beverly wasn’t home when the storm hit. At the time, she was the director of a nearby nursing home and had been called to work to help make sure the residents there were OK. Her husband wasn’t home either. He arrived at the spot where their home had been sometime after the storm.
The Turners opted to rebuild on their lot in Franklin and six months after the storm destroyed their old home, they moved into a new one. I asked Beverly why she chose to remain in Franklin and her answer was pretty matter of fact.
“We owned the land. Where else would we live?” she said.
A lot has happened in Franklin in the five years since the tornado that killed longtime resident Josephine Maghe and destroyed dozens of homes, the post office and the community center. Many, but not all, of the residents who lost their homes have rebuilt. There is a new community center and new public park and plans are under way for the construction of a fire station. But more importantly, there is a renewed spirit of accomplishment in Franklin. A spirit that is behind the community’s drive to rebuild itself.
Craig Stokes, president of the Franklin Community Council, is an unabashed Franklin backer. He, along with a host of other residents and former residents, have been working tirelessly since May 4, 2003, to not only rebuild the community but to make it bigger and better.
The new Community Center and Heritage Museum played a key role in reviving the town’s spirit. The center is an anchor for the community. It not only serves as a meeting place for community organizations and a location for town celebrations and get-togethers, it also acts as a caretaker, if you will, for the town’s history. Along the walls are photos depicting the town’s past. In addition, there are several displays honoring the military service of many current and former Franklin residents.
The new city park also gives residents of Franklin a place to gather. The park, built entirely by volunteers, contains new playground equipment, a picnic shelter, a large outdoor grill and a bocce ball court.
The town’s water system was rebuilt and upgraded and work continues on plans for a citywide sewer system. Yep, things are happening in Franklin.
This Sunday, to help commemorate the anniversary of the 2003 tornado, the Franklin Community Council is hosting a Crawford County Severe Weather Symposium. Representatives from county law-enforcement and emergency management agencies will be on hand as well as area TV meteorologists and representatives from the National Weather Service. Tyler Costantini, a local storm chaser ,will also speak at the gathering. The symposium gets under way at the Franklin Community Center at 1 p.m. At 5 p.m., the Community Council will also conduct a remembrance ceremony in observance of the five-year anniversary of the tornado.
On Wednesday, while Craig and I drove through Franklin, he couldn’t help looking forward. The town is on the verge of big things, he told me. It won’t be long, he said, before more and more people opt to move to Franklin. He already has visions of new business in town. Franklin is back, he told me, and it’s growing.
Mike Pound writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
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