Wetumpka shines, despite the dark clouds of 2019, 2020
Jonathan Yarboro, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Wetumpka, has found miracles in thinking over the storms that struck the city on Jan. 19, 2019. Despite significant devastation, all of the city's residents were spared. (Jennifer Kornegay / Alabama NewsCenter)
Last year is one many would like to forget. Yet, despite its dark clouds, there were bright spots. Wetumpka saw some sunshine in 2020, and those rays of light are still shining, even as the city reflects on a 2019 tragedy – the literal dark clouds in the form of a tornado that caused widespread property damage on Jan. 19, 2019.
The two-year anniversary of the storm brings back the shock and heartbreak felt; yet, for many, unity is the predominant sentiment remembered. And some believe the storm had a galvanizing effect that led to some good news the city received in mid-2020: its selection to be featured on the “Home Town Takeover” television show, a spinoff of the popular “Home Town” series with Erin and Ben Napier on HGTV.
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“The tornado presented unbelievable challenges but also revealed incredible blessings, and those blessings outweighed the challenges all along,” says pastor Jonathan Yarboro, whose First Presbyterian Church was wiped out by the tornado. One of the blessings put on full display was residents’ commitment to each other.
“The outpouring of support in the days and weeks after the storm was amazing. Everyone stepped up,” Yarboro says. “That’s not unique to Wetumpka, but it is certainly very present here.”
It was also very needed when a strong thunderstorm rolled over Wetumpka that winter day. Its powerful straight-line winds struck first, then the swirling, sucking destruction of a strong EF-2 tornado tore into buildings on one side of the Coosa River, before it bounced across the water like a skipping stone and continued its rampage through the city’s historic district, as well as nearby neighborhoods.
“The tornado hit very close to downtown where I live. We were in the basement bathroom of my art studio building when we felt the building shake and the lights went out,” says Shellie Whitfield, executive director of the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce. When she and her family emerged, they saw there was no harm done to their house (which overlooks downtown) or her studio, but when she walked onto her front porch, she marveled at what she didn’t see. “I was in shock,” she says. “I kept repeating, ‘Why can’t I see the church? Where is everything else?’”
Wetumpka celebrates recovery on second anniversary of destructive storm from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Damage done
Many things were simply gone from view. Businesses and homes were flattened. Others were dismantled, their pieces scattered for yards. Some structures were still standing but missing entire rooms and roofs. It was all over in moments, but the recovery and rebuilding necessary would take months, more than a year in some cases. Multiple homes were demolished or heavily damaged, and notable buildings that met the same fate included First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, the city’s senior center and the Wetumpka Police Department. The Kelly Fitzpatrick Memorial Gallery (celebrating the works of Wetumpka artist John Kelly Fitzpatrick) was displaced, as the police department needed the space it occupied in a city building.
Lt. Ella Roberts, a veteran officer with the police department, was in Atlanta when the storm hit but headed back as soon as she heard the news and arrived home late in the afternoon on Jan. 19. Her initial impression of the scene mirrors Whitfield’s. “It was shocking, just so shocking,” she says. An additional shock — what most Wetumpkians call a miracle — came when the human cost was calculated, and there were no deaths and only minor injuries. “With how bad things looked, that’s such a blessing,” Roberts says.
Yarboro believes there was divine intervention. “It couldn’t have come on a better day,” he says. “It was right about 3 p.m. on a Saturday, and had it been a weekday, traffic from area schools would have been right at that intersection.” He points out his office window to the crossroads in front of the church. Had there been cars there on Jan. 19, 2019, they’d likely have been flipped and thrown like toys, as the tornado twisted straight through the historic church sanctuary (built in 1856), destroying it and damaging both wings.
Yarboro’s own then-15-year-old daughter narrowly escaped injury or worse. She happened to be alone at their home, right next to the church, when intense winds toppled several massive oak trees, and one sheared off the back third of the house, missing her by just a few feet.
Recovering together
Miracles were all around that day, but there was still great loss and deep pain. “My first look at the church was just too much to take in,” Yarboro says. “The sanctuary was just gone, steeple and all.”
Jenny Stubbs, executive director of Main Street Wetumpka, says she was “devastated” as she realized how quickly and completely the storm reversed recent downtown revitalization momentum. “Right before the tornado struck, we had really gained some ground after years of challenges and setbacks,” she says. “I didn’t know how we were going to buoy ourselves up again, especially after losing some of the most iconic and historic locations in Wetumpka.”
Stubbs now knows she was wrong to worry. “It actually brought our community together, which made us stronger, made us even firmer in our resolve and ended up leading to more opportunity and cohesion,” she says.
