the storm.

season 1, ep. 25

listen.

episode notes.

Episode 25 is a discussion about how community is shaped during times of emergency or disaster. The topic of our discussion is the state of Northwest Arkansas and how the recent tornados and storms in Northwest Arkansas have made an impact in our community.

Photos by Will Rusch (https://www.willrusch.com/)

references.

News: https://www.4029tv.com/article/national-weather-service-new-information-deadly-storms/60916945

episode transcription.

episode intro.

[00:00:05] mike.: You are listening to the underview, an exploration and the shaping of our place. My name is Mike Rusch and this week in Northwest Arkansas, the National Weather Service's Tulsa office confirmed two tornadoes early Sunday morning.

They found EF3 damage northwest of Decatur and as the storms moved east, they found that two tornadoes likely hit Centerton and the area around it. These produced EF2 level damage. They found evidence of straight line winds across Rogers, Bentonville, and the War Eagle area.

These estimated wind speeds in the area were 80 to 95 miles an hour based on the damage they found. It's also reported, sadly, that eight people so far have died from the storms, including three here in my home of Benton County.

Our hearts go Out to the families of those who died. We know that nothing will ever replace the tragic loss of these eight people. We truly mourn for those who died from the impact of these storms. To those families, we know that words are not sufficient. And to them, we just say, we're truly, truly sorry.

This was obviously not the scheduled episode for this week. We'll play that next week. Because right now our community is working to assess the damage and try to understand what needs to be done to repair and restore what has been lost or damaged.

No one would ever choose these disasters. They're incredibly difficult. However, in them, we find something about how our community is rooted, how people feel belonging and how they treat each other, and how they use these experiences to find a pathway together.

So in the midst of this storm, I just wanted to capture some voices from our community who, from the moment these storms hit, we're active in responding to caring for their neighbors.

We had the privilege of serving our local community and cleaning up with some of the storm damage and making sure that people could get their cars out and driveways cleared roads, open up again, trees off their homes and roofs. And while I'm physically exhausted, my soul is full from the people who asked no questions. It just showed up to help. However they could.

I asked each of them, what does community mean to you in times like this? Why did you come here?

And these are their responses.

episode interviews.

[00:02:03] josh eddleman.: Hi, this is Josh Edelman. Sorry about the chainsaw noise in the background. Just out here with neighbors, friends, acquaintances, cleaning up after several tornadoes hit Bentonville, Arkansas. It's been incredible over the last two days and a half days to see the cooperation in collective community, getting to meet neighbors that I haven't met before, getting to hear honest emotion and honest reflection from everyone as people experienced, um, a collective trauma together.

And, um, and in light of that, the response is, it's not about my stuff or your stuff it's about our city, our place together and restoring it back to, to safety, um, to, to some semblance of normalcy. And it's been incredible. Thankful to be a part of this community.

[00:03:06] randy jackson.: My name is Randy. And what community means to me is when we all come together, listen to our better angels and the best in people comes out in situations like this, in spite of the disaster and the personal loss and such. It is super heartening to see what's happening here right now.

Thank you.

[00:03:31] mike gebhart.: Mike Gebhardt. Community, what does community mean to me? Community means showing up when neighbors need help. No questions asked.

And you stay until it's done. Period. Why are you here? Enough said. I'm here because my house is fine and others aren't. And I can't go out and swim and hang out on a boat on Memorial Day if people need help. That's why we're here. That's all I got.

[00:03:56] madison.: Madison Bolaños. Um, I think community means not asking questions, just jumping in where you're needed and, um, providing what resources you have, uh, to everyone in need.

[00:04:09] madison: Uh, it, it really is just, it's an amazing thing, um, when folks come together and many hands truly make light work because we couldn't, we couldn't have done anything without our neighbors and, um, total strangers. Yeah. Neighbors, strangers, friends. Yeah, community. It is, it's across the board. Yeah.

[00:04:34] ryan halford.: My name is Ryan Halford and a time like we are facing here in Northwest Arkansas over the last 48 hours, community has honestly been redefined for me, people coming together and living out the golden rule folks, not looking for praise or clout, but just picking up chainsaws, rakes and blowers and jumping in to help their neighbors in need, simply showing up to someone's house and asking where they can help.

