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 “After the evacuation of the downtown district on Wednesday, June 11, I went home and for the next two days watched the continuous news coverage from our local stations, hoping to catch a glimpse of my business. Eventually, I did and was able to see that the water had pushed in my front window. I knew if anything remained, it was unusable.”
This is an excerpt from a letter Karen Gardner wrote on September 1, 2008 to the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Gardner’s hair salon, The Palace Barber Shop, was completely lost to the June 2008 flooding in Cedar Rapids.
Even though the outlook was bleak for Gardner, she knew she had to forge ahead, both for herself and for her clients. “This is what has happened, and in order to take care of my clients, I would need to find a place to operate temporarily,” she writes.
Gardner found a temporary location for her business, but she knew if she ever wanted to move The Palace Barber Shop back downtown she would need some financial help. Determined to return downtown, Garden began applying for assistance from various places. On August 14th, she received the news she had been hoping for. The Cedar Rapids Small Business Recovery Fund, in conjunction with Embrace Iowa, granted her $20,000 to help reopen her business.
After many months of hard work and perseverance, Gardner is finally starting to see the rainbow after the storm, but she knows there is still much to be done and many more to help.
“Accepting the help offered, facing these challenges, and moving forward will show Iowans ways we can assist others who may face a similar event,” writes Gardner. As Gardner’s story shows, the floodwaters that washed away so much of the Cedar Rapids community was no match against the determination and hope of those living there.
 Police Chief Chris Luhring was born and raised in Parkersburg. But the tornado that ripped through the city on May 25th, 2008 left the area unrecognizable to even a lifelong citizen.
“The entire south side of Parkersburg was literally wiped away in seconds. The homes and businesses that were destroyed were not weak; they were strong homes and strong business. They were made of brick and metal and built to last,” reflects Luhring.
But not much could last against the 200mph wind speeds that tore through Parkersburg.
As city police chief, Luhring knew he had an obligation to help rebuild his community and take care of those whose lives had been forever changed.
Although there were many homes and businesses that needed to be rebuilt, Luhring took on the task of rebuilding the city playground. “I believe rebuilding the playground has been such a high priority for the community because it deals with the most delicate and sensitive victims – the children.”
As co-chairperson for the playground project, Luhring wrote the letter to the Northeast Iowa Community Foundation that would ultimately result in a grant of $33,000 for the project, money raised by an event held by Embrace Iowa. Matching grants from the Miracle Recreation Equipment Corporation and additional fundraising campaigns have turned Luhring’s dream of rebuilding the playground into a reality.
While the new playground provides a safe place for the children of Parkersburg to play and have fun, it also serves another purpose.
“The goal has also been to create a place that is therapeutic, where families not only can reflect on what was lost, but also think about all the good that has been a result of the destruction,” Luhring explains. The money that the city of Parkersburg received has helped restore happiness and a sense of normalcy to the lives of the children living there.
Although the playground project is not expected to be complete until the spring of 2009, Luhring believes that the rebuilding process will be as beneficial to the community as the end result. “I hope and pray that someday, we will be a better community through all that has taken place. I do not believe the tornado’s purpose was for our destruction, but for our construction.” |
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