Story and Photos by Rachel Knight
Franklin, a town about 45 minutes northwest of Bryan College Station, is small enough that you might miss it if you blink while passing through. On Saturday, April 13, a tornado blew through town and did not blink.
Homes were flattened, trees were uprooted, cars were destroyed, bones were broken, but nobody died and the community’s spirit still stands strong. Friends, neighbors, and out of town strangers have rallied around the community in the aftermath of Saturday’s storm.
For Brenda Davis, a Franklin resident who was in town when the storm came through, the day started at The Gym, the local workout facility. She heard there was a tornado warning, but didn’t think twice about it. “I kept thinking there would be sirens, but we never heard them go off,” Davis shares. A lady came into the area the Davises were in and reminded them that there was a tornado warning. They decided the lady who stopped to warn them probably lived further from The Gym than they do, and continued to workout for five more minutes.
“We’re on the treadmill when the electricity goes out,” Davis shares. “So we left there and went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. … We left the pharmacy, I looked at my phone, and [my husband] Jay was like, ‘I need you to come home. This is serious.’” The Davises got home six minutes before the tornado came through and gathered with the rest of their family in a bathroom.
Meanwhile on the south side of town, Stephanie Darnell was loading her family into her car as soon as she heard there was a tornado warning in Franklin. “I went to Bryan,” she says. The Darnell’s waited out the storm before returning home.
While the Davises were in the bathroom, the tornado came through town. “It was the weirdest feeling,” Davis shares. “I can’t explain how the wind sounded, but it really just has a unique sound like a whistling, weird howling type noise. There was pouring down rain and then there was hail.” The house got really still and quiet, then all of a sudden the pressure in the house changed. “You could hear our windows crashing.”
When the storm was over, the Davises stepped outside. Their home was still standing. The crash they heard was a tree slamming into their house and then being forced by the wind through the windows. Originally, the Davises and their immediate neighbors thought the tornado may have been high winds, because the damage appeared to just be downed trees. “We keep hearing these ambulances, and we keep thinking they are going to pick up someone from the nursing home or something because we are all out of electricity,” Davis explains. “Jay walked down to see a downed tree more, and that’s when he saw what was across the highway. It was overwhelming.”
When the storm had passed, Darnell’s family headed back to town. “Everything was destroyed,” she says about her neighborhood. “I have a big hole on my roof, and they are fixing on it now, but my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, they lost their whole entire house.”
Eric Renschler lives just outside of Franklin, and was home when the tornado came through. It took down a tree on his property, but didn’t affect his house. “I got the call to come help set up a shelter here at my church, the First Baptist Church,” he shares. Since arriving at the church, he has been the shelter supervisor. Renschler says 53 to 55 Franklin houses were completely destroyed by the tornado.
Homes were not the only structures in Franklin demolished by the tornado. Anita Maxwell and the rest of the congregation at Saint Joseph Church of God in Christ spent 10 years raising money to build their church. They had two services in their new church before the tornado twisted its structure so badly it has to be stripped to the steel beams and completely rebuilt. Maxwell says she has faith that God will provide for the church again. "He blessed us through the last 10 years with enough money to get into it and He'll bless us gain."
Like many Franklin residence, Saint Joseph Church of God in Christ has set up a GoFundMe® page to start their rebuilding process.
People from all over the Franklin community have stepped up to support one another. Martha Barnett and Kara Baade are volunteering at the Pridgeon Center handing out donated water and ice to all Franklin residents because the city has a water boil notice in affect. “In Franklin, we are all on the same side,” Barnett says. “We want to help each other. It’s been amazing to see that cooperation between churches and races. There’s no division here. It’s just you need help. We’re here. We’re going to help you.”
Davis says her family helped with triage at the United Methodist Church as soon as they realized how bad the south side of town was hit, and Monday Davis’ son was part of the baseball team that helped deliver food and water before heading to their game in Rockdale.
In addition to the local community clearing trees and debris out of the road, cooking and delivering meals, setting up shelters, passing out water and ice, and simply being the kind of friend everyone wants in times like this, help has poured in from out of town.
Feed the Need Missions, a nonprofit based in Bastrop who sets up a cookout each week in different communities across Texas, came to Franklin as soon as they heard about the tornado. “Our part is to be here with the hot meals, but also provide a listening ear because people are struggling with all kinds of stuff,” says Jonah Beyer, Feed the Need president. “What we find is that when people are struggling with stuff in crises, just hearing them is huge.”
Beyer has heard several stories from those he is serving in Franklin. “The harder thing is coping with what just took place,” Beyer explains. By providing meals and being a good listener, Feed the Need helps people get their emotions out and move on to the next phase in dealing with the aftermath of disasters.
Emotions run the gamut after a natural disaster. Davis says she feels humbled. Barnett says she is proud of her community. Darnell says she has to stay strong for her children. Everyone Insite spoke to expressed a need to stay strong as a community.
While there is plenty of work to be done in town, Stephanie Sanders, the Robertson County clerk, says monetary donations are the biggest donations still needed. She says those interested in supporting Franklin should contact South Star Bank to make a donation to the Tornado Relief Fund or give to the Brazos Valley Food Bank in the name of the city of Franklin or Robertson County.
“I am just amazed at how people pull together,” Davis says. “How fast we all rally is really special.”
