Those were the words spoken to me and my friend Kaitlin Toliver as we delivered supplies to Mayfield, Kentucky, on Dec. 18 on behalf of the Rotary Club of Huntertown.
We began collecting supplies right after the Dec. 10 EF4 tornado hit many areas in Western Kentucky.
Donors dropped of nonperishable food items, coats, diapers, blankets, clothes and so much more at Well Grounded Café, 14517 Lima Road, and were loaded up Dec. 17. Toliver and I headed down that day.
The donation drop-off was located at the Mayfield-Graves County Fairgrounds, away from much of the devastation that impacted the city, but we still saw some of the impact the tornado had.
As we entered Dawson Springs, we began to see trees that had been snapped in half with little debris on each side of the road. The closer we got to Mayfield, the worse it got.
Along with the snapped trees and debris, we saw houses without a roof, houses that were only half standing, a cell tower snapped in half, clothes on the side of the road and a barn without a roof.
Our cell service dropped only for a few minutes and picked back up when we approached the fairgrounds.
Once we arrived at the drop-off site, we were stunned by the amount of people and donations that were already there.
In front of the drop-off building were pallets and pallets of water, bags of clothes piled up, forklifts moving pallets of donations, National Guard members running around, along with local and out-of-town volunteers at work.
Volunteers of all ages were there unloading trailers, vans and cars full of supplies. The Rotary Club of Huntertown donated three pallets full of supplies. Donors were there from different states. The couple next to us drove eight hours from West Virginia.
Once we were finished dropping of supplies, we headed out of the fairgrounds where a Christmas lights display was set up.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the kindness of the local people we met while in Mayfield.
After initially getting lost because my GPS was not working, we stopped at a local restaurant, Hoskins BBQ, to ask for directions. The woman at the counter did not hesitate when I asked her if she knew how to get to where we were going. She used local businesses as pinpoints to guide us to the fairgrounds.
When we were at the fairgrounds, we were greeted by a very kind and funny man.
“How can I help you?” he asked.
“We have a ton of different types of supplies back here,” I said, flashing him a smile.
“A ton, huh?” he smiled back.
He guided us to where we needed to go and thanked us for what we brought, and we thanked him for his help.
Once we were at the donation building, all of the volunteers unloading our van were very kind and appreciative of everything that we brought down.
This sort of kindness and generosity is what has always made Western Kentucky stick out for me. I worked in the region for a year and a half and met so many amazing and wonderful people.
Examples like this, while heartbreaking and saddening, show just how special that area of the state is. I have never seen communities come together like they have in support of the people of Mayfield.
The city of Mayfield’s Facebook page said it best:
“No one should have to move out of their neighborhood to live in a better one. We are the keys to our own community’s recovery.”
The Rotary Club of Huntertown would like to personally thank the following donors:
Dan and Marcia Holmes filled gas in the van owned by Jack Podgorny.
Janet Beal, Lifehouse Cedar Canyon food bank director, loaded canned goods and peanut butter with Rob Thielke.
Sue Christman and Lynsay Schoeff from Martha’s Closet brought 2 loads of coats and winter gear.
Fred Lancia donated $50 in gas and supplies. Jane Roush donated $100 in gas money and helped sort through clothes.
Just Neighbors homeless shelter sent diapers and Depends.
And thank you to all those who donated time, items and prayers.
Karah Wilson is secretary of the Rotary Club of Huntertown.
