ATV CLUB TEAMS UP WITH THE SALVATION ARMY
TO ASSIST BRADGATE, IOWA TORNADO VICTIMS
by Bob Fleege
Photos by Bob Fleege, Capt. Mark Nance
and the residents of Bradgate, IA

The picture speaks for itself

At approximately 6:30 PM on Friday, May 21, 2004 an F2 Tornado hit Central Iowa. It hit the east part of Rolf, IA, primarily the area's golf course and cemetery, where it pulled trees out by their roots that were planted in the 1860’s. Along its destructive path it ravaged farms, trees and the Humboldt County Sheriff, who after having a 2x4 fly through his Sheriff's car, he jumped out and headed for the ditch only to get hit by another 2 X 4 across the left knee. Thanks to Sheriff Dean Kruger he was able to notify the next town in the tornado’s path, Bradgate, IA and the Mayor, Martin Brown, who sounded the tornado warning sirens - sending residents scrambling to their basements.

Volunteer Fire Departments, Ambulances, EMS, Off-Duty Police and Sheriff officers from at least three counties came to the aid of the victims. The first course of action was to go from farm house to farm house and house to house in the town of Bradgate, which was virtually wiped off the map, to account for all of the residents. I'm happy to report that there were just a few injuries and no deaths.

The local Church.

Another agency to receive a call to assist in the effort was the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services unit out of Fort Dodge, IA headed by Captains Mark & Valerie Nance. As a member of the Salvation Army EDS team I received a phone call from Captain Mark at around 7:15 PM informing me that a tornado had hit Bradgate and we needed to respond right away. One of Captain Marks first questions was if I could round up some ATVs to assist in the effort. It only took two phone calls and three members of the Webster County Wheelers ATV Club in Fort Dodge responded with four utility quads.

 

The incredible power of an F2 tornado.

Friday night’s efforts were limited to providing the immediate needs of the victims and the First Responders. Captain Mark took a team of EDS members on the four wheelers and went house to house to assess the needs of the victims. Some need a motel to stay in while others just needed to get in contact with relatives to let them know they were OK. The rest of the team set up our Salvation Army Canteen next to the Bradgate Fire Department. Once everyone was accounted for and had a place to stay for the night, the First Responders from the surrounding communities returned home to get a few hours of sleep as an Emergency Response Meeting was scheduled for 7:00 AM Saturday morning. The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross provided donuts, coffee and other breakfast snacks starting at about 6:00 AM. The Salvation Army loaded the ATVs with 1 gallon bottles of water, donated by Humboldt Springs, to take around to the residents who remained in town so they would have fresh water.

Humboldt County Sheriff Dean Kruger got right back into action after returning from the Humboldt County Hospital.

As I made one delivery, a gentleman in his late 70’s or early 80’s made the comment that he had not gone without a cup of coffee in the morning as long as he could remember so I went back to the Canteen and dumped out one of the gallon bottles of water and filled it with fresh hot coffee, grabbed a half dozen cups, hopped back on my ATV, and headed back to his house. There are no words that can explain the moment when I showed up with the coffee. Before I continued my water deliveries I saw that every one of us standing in his driveway had tears in our eyes. Having gone through a house fire a few years ago, I reassured them that their was light at the end of the tunnel and let them know that the Salvation Army was there to help them anyway they could, including counseling. All I know is that it was a moment in time I will never forget, the power in a simple thing as bringing a person a cup of coffee!

 

 

The local volunteer Fire Department acted as the command and support center.

Once I completed delivering fresh water to the residents, I returned to the Command Center and was amazed at the sheer number of volunteers that were already standing in line, and it was 7:00 AM. The main black top leading into town was packed with heavy equipment such as bull dozers, Bobcats and loaders. Power companies from across the state were already working on the downed power lines. Every surrounding Fire Department that did not have their own damage to contend with sent their Crews, City dump trucks and volunteers. On Saturday alone there had to be over 2,000 volunteers in this community of 199 residents. An outstanding group of Americans to say the least.

