Christmas turned upside down for those harmed by Western Kentucky tornadoes

DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. — Stacy Bryan scoured the land that two days earlier had been used for storage — before tornadoes devastated large swaths of Western Kentucky.

She and a friend had kept almost all of their possessions in four large bins in this area that were entirely destroyed. Bryan repeatedly noted what she’d lost: "everything.”

Distraught, she turned in a circle and pointed around, at a running shoe, a small purse, a dress — all of them had belonged to her, and in theory, still did. She questioned the value in possessing the items, many of which were damaged beyond repair, but she searched for any that still could be of use.

“This is my Christmas,” she said.

For many in Western Kentucky, this year’s Christmas and holiday season will be beyond challenging. There will be those reconciling with great loss and others forced to abandon tradition.

For the displaced, it’ll mean trying to celebrate the holidays in an unfamiliar place, sometimes with unfamiliar faces.

For some who typically celebrate, it may come with little or no fanfare. And for others, it’ll be the most difficult of days. More than 70 people were killed by the storm two weeks before Christmas, leaving many families without the most important part of their holiday gatherings: loved ones.

Toys were scheduled to be distributed to children across five Western Kentucky locations on Tuesday and Thursday ahead of Christmas, and in hard-hit Mayfield on Tuesday, “Operation Christmas” gave tornado survivors gifts for the holidays. Last week, first responders rebuilt the town’s Christmas tree.

Debra Koelm and her 4-year old daughter, Marya, saw their Dawson Springs home damaged by the tornado, but unlike other members of their extended family, their home was still standing.

Koelm felt lucky to still have Christmas presents for Marya, although the gifts her sister had purchased for her children were gone. Marya offered her mother a suggestion.

"I'm so proud of her," Koelm said. "She said, 'How about we share our presents?'"

More: A community says goodbye to a family of 7 killed in the Kentucky tornadoes

For Shelia Gold, this Christmas will be different than ever before. She and her husband, Bill, have lived in their Benton, Kentucky, home for 30 years, and they’ve always hosted a Christmas gathering. But with her house severely damaged this year, that won’t be possible.

“Christmas night,” she said, fighting tears, “was always my night with just my children.”

Mindy Freeman was planning on Dec. 10 to put up her Christmas decorations — a tree, exterior lights, a Christmas village inside and so on — but that was the night the tornadoes hit her community in Marshall County, where she's lived her entire life.

She didn’t decorate that night, and it’s been a whirlwind since.

The exterior of her home was hit, and she’s also worked since helping displaced members of her church, East Marshall Baptist, as well as the church itself.

How to help tornado victims: Donate to relief funds, supplies and blood drives

The building, built in the early 1990s, was severely damaged by the tornado. Last week, broken glass littered the sanctuary, and debris covered the ground surrounding a Christmas tree.

Outside of the church was a mess of destruction, and bulletins from a September service floated hundreds of feet away.

It’ll take several months for the building to be restored, Freeman estimated, and for some members of the church in the heavily impacted Cambridge Shores area on Kentucky Lake, their homes are wiped out.

The small congregation is now worshiping at a nearby church, and for many, Christmas will be atypical. Many are displaced, and they'll spend Christmas out of the county or state.

“I know most people right now don’t really want to concentrate on gifts and what are you getting for Christmas?” said Freeman. “It’s mainly — what are you thankful for right now?”

More: A tornado destroyed their church. But this Mayfield congregation's faith is not shaken

Carlyn Morrow doesn’t get too excited for most holidays, but Christmas is different; it’s her favorite.

Her home was destroyed by the tornado, though, and she and her family are staying at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, just up the road from where Bryan searched out what remained of her storage unit possessions in Dawson Springs.

The family plans to spend Christmas in their room at the lodge. Santa has already visited the park, and a toy drive allowed her seven “grandbabies,” to have presents for the holiday.

They were able to get three large boxes of toys for the children.

“That really hit my heart. … We’ve never been able to give them as much as we have (this year), and it just really made me feel good,” she said.

She’s already had to remind her grandkids: “No opening presents until Christmas.”

More: 'There's no place to go': Kentucky tornado survivors cling together at park turned refuge

The tornado that devastated Dawson Springs has been categorized as an EF4, which Morrow noted. Many Kentuckians learned of the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale in recent weeks, but Morrow has been aware of the scale for more than a decade, when an EF3 devastated her trailer in Alabama in 2011.

At that time, FEMA issued her and her family $19,000 to help get their lives back together, she said. On Tuesday in Dawson Springs, a FEMA representative again noted the destruction, Morrow recalled, this time taking one look at her apartment and saying, “Ma’am, you did lose everything you had, didn’t you?”

She told him, “Yes sir, we have nothing at all. We lost everything.”

Morrow has toured a few places in nearby Earlington, Kentucky, and one three-bedroom house captured her attention. Between $500 rent a month and a $500 deposit, she’ll need to come up with $1,000 to secure the place; if not, she’s low on permanent housing options.

Receiving enough money from FEMA to secure the house in Earlington and rebuild their lives would be “the best Christmas ever,” Morrow said.

“I’m just ready to get my life back, and just move on forward, and continue, and be happy and be a good wife, a good mom, a good grandmother,” she said. “I’m just really excited about it.”

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner.

How to help

Some affected areas, like Dawson Springs, have asked for a pause on donated goods, but are still welcoming monetary donations and gift cards. Here's a guide to donating to various affected communities.

Gov. Andy Beshear has established a fund to assist tornado victims and begin rebuilding, and those interested in donating can do so here: Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief.

Those wishing to help rebuild East Marshall Baptist Church can contact Teresa at (270) 994-4134, and those wishing to generally support those affected in the Cambridge Shores are of Marshall County can contact Mindy at (270) 205-8726.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Western Kentucky tornadoes have changed Christmas for many survivors