Then moving on to the next person's who is in need. Schools serving meals for anyone who is without. Strangers opening their homes up for a shower to charge a device or to just rest. This is what true community is. People just coming together regardless of background just to come in and help. And I am so thankful to be part of the community of Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas after what I've witnessed the last 48 hours.

[00:05:33] john ray.: Hi, my name is John Ray. Driving down the street, see the trees blown over and the damage done by the storm and people standing out in front of their houses with looks of confusion, despair and sadness. And then also to see a truckload of neighbors pull up with chainsaws and work gloves and knowing that the community is there for them, that this community exists and accepts the invitation to help when a person doesn't even know what they need or how to ask. And that's a beautiful thing to see.

[00:06:13] steve hudson.: This is Steve Hudson from Bentonville, Arkansas. And I think in times like these, I'm reminded of what community can be, and possibly is, I think that people come together and neighbors come together to help neighbors, and there's a lot of offering help and accepting help. And it's on a large level after these events.

And my hope is that this same thing is going on at smaller levels all the time, but we just don't see it. And that it just gets magnified at times like this, where everyone drops what they're doing and just looks for ways to help. And I think that's a beautiful thing. And that's my hope that we can continue that at other times as well.

[00:07:14] cindy.: This is Cindy and I live on the corner of Northwest sixth and C and the tornado took out all of my old, old trees and my kids don't live here. So I didn't have anybody to help me clean up.

And these people showed up. Um, just people that ride bikes as a group and. It just, it warms my heart. I mean, that's what community is. That's what Bentonville is. We just help people with the skills that we have. Thank you.

[00:07:44] bryant penzo.: this is Bryant Penzo. Community, in and of itself, honestly, makes me a bit emotional to consider and attempt to articulate, mainly because it's been one of the most life giving conduits in every aspect of my life. It's nothing short of a gift, and while words will always fail in illustrating the impact of community in my own life, it distills down to something as a simple truth for me.

It's about showing up and celebrating in most impactful mourning and hardship. When tragedy and fear enter the picture, it can invoke an unknown to know who's going to be there alongside me. It's entering a vulnerable space and finding an area that gives me freedom and most importantly, connection. When something happens like a devastating storm, seeing my community table their own needs In order to meet the needs of their friends, Friends of Friends and Beyond is something that really challenges me.

I see the care and love demonstrated in a way that's pretty self sacrificial. It's showing up, it's being present when you know it benefits another party, even when it's inconvenient. It's action oriented and I'm really grateful for how community shows up for me and how I see them ultimately show up for each other.

In the storms that impacted Bentonville and Rogers, it's easy to sit by and watch it happen and hope for the best. But when your neighbor or maybe a stranger knocks on your door and asks how they can help, I can't help but consider community rallying around something together as one of the most powerful forces on this side of heaven community for me and people showing up for me gives me encouragement to do it for other people and in a situation in which other people have needs because it's been demonstrated for me, I have an opportunity to see that through and do it for other people as well.

[00:09:37] bryan.: Brian Murchinson, Dallas, Texas, part time, uh, resident of Bentonville, had to come up and just, you know, you, you gotta come up and help these folks. Doesn't matter, uh, who they are or what they are. You, uh, it's what you do. We had to come up and help. I'm here. I wanted to check the damage on my house, but more importantly, it's more, it's more fun to help everybody and go work for people. And that's why I'm here. Love this place.

[00:10:08] stacy bigelow.:

I'm Stacy Bigelow, and community means to me the neighbors that came out that had no tree damage, that had nothing wrong, didn't have to come out. They were out all day with us, pulling leaves, 70 years old, not stopping until we stopped. They were determined to do just as much. That's what it means to me.

[00:10:29] sean fuller.: my name is Sean Fuller. Uh, my family and I live in Bentonville and were affected by the recent storm that went through the area. Uh, we had five very large oak trees on our property and lost two in the storm. The remaining three had quite a few large branches fall, but are still standing. By the grace of God, nothing fell on our house and my family is safe, which we are very thankful for.