Every volunteer was extremely special to the residents of Rolf and Bradgate; however, one group touched the hearts of the residents in a way you could not imagine. When the inmates at the Rockwell City Correctional Center, which is about 60 miles from Bradgate, heard about the tornado they passed around a sign up sheet and presented it to the Warden asking if they could go to Bradgate and help clean up. The Warden felt this would be a great opportunity for the inmates to build some self esteem and interact with society, besides how could you say no?

Volunteers began lining up at 7:00am.

Inmates for the Rockwell City Correctional Center wait for their assignments.

Don’t get me wrong, every volunteer was greatly appreciated, but these gentlemen became Bradgate’s Guardian Angles. I give a lot of credit to the residents of Bradgate as they accepted the inmates with open arms and treated them with the same respect and dignity they treated every other volunteer with. In return they got a group of individuals who gave them an effort you could not believe. It was absolutely awesome to see the team work, volunteers, inmates and guards all working together to bring a little life back to a small rural community.

I was running one of the ATVs that we attached two large coolers to. At first they were filled about 80% with Gatorade & PowerAid and the remainder with bottles of water. I always made sure that my first stop was wherever the inmates were working and they went after the Gatorade and PowerAid like there was no tomorrow. Every time I left their work site I had to go back and refill. By noon we had run out of everything but water but all of the volunteers were just as thankful to get a fresh bottle of water. I promised the inmates that I would fill my pickup full of Gatorade for Sunday and I got a lot of “ya right” looks. Saturday night I went to Wal-Mart and filled the back of my pickup with every flavor of Gatorade they had. On Sunday when the inmates arrived the first thing they did was look at my pickup to see if I kept my promise. Let’s just say I got a lot of high fives Sunday morning.

 

Bradgate Fire Chief Harold Baugos gets a cold refreshment from Salvation Army EDS volunteer Brad Frana.

While I spent Saturday and Sunday on an ATV, along with two other ATVs, delivering water, food, equipment and giving rides to volunteers, the rest of the Salvation Army EDS team were busy feeding over 2,000 volunteers. Now I don’t care how you look at it but that’s a lot of hot dogs and bratwurst. As usual during disasters, neighboring communities were constantly dropping off food and water for the volunteers and residents as well as clothing, furniture and anything else you can think of. One of the really special donations came from the Home Depot stores of Iowa. About mid-day on Saturday a Home Depot semi pulled in loaded with plywood, nails, shovels, rakes, water and I don’t know what else. But in any case I know the residents of Bradgate send a very grateful thank you out to Rhet Beyer for heading up this effort. What really made this effort extra special is the nearest Home Depot is about 100 miles from Bradgate!

 

Volunteers hard at work.

Another group that sticks out in my mind were three residence of Minneapolis, MN who showed up early Saturday morning with a straight truck and a large enclosed trailer full of chain saws and every conceivable tool you would ever need to assist in any disaster. I needed air in one of my front tires so I had an opportunity to visit with one of them. I never did get their names, but they were three gentlemen from the Minneapolis Jewish Community who raised money and purchased a truck, trailer and equipment. Whenever there is a disaster the jump in the truck and head to the community in need. Not only do they pitch right in but they loan out equipment to volunteers, help fix broken equipment and what ever else they can do to assist. I never got a chance to say thanks to them before they headed back to Minneapolis but they were certainly a blessing to the recovery effort in Bradgate.

 

Cutting up trees was a very popular activity.

Speaking of distance, there were groups from as far away as Texas who after seeing the devastation on national TV showed up out of the blue to help. As I traveled around on the ATV I saw license plates in the designated parking area from at least five neighboring states and they never asked for a thing in return. They were all just wonderful, caring individuals who came to the aid of two small Central Iowa communities. As I write this article is still amazes me how people reach out to help fellow human beings when disaster strikes. Wouldn't’t it be awesome if everyone could maintain this attitude of caring throughout our daily lives?

