Written 5/20/2010 

Slaughterville, Oklahoma has been a quiet, sleepy town since the mid 20^th Century.  Last week a violent tornado changed the town forever, leaving a path of devastation and ruin that included at least forty of the fifty mobile homes in one park.   Twenty homes were totally destroyed and another twenty were seriously damaged. 

The black cloud of twisting wind and debris could be seen approaching, while people ran frantically trying to find safety.  The only place remotely safe in the park was a small, brick building that housed the park’s Laundromat.  Twenty or more panic stricken people were crowded into the tiny space.  Fighting the fierce wind and driving rain, several individuals pushed their bodies against the door to get it closed as the tornado touched down. 

As quickly as it came, the tornado left in only a few minutes.  Coming out of the smallest of shelters, the Laundromat survivors were shocked to see their homes gone or leveled to the ground.  Not one person had insurance on their mobile home. 

The devastation was more than anyone had expected.  The few people around town who had not received massive damage did what we could to help meet immediate needs.  No one had been prepared enough.

The Slaughterville Volunteer Fire Department was the first to arrive on the scene after the tornado.  Some residents had not even made it out of their mobile homes before they had arrived.  The Volunteer Fire Department checked through the debris making sure no one was under the piles of rubble.  They also made sure all the propane tanks were turned off and there were no leaks.  Certainly we are all very pleased and proud of the Slaughterville Volunteer Fire Department.

County Commissioner Rusty Sullivan and his crew also arrived very quickly and removed all the debris from the road so emergency vehicles could get into the park.  Sheriff’s deputies were also soon on the site checking for injuries and directing traffic.

I arrived at the Slaughterville Town Hall around 7:40 a.m. the next morning to check in with our Town Administrator, Marsha Blair, and to help with the damage control.  We went to the park to access the total damage and to take pictures before anyone had a chance to move the debris.   As I was going from one to another assessing the damaged trailers, I opened the door of one trailer only to find the back side of the trailer completely gone.  Inside, a lady sat in tears sobbing on the floor of the trailer.  She sat in unbelief, devastated that all of her property was gone.  She had nothing left and was concerned that she had no insurance, no money, and no place to live.  I really felt so sorry for her.  At that moment I knew we had to make some serious changes as a town and as a state.  It is our duty and our honor to help and protect our people with foresight and diligence to make necessary changes and be prepared.

 Monday night after the tornado the Red Cross came to our Town Hall to visit with the homeowners and offer assistance.  We are thankful for the Red Cross and all they do.

Tuesday morning our Cleveland County Clerk, Tammy Howard, had the presence of mind to immediately contact the court house employees and take up a collection.  She went to Sam’s Wholesale and purchased food and soft drinks.  Tammy showed up at 9:15 a.m. with three coolers filled with soft drinks, bread, turkey, bologna and cheese for sandwiches.  Keep in mind we had no electricity, no water and no bathroom facilities all day Tuesday.

The rest of the day was spent making sandwiches and serving soft drinks to the shocked and confused homeowners.  I say this just to emphasize that these people were hurting and needed comforting.  At that point the best way to assess their needs was to just comfort them with food and listen to them pouring out their fears and frustrations of no income, no homes, and the total loss of personal items.

 Bruce Parker a Norman resident and one of our fellow Republicans showed up and asked, “What can he could do to help?”  We served over 80 sandwiches and gave out over 100 soft drinks on Tuesday, thanks to Tammy for taking the initiative to buy the food. 

One resident was concerned about her family Bible that was over 100 years old.  The Bible was found late Wednesday afternoon after several volunteers spent all day helping her look for the Bible.

 The Red Cross called us at about 11:00 a.m.  They were sending food.  I thanked them and told the Red Cross that we had enough food for now, but to spend their time assisting others as they needed to.  Marsha Blair had spoken to the park owner and requested some Port-O- Potties, so they were delivered Wednesday morning.

 About 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday the Salvation Army showed up in their food kitchen.  Everyone was excited at the thought of having a hot meal after eating our sandwiches all day.  The Salvation Army fed over 85 people in about thirty minutes and truly was a welcomed sight.  I think we all will look at the Salvation Army and the Red Cross in a completely new light in the future.

I called Community Christian School and Lexington First Baptist Church and requested some clothes, since the people only had the clothes on their backs.

Later that evening, the Red Cross drove through the park assessing the damage. The people were completely exhausted because they had been up for more than 24 hours.  After it was too dark to work some owners went to shelters provided by the Red Cross, while others slept in the Laundromat.  Some stayed the night in their trailer houses looking up at the stars.  One trailer had its four walls but no roof.  The owner firmly stated, “This is all I have and I’m not leaving.”

 On Wednesday the Missionary Baptist Church, located across the street from the park, opened its doors and assisted homeowners.  We are very thankful to Pastor Darr for his assistance along with the church members. The Red Cross brought gloves for the people to wear and some bedding.  They stated that they would be back to assist every homeowner with whatever needs they had.  The Salvation Army showed up again and feed everyone.  I spent Wednesday morning making clothing runs from Community Christian School and from Lexington First Baptist Church.  Both locations donated a lot of clothes.  Man, you would have thought it was Christmas when I arrived with the clothes!  The church separated the clothes by size and the people wasted no time in finding their sizes.  Keep in mind they have been wearing the same clothes now since Monday morning.

 Thursday and Friday we continued looking for personal belongings.  Saturday we had volunteers from Chesapeake Energy come from as far away as Nichols Hills helping with the clean up.  We had one gentleman, Mike Milligan, who brought his son Alex and a bobcat to help remove some trailers that were twisted around other trailers making it difficult to search for personal belongings.  Another volunteer, Dave Spaulding, from Norman also assisted with debris removal.  We also assisted some homeowners with repairs to windows and roofs. The Salvation Army was still present with sandwiches and chili.  The Red Cross was now visiting with the homeowners individually and trying to assist in the needs.

We are very thankful for the Slaughterville Community and the surrounding communities for helping with food, money and clothing.  A special and heartfelt thank you we send to The Red Cross and the Salvation Army for all their assistance.  I thank God that we have so many people willing to help.  

One thing I learned from this disaster is that we need to organize a team of volunteers that are willing to step up and help in case of a future disaster until the Red Cross and the Salvation Army can start with their assistance.  We still need volunteers this Saturday to help get debris out of the land by the trailer park. 

Respectfully submitted,

Bob Cleveland