Mayor Jerry Willis agreed. “The unity of this community shined through,” he says. “It was truly a learning experience for everyone, but I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Two years later, Whitfield is still inspired by the community spirit she witnessed. “It was profoundly moving to watch the community come together to help. Restaurants closed and worked tirelessly to make food for the first responders and volunteers,” she says. “At volunteer headquarters they had to turn people away because there were just too many people wanting to help.”
First Presbyterian Church in Wetumpka, originally built in 1856, has been reconstructed almost as it was before a tornado destroyed the sanctuary two years ago. (Jennifer Kornegay / Alabama NewsCenter)
Yarboro had the same experience. “Right after, my phone was blowing up with no less than a half-dozen offers of places for our congregation to hold church the next day,” he says. “Tragedy has a way of putting what is important into perspective. Our community is far from perfect, but our community gets that; we know what’s important.”
In just a few hours, throngs of helpers were busy cutting down trees, moving brush and debris, walking neighborhood streets and handing out food, water and other supplies. “Even kids were getting into it, dragging branches to the trash,” Yarboro says, “and our first responders were relentless in their service. It was really overwhelming, in a good way.”
Roberts stresses that the storm’s aftermath wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed such an expression of love in her city, and that it likely won’t be the last. “It’s the thing I really love about Wetumpka, how we show up for each other,” she says. “It’s what we do. When the city is in crisis, we’re always all here, pulling together and working together.”
In the following months, sweat and hard work joined the positive energy and recovery began in earnest. Plans were drawn, foundations were poured and walls were raised. The congregation of First Presbyterian Church worshiped in its new sanctuary in August 2020, although “new” doesn’t tell the space’s full story. “We knew, the day after the storm, that we would rebuild the church but rebuild a replication of what was lost,” Yarboro says. The classic white clapboard structure was the epitome of “small town church” and a landmark in Wetumpka. “It really served as a visual icon in this community,” Yarboro says, “so we knew we wanted that back.”
Working from original architectural drawings, the rebuild faithfully recreated the historic church. The exterior is almost identical, as is the basic footprint, although the room placement inside the two wings off the sanctuary was updated to be more user-friendly. The new flow came in handy during the pandemic, according to Yarboro. “It’s easier to get people in and out of different areas comfortably and safely,” he says.
Thanks to the hard work of many, Willis says, the police department moved into its new office, an existing building remodeled to meet law enforcement needs, in early 2020. The Kelly has been in a temporary spot in the building that houses the Chamber of Commerce but is moving into its own space (also downtown) in the next few months.
“We’d already been looking for our own place, but the tornado sped that up,” says Carol Hickman, the gallery’s curator. “We applied for and got an Alabama Power Foundation grant to help us, and while we’ve been so grateful to the chamber for giving us an area to showcase our permanent collection and special exhibits, we’re so, so excited about the new gallery.”
There were countless incidents of neighbor helping neighbor, but local leaders did their part too, activating the Elmore County Disaster Relief Fund (ECDRF) to accelerate aid to those with immediate needs instead of waiting on federal and state funds and private insurance. Thanks to the generosity of Wetumpka residents and businesses as well as people outside the area, ECDRF distributed more than $230,000 to 109 area families.
Toughness times two
When 2020 arrived and the first anniversary of the tornado passed, Wetumpka residents were proud of what they’d overcome and were looking forward to a new year; there was a renewed enthusiasm for rebuilding and refurbishing that injected new life into the efforts to revitalize Wetumpka’s downtown. Then came a different kind of storm, a global pandemic. And yet, the resilience brought to the surface by the tornado proved a silver lining, helping residents push through COVID-19 struggles and garnering the Napiers’ and HGTV’s attention.
“I believe that it is the love and loyalty shown after the storm and the atmosphere of inclusion that won over the hearts of HGTV,” Whitfield says. “This community is genuinely welcoming and kind. Having the television network recognize our unique little town was over-the-moon exciting. Looking out the window and seeing film crews and TV stars has been so thrilling for everyone.”
Landing “Home Town Takeover” was the city’s banner headline in 2020, but Wetumpka’s community spirit did more than catch that big fish. According to Whitfield, it has shown up in bottom lines and balance sheets, too. “Last year stands out because in spite of a pandemic, our community stayed connected and supported one another,” she says. “During the month-and-a-half shutdown, people ordered out food like never before. They shopped locally online consistently. Even after the big pause, our businesses are showing a 30 to 40 percent increase over the previous year.”
Whitfield contends that the city’s triumphs in the face of back-to-back tragedies stand out to others, but it will always be what’s behind the scenes, the community’s connection in times of good and bad, that makes the difference, come what may. “Watching our diverse community come together more than ever before was a snapshot of how the world should be,” she says. “And here, that’s how it actually is.”
