Bradford Tornado Anniversary
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It was five years ago, on this day, that an EF3 tornado ripped through parts of West Tennessee, leaving behind a path of destruction for one small community. Gibson County was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. In the small town of Bradford, alone, eight people died and more than fifty were injured. The peacefulness felt on this day could not have been even remotely felt, five years ago, in Gibson County. Glenn Jenkins, a resident, says, “It’s sad because when you look back at this anniversary day, you remember the people that were just as alive then as we are now, you think it could have been me just as easily.” Eight people lost their lives in Gibson County, and another sixteen in Dyer County, when an EF3 tornado roared through the area, with winds reaching 200 miles per hour. Dale Stallings, a resident, adds, “All we could do was pray to God and cry.” Stallings, a Marine, says, he was not there the day it hit, but when he saw the destruction a day later, he said, “It tore me to pieces and hurt me as much as any part of the war did in Vietnam.” Most of the houses near Bradford have been rebuilt, however, reminders of the storm still linger. Chunks of metal still rests in trees, and some trailers are still toppled over. Stallings, adds, “Sometimes it takes something like this, a storm, to make us understand how short and how fine a life is.” And it is that wake-up call that has had residents, for the last five years, building storm shelter, after storm shelter. They are now preparing their homes, hearts, and neighbors for the unthinkable to happen again. Jenkins, says, “One minute you’re here and the next minute you’re gone.” Tennessee was not the only state hit by the tornadoes, according to reports, eighty tornadoes hit cities across the nation April 2nd, 2006.
