Sunday will mark a year since Rod and Mitzi (Klein) Hesser’s town of Greensburg, Kan., was obliterated by an F-5 tornado.
A year later, the efforts of the Adams, Neb., natives and their neighbors have gained national attention for their environmental efforts to go “green” while rebuilding the town.
CBS Network news and The Early Show headliners broadcast live this week from Greensburg, and residents came out in force for a 6 a.m. concert Friday featuring REO Speedwagon.
“We got up at 5:30 (Friday) so we would be there to take in the whole thing,” Mrs. Hesser said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
“I was very impressed by CBS to look for the positive (in what Greensburg is doing). We were blessed with a unique opportunity to show others that, even in the midst of all this, you can do it in a positive way.”
Discovery Channel has been following the town’s progress throughout the year as well, adds Mrs. Hesser, and their documentaries will start airing Sunday, May 4, on the one-year anniversary date of the F-5 tornado.
As for their own TV time, “We got our 10 seconds of fame that first morning,” said Mrs. Hesser, after a CBS crew filmed them grilling steak beside their FEMA trailer, a 700-square-foot structure that is home to the Hessers and many others who are still waiting to rebuild.
The effort to go green sort of “evolved into an unbelievable concept,” admits Mrs. Hesser. From how to insulate new structures (using fireproof materials like foam blocks) to help seal up all the leaks, thus eliminating chemical fumes and fiberglass, to the placement of windows to take full advantage of the sun’s rays, to geothermal heating and cooling.
To date, the Hesser’s new home, being built from the ground up, has some walls up and the basement has been poured.
In their FEMA trailer, “we have pictures on the wall that are our own. We have been very thankful to have the FEMA trailer,” said Mrs. Hesser. “They provide all the furniture, even the dishes and pots and pans, the beds and everything else.”
Although the trailer, she admits, rocks during the strong Kansas winds that repeatedly blow, and “sometimes we feel like we’re on a permanent cruise.”
The rest of what the Hessers were able to salvage, like Grandpa Albert Klein’s end tables and handcrafted grandfather clock, are still stored with friends in Dodge City, about 45 miles away.
The Hessers hope to be moved in by fall, but “our small community did not have that kind of labor force here,” she said, explaining that contractors travel 100-150 miles a day, and since there’s no place for them to stay, they return home. Even finding a bite to eat can be a challenge, with one small burger shop trying to fill the need that was once met by five eating establishments.
In fact, there are no other businesses in town.
“It’s just mind-boggling,” she admits. “There were a lot of mom and pop businesses” and now they’re wondering what insurance will actually pay, while watching the costs to rebuild mounting.
The courthouse where her office was located is being completely gutted, and she and others, like the county treasurer and register of deeds, for example, are working from modular homes.
The school children have also been meeting in modular structures, and even started school on time last fall. The hope is that the new school will be ready for the 2009-2010 school year.
Mrs. Hesser continues to serve as Kiowa County public health officer and public health nurse, while her husband continues to work as a farm manager, although not with the same pace as he did perhaps a couple of years ago. Having been diagnosed with congestive heart failure earlier in 2007, he was fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator last fall.
“We have our stressful days, but for the most part, we have been very fortunate,” Mrs. Hesser says.
“It’s the message we want to give to the rest of the world. You can be mad and frustrated or you can pick yourself up and make the best of it.”