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Greensburg Tornado Volunteer Coordinator to Speak at Convention Sep. 19
By Kollen Long (from a story written in the springtime of 2009)
The book he is writing is called “Onions Will Grow Again.”
Matt Deighton invites you to read into that title what you will, but he suggests with a pleasant grin that it means life will, eventually, return to normal for Greensburg citizens, who had their lives upended when a massive tornado leveled nearly the entire town on May 4, 2007.
Families will gather themselves. Houses will be rebuilt. People will recover - emotionally and physically.
Onions will grow.
After serving in the exhaustive position of volunteer coordinator of the South Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Association for nearly two years, Deighton is uniquely qualified to examine what the town has experienced, and how it is recovering.
‘There was no manual’
Even before the tornado hit, Deighton was experiencing life-changing hardships that sometimes accompany middle age. He said his mother started showing signs of dementia; his father, who had served as the Kiowa County engineer, succumbed to lung cancer in November 2006.
“And then,” said Deighton with his customary wry grin, “came the tornado.”
As the sirens wailed about 20 minutes before the tornado hit, Deighton and his mother left their home and went across the street to a neighbor’s house, which was fortified with a concrete sub floor. Ten others were there in the basement, too, including Rick Engelken, a volunteer fireman. Engelken had his walkie-talkie, providing the group a foreboding “play by play” from other volunteer firefighters and townspeople as the tornado approached the house.
“So we knew we were basically bull’s-eye material,” Deighton said.
The tornado destroyed the house; no one in the group was hurt.
But Deighton immediately began hearing voices of people crying for help, so he and Engelken grabbed flashlights and began searching for survivors. Deighton and Engelken covered eight blocks, verifying the safety of 31 people. They soon learned, however, that eleven of their neighbors had perished in the storm.
Less than two months later, Deighton was named volunteer coordinator and logistics coordinator, positions funded by the Red Cross.
Volunteer Village, a makeshift headquarters for the relief effort, was established just north of Highway 54, off Kansas Street on the west side of town. The site had been occupied by Faith Tabernacle Church, which was destroyed.
The job ahead, for Deighton and all involved, was massive. The tornado, estimated to be 1.7 miles wide, destroyed 97 percent of Greensburg’s infrastructure and 95 percent of the town’s homes, Deighton said. “There was no manual about [how you cope with such loses or] rebuild from a tornado of this magnitude,” he said.
‘You gotta laugh’
Deighton described Volunteer Village as “a resort - where you have to bring a sleeping bag.” And he plans to paint his storm shelter camouflage - with a bull’s-eye, too. “Come on, that’s funny,” he said. “You gotta laugh.” Because, as the saying goes, it beats the alternative.
Deighton said he processed more than 14,000 volunteers from at least 19 states and 13 foreign countries during his time as volunteer coordinator. He estimates he helped 115 families. Deighton’s term ended March 31. When it was over, he was in a predictably sentimental mood. “I’ve met some wonderful people, and by me meeting these wonderful people, it’s made a better man out me,” he said.
Although he is no longer on the job, Deighton said he still drawn back to the storm by the inquiries of interested people. He doesn’t seem to mind, but he is looking forward to concentrating on his own affairs for a change.
“I want to work on my house,” he said. “I want to clean out my garage. I want to put my guttering on. I want to get my life together.” He has already started that task, at least symbolically. On May 4, to mark the second anniversary of the storm, Deighton planted onions in his yard.
“And they’re growing again,” he said.
A volunteer village similar to the one Matt managed at Greensburg, Kansas, will be on display at the Orphan Grain Train Convention, September 18-19 at Norfolk, Nebraska. Matt will present the story of the Greenburg tornado of May 4, 2007, and the two-year recovery effort that followed.