March 11, 2011
Family finds ‘peaceful’ night in middle of tornado
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
“It was all very peaceful,” said Bernie Heeke. Some may think that may be the last thing a tornado victim might say, but Heeke insists.
She and her husband Tom and their nine-year old daughter Kendyl had gone into their basement, after hearing warnings that a tornado was moving from Pike County toward their home in Celestine in Dubois County.
“Where we live, it’s always windy,” she said. “We live on a huge hill.” She was awake early in the morning, long before dawn, Feb. 28, and after listening to the wind, she woke up her husband. They listened to their scanner, and then Channel 25, and heard the tornado warnings.
Tom “went and got our nine-year-old daughter Kendyl, and she marched downstairs to her little spot.”
Bernie stopped to pick up some medicine and two big blankets from a living room closet.
“Our basement is set up like a home, in case of disaster,” she explained. “We were downstairs about 10 minutes, me and Kendyl under one blanket and Tom under his, when we heard glass breaking.”
About 10 minutes later, “we heard water leaking. Tom expected to find a leaking toilet, but when he went upstairs he could see the sky.”
The Heekes knew they had to get out, so they shut off the gas and the electric and prepared to leave.
“Nine-one-one was not able to get to us because of the downed wires everywhere. So we put Kendyl on Tom’s back to go down the hill, crossing the electric wires.”
The family had prepared for a disaster, “so we had coats, shoes, extra outfits. Even though the basement is set up to live in, once the rain came in and the ceiling came down, we knew. We can’t go back.”
The Heekes are living in a one bedroom apartment in a neighbor’s basement, one of the 10 or so families that “have always been there for each other.”
Five other families in Celestine have found temporary homes, as they wait for engineering reports and insurance inspections. The Knights of Columbus are organizing volunteers to take on cleanup tasks as soon as insurance clearance is given.
A week after the tornado, Bernie reflects on her family experience. They were prepared for a disaster, but they were also “nudged” toward safety.
Their bedroom was destroyed. A dresser and a mirror were thrown against the bed. The closet is full of mud.
Nonetheless, Bernie insists, “It’s been a very peaceful event. When I cry, it’s not about the house we lost. I feel sadness when people come up and ask how could God have done that to you. God was right there in the basement with us, that’s why it was so peaceful.”