Virginian volunteers Cameron Ellis and Pasha Heatwale remove nails from boards that will be salvaged and used at the Alpha Ranch.

The mile-plus wide tornado that ripped through the Shoal Creek Valley killed 11 people April 27.

Many families are still struggling with rebuilding efforts. Some are having to completely rebuild their homes because they were torn down to only the foundation that evening.

In one spot near the center of the valley, the Alpha Ranch, can be seen as a microcosm of what each family rebuilding has gone through.

From the affected families and youth who lived at an outreach center in the houses at the ranch, to the volunteers who have come from across the country, it’s story is unique.

Those who were there

One person especially impressed with the outpouring of help is Aaron Crawford, whose family lived at the entry to the Alpha Ranch and saw their home destroyed that evening.

He is currently rebuilding his home with the help of volunteers from all over the country.

There were 37 people gathered in the Crawfords’ basement when the tornado ripped through the valley. Neighbors from across the road and each end of the valley came down, as he said, “just to get safe.”

When the system moved through Tuscaloosa, the four families gathered at the home saw it live on television.

“We went downstairs after that,” he said. Though the basement was open on one end, Crawford said it still provided the shelter the families needed.

“When we saw it come through Birmingham, they said it was headed this way so we moved into an inner room up against the ground and then it just hit. It was loud and only lasted 20 or 30 seconds. Then we came out to find complete devastation. There wasn’t anybody hurt and we were very blessed here.”

Crawford shared his thoughts on the three month mark. “It’s been amazing to watch. We’re surrounded by our church and Christian people. I’ve had people from even Georgia that put the roof on our house and people that I didn’t even know that in the name of the Lord are coming out and helping people. It’s been amazing to me to watch that.

“I don’t know why I’d expect anything different because that’s the way the church is supposed to operate and does operate, so we’ve just been extremely blessed to be a part of that and to be a recipient of that.”

Standing just outside his home, which has been framed and boarded as of the past few weeks, he said he is thankful and taken aback at the number of volunteers who have selflessly pitched in to help rebuild.

“There are people in the valley who are paying for their houses to be rebuilt, but we were in a situation that we didn’t have the insurance available to rebuild,” Crawford explained. “Most of the materials and the money to buy these materials has been donated to us to rebuild and the labor has been donated. It’s truly amazing.”

Crawford said while he has been busy rebuilding his own home, if it were to be finished before other rebuild he will donate his time to help his neighbors.

His family have been staying in Ragland since the storm and he said each day he returns to the valley it reminds him of April 27.

“Still, I guess depending on my emotions, it brings tears to my eyes as I drive in. Especially if I haven’t been here in two or three days. I come over the mountain and I see the trees that are downed, but as I drive down it I see houses going up and construction happening every day, more trees being cleared and more stumps being hauled off. The biggest thing is — and me and my wife were talking about this the other day — it’s stressful. We’re going through a lot with just the emotional things that come with this. My kids are out of their normal environment and it’s been hard on the family. But it’s one day at a time and God’s taken us through that. It’s been great to watch how He’s blessed us.”

The volunteers

Last week a group of Virginians who nicknamed themselves “Nana’s Kids” were out trying to save some of the wood from a neighbor’s destroyed barn for rebuilding at the ranch. “Since this one’s totally demolished, the owner of the property said, ‘Take it.’ We’re de-nailing the good stuff so they can use it in their new barn,” explained Rebekah McClintock,  who is Patsy “Nana” McClintock’s daughter.

They brought three teen boys last week to volunteer at the ranch and this week brought Nana’s granddaughters.

The heat of the summer had the volunteers taking a break during the hottest part of the day and returning in the after noon when, as Rebekah said, “It’s just so much nicer. We could go for hours.”

The work isn’t easy, even for energetic teens. “I feel good that I’m helping people; but in my whole body, I don’t feel so good,” a sweating 13-year-old Cameron Ellis joked.

The boys said on their second day of volunteering that their favorite part of the work would be burning the wood when the job was finished.

Seeing others give selflessly impressed these volunteers. “There are people donating food, ice, water; it’s an incredible effort,” Nana said. “We’re real impressed and the people are wonderful. And everyone at the church is wonderful. We’re keeping a journal and they’re writing how they feel about things and stuff like that. I think it’s a real valuable experience and we hope it’s helpful.”

Rebekah commented, “Anytime I feel tired, I look at one side of the valley and then the other and realize why we’re here. It’s not just this one spot. It takes a lot of people to clean this stuff up.”

Pointing to the tornado-swept part of the valley and then to a side that didn’t get hit, 14-year-old Austin Ellis said, “There’s such a big difference from over there, to here, to over there.”

“They’re just like great worker bees,” Nana said. “I called my husband last night and said, ‘We’ve got such a great team.’ And he said, ‘Oh, what about the guys you brought?’ I told him, ‘No, it’s these guys, they are the team and they’re really awesome! They’re working hard and cooperating and this is a really good place to us start a good experience for them.”

Gary McBrayer from Moody has been coming out to help his family who lives on the ranch every opportunity he gets. He’s impressed with those who come to help. “One of the biggest thing I’ve seen is a lot of people really willing to help from all over the country. Not just the southeast, but the Midwest. I’ve seen people from Louisiana, Ohio, really, all over. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the spirit of giving to help your fellow man. It seems to be a little bit of a different than the response after [Hurricane] Katrina. It’s more of a ‘What can I do to help?’ As opposed to ‘Somebody help me.’”

The day after the storm, many from within the county, even some with trees still on their houses, descended upon the valley to help those most affected. McBrayer spoke about the people from St. Clair still helping each other.

“It fills me with a lot of pride. That morning when it hit Moody it hit the subdivision I was in and there were 15 trees over the road and people came out of their houses and helped each other. They were grabbing chainsaws, removing debris, just doing anything they could do to help each other out. People were going from house to house to check on each other to make sure they were okay. It definitely gives you a lot more peace about if something does happen in the future that people are going to be helping each other.

“Mr. Liverette was in the hospital that day saying that my sister and brother-in-law were here at the house and that everything had been destroyed and it was right at dusk.”

McBrayer said it took less than 30 minutes to get to the property and by then “there were already 10 fire trucks out here and people and volunteers with equipment and everybody was already on top of it. It was very, very quick and dramatic response.”

Three months later, he said that there hadn’t been a drop off in the response like he thought there would be. “I thought two weeks later we’d have been forgotten about and everybody would have moved on. Everybody has to move on with their lives to a certain extent, anyway, but I would say there’s still a lot of outpouring and a lot of people asking what they can do to help. I’m impressed with that.”

A special cook

There have been times that Sandy Gamble has prepared meals for as many as 200 people who are working at the ranch. The Clay resident has done it all from a pull-behind camper’s kitchen.

She and her husband Terry have spent weeks out at the ranch helping in any capacity needed. “We go home every now and then on the weekend, but a lot of times we have groups out so we stay.”

She said many church volunteers help her and Phillis Liverett with a lot of the cooking. Mrs. Liverett is the wife of the Alpha Ranch’s overseer, Gary.

“The Lord provides,” she said of the amount it takes to feed so many people. “Yesterday I finally got a freezer and refrigerator, but I’ve been doing it so far out of the camper-trailer.”

Asked what she would say to anyone at the three-month mark, she responded, “Come out and help.”