The day after the storms hit, my wife and I stood outside and honestly didn't know where to start. We took the day and decided to get after it the next morning. I sent maybe three texts to a few close friends and expected maybe five people to show up to help with the cleanup process. I have no idea how it happened, but at times during the day there were close to 40 to 50 people helping with cleanup.

I honestly probably only knew around half of them. My family will forever be grateful for the love the community showed today. We know there are so many more that got it worse than us, and we want to find ways to pass what was given to us today forward. For We've been saying this community is special and today we experienced it firsthand. Thank you Bentonville.

[00:11:28] darrel harvey.: Hi, this is Darrell Harvey. When I think of community in light of the last 36 hours we've had here in Northwest Arkansas, I think of neighbors pulling together, people showing up with chainsaws and trailers, but I also think of texts and calls from people checking to see if we're okay and people offering us a place to stay because our power was out.

I've always said that community requires proximity, frequency, and authenticity. Sometimes we let our routines, more like our ruts, rob us of one or two of those components. This storm got us out of our individual and nuclear family bubbles. We shared tools and meals and everyone had grace for the strangers we had become.

[00:12:14] josue.: My name is Josue. Uh, I live in Bentonville working in Springdale and Tyson and all my co workers came out and, uh, there's like 10 people helping me clear all in my backyard and in two hours I got it done. So it was pretty amazing how everyone was able to, uh, to help. And, um, the, just the sense of community and, um, being, being humans is like, that's what it really means in life to like just help each other in times of trouble. So, yeah.

[00:12:44] jerad sears.: Hi, this is Jared Sears. I am also the executive director of City Sessions, a music nonprofit here in Bentonville. Um, and our mission is to build community through music, through unforgettable music experiences. And, we do this and it only works here because of how incredible this community is.

And when, um, things like, uh, a tornado creates havoc and upends everyone's, norm in their life. just like music, it's amazing to see people come to the aid of other people, regardless of political views or religious views or whatever that is.

the thing that unites us is community. Uh, the thing that unites us as stories. Um, even just driving home today from vacation, seeing my house for the first time, two days later after the tornado.

And an hour out having a crew, a biking crew hit me up and say, Hey, we're, we're walking around with chainsaws. How can we help and, uh, come and, clear our yard and take care of things that was going to take us days. So, uh, we, we truly love this community.

[00:13:50] rod sanders.: Hi, this is Rod Sanders and my good memories of this Memorial Day 2024 has been seeing our community step up, just be great neighbors. Just in our little street on Huffman, we had damage to the back of our house and a limb down and people I don't know, and I'll never, ever get to meet. Again, just came in, cleaned all that up for us and helped get all that removed.

And across the street, the Fuller family had extensive damage to lots of legacy trees, and they've had friends, family, and people they'll never meet again. Just come in here and work for two solid days, helping them get their yard and get their house all cleaned up. Bentonville has shown up and has been a great model community of what just being good neighbor and being community and just being, just being the type of friends that we need to be to one another has been all about.

I'm just so proud of our police. This has been a hard two days. They've happened to work with all the traffic and all the limbs down and all the lights not working and just the patience they've shown with us. Very much appreciate it. I'm very thankful this Memorial Day weekend for the community that I get to live in and just for what Bentonville means and for what we model every day on being a good community is all about. Thank you Bentonville.

[00:15:01] kate schaffer.: Hey, this is Kate Schaefer. Um, what I could think about today mostly was how we all without internet, without power, without constantly being reminded. because we're watching news and in our echo chambers that we are different from our neighbors and that they think differently. So we shouldn't be with them or like them.

And all I could think of was without all that. And after experiencing the trauma of the tornado and being afraid and the damage that people had inflicted, we all walked out our front doors. We went to find out what our neighbors needed. We cut trees, we moved debris, we sweated, we fed people. without thinking about their identity or crawling back into our tribalism.

And we just helped everybody. And that's what community is. I believe always that the betterment of the community is more important than individual and that a rising tide lifts all boats. And I have seen that displayed just in the last couple of days. Um, and that is what it means to come together as a community and support each other.