 

How do the residents of a community every thank the thousands of volunteers who reached out to them? Well, you fall back to an age old custom the farming communities have done for years. When a farmer is injured or dies all the neighboring farms come together to harvest his crops. While the farmers are out in the fields the wives and daughters prepare the meals and bring coffee and drinks out to them. In no time flat, usually in one day, the fields are harvest and the family in need has one last thing to worry about.

 

A volunteer fireman participates in a controlled burn as they burn the remains of a house that was destroyed by the Bradgate Tornado of 2004.

With Bradgate being a farming community that was the mind set the residents went into. With the help of the Salvation Army, neighboring communities, churches and the victims themselves we feed both the residents and the volunteers for the next two weeks. Salvation Army EDS volunteers delivered Gatorade, PowerAde and water from sunup to sundown. This would have been much more difficult to accomplish if it were not for the ATVs. We strapped two coolers on each ATV and filled them with drinks and ice. I know we went through at least five pickup of Gatorade, PowerAde and water just Saturday and Sunday. We feed over 1,500 people on Saturday and I know that another 500 to 700 volunteers brought sack lunches.

 

For the next two weeks, volunteers came and went, donated items continued to come in, FEMA setup to assist residents, the Salvation Army continued to provide three meals a day for both the residents and volunteers. It’s going to take a while before Bradgate is back to normal; however, like the Mayor, Martin Brown put it, “It really humbles a person to see this many strangers show up to help our community.” Linda Larson, the City Clerk said, “There is no possible way we can go to every volunteer and thank them; however, they will always hold a special place in our hearts.” As tears filled her eyes she continued, "We have been blessed in a very special way. Isn’t it amazing how something as terrible as a tornado can result in so much good?” Larson continued, “I don’t know how we would have ever accomplished what we did without the Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services, the ATVs, the inmates from Rockwell City and all the wonderful volunteers".

 

Today Bradgate is still cleaning up, burning trees and homes that were destroyed beyond repair. The residents are working with Iowa Congressman Tom Latham and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to save the Post Office and assist residents in rebuilding their homes. Yes, this is a story about how Americans came together to help each other, but it is also a story that we as ATV enthusiasts need to do more of, getting involved with our communities and make it known to local law enforcement, fire departments, emergency management leaders and disaster response organizations, like the Salvation Army’s EDS team, that we as individuals or as an ATV Club are available to assist with such disasters as floods, tornados, snow storms, earthquakes, etc.. The more we reach out to the community they begin to see that ATVers aren’t such bad guys after all. We are fortunate to be involved in a sport that is so much fun and family oriented, we are even more fortunate to be active in hobby that allows us to reach out and help others.
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As you drive into Bradgate you are greeted with a welcome sign with the saying “The Town that wouldn’t die” need we say anymore about the resilience of the Bradgate Community?

As a member of the Salvation Army Disaster Emergency Service team I am currently visiting with Dan Kleen, President of NOVACC on how to get a grant for an enclosed trailer, an ATV and a unit like the Kawasaki Mule or Yamaha Rhino. We discovered just how valuable a tool ATVs are when it comes to providing disaster relief. According to Captain Mark Nance, "By having ATVs as part of our EDS inventory we can customize them so that we can better serve the First Responders and the victims. After experiencing them in Bradgate I’m convinced that they are a necessary piece of equipment to carry on our Emergency Disaster Service’s mission”.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to help the victims of the Rolf / Bradgate Tornado of 2004 can send donations to the Salvation Army ATTN: Relief Fund, PO Box 100, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. And any person in the ATV industry who would like to assist our Salvation Army Disaster Emergency Service team in obtaining ATVs can contact either Captain Mark Nance at 515-576-1281 or Bob Fleege at 515-571-3000

 

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