[00:16:25] melissa halford.: Hi, this is Melissa Halford and community to me has a whole new meaning this week. In the last 48 hours as we've tried to make a small dent in the damage from this weekend's tornadoes, I've seen true community. Churches canceling services to serve our neighbors. Bike clubs foregoing their weekend rides to pick up chainsaws and rakes.

Showing up to help at houses of people we know that were directly impacted. With our friends only to find there's neighbors everywhere already pitching in. My meaning of community and our actual community has expanded this weekend. And I could not be more proud to be part of the Bentonville community.

[00:17:04] nick ogle.: Hi, my name is Nick Ogle. What does community mean to me in times like this? After a tornado, uh, or straight line winds hits downtown Bentonville. And to me, community means showing up for one another every single time. But you can say it all day long that you believe in community, that you value one another, that you have a deep love for people.

But if you don't show up in the midst of that, Then that's not real community. If you stay isolated in your own place, if you only care about you and yours and, and kind of the me culture, the I culture, if that's all you care about, then you're truly missing community. Community is about showing up, having an action behind the words that people say.

That is what community looks like to me. And I got to see it. In its most beautiful form in the last couple of days down here, when a brigade of, you know, nine cars shows up and 16 people hop out of those cars with chainsaws and gloves and ropes and just start hauling for people that they know, but also for complete strangers, people that they're just meeting for the first time or someone that says, Hey, my neighbor needs help.

That's community every single time it has an action to it.

[00:18:11] kirk robbins.: My name is Kirk Robbins. I live in Bentonville, Arkansas, and what community means to me in a time like this is waking up at 6 a. m. after a tornado hits your neighborhood and clearing out all the roads so that people can get in and out and emergency vehicles can get in and out and working with people and neighbors that maybe you didn't meet before.

but just working together in community to clear out a neighborhood so that emergency response vehicles can get in and out. Uh, community means working with my, some of my best friends and showing up to houses of people that we don't know and clearing out trees so that they can get in and out of their homes. Um, in times like this, that's what community means to me.

[00:19:00] brian hirschy.: Hey, Mike, appreciate you asking me to share. Hope this is helpful in some way for you. But, um, I have to confess that when you asked me to talk about community, um, it comes with a certain amount of skepticism because a big chunk of my life, um, the conversation around community, um, revolved around, um, Um, people, when they talk to my community, they're really looking for people that talk and think and, uh, and believe what they do.

And so exclusivity is often been built into the conversation of community for me. Um, and as I thought about what it's like, um, to work in disaster areas, um, several times in my life, um, what I've noticed is that, um, it's very inclusive. Um, That we really all understand the language of pain and suffering and loss.

Um, and inherently, uh, we become inclusive. Um, I have no idea what the people, uh, in the homes that we helped clean up today believe. I don't even have any idea what the people, um, who were working side by side with me believe. And so there's an inclusivity that comes with that. And In a sense, um, inclusivity is the hallmark of vibrant communities.

And in a lot of ways, that inclusivity is the kind of thing that can propel communities. Um, and it catalyzes us through hard things. And, um, I think even the simple act of helping somebody clear their yard, um, is in many ways a road forward, uh, to what really great community could look like.

episode outro

[00:20:41] mike.: That last voice you heard was Brian Hirschy.

Brian lives in Fayetteville and decided to come and spend his day serving whoever needed to be helped, doing whatever needed to be done. Brian's a tall gentleman. He stands about six foot five, which towers over me, and yet every time I'm around him, I sense that his humility and the way that he carries it is just so much larger than he is. He's the kind of person that seems to carry peace through whatever storm may be here. Well, it's a gift to spend time with so many people, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who showed up and is showing up all across Northwest Arkansas to check on their neighbors and simply to do whatever is needed in this moment.

We know it's been a really hard past 48 hours in Northwest Arkansas, and there is still so much work ahead to repair and restore. However, there is no doubt that our strongest days are still ahead.

And while I wish that life didn't have disasters, I do believe we have to be thankful in all things and seeing how our neighbors and communities continually show up for each other. It really truly is one of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen.

If you want to help in the days, weeks, and months ahead, follow along in the underview, social media, we'll do our very, very best to bring attention to the needs and the stories of how our community is coming together to pursue the creation of the future of our place.