Stories from the April 16, 1998 Tornado

Both my husband and I were at work that day, but were in frequent contact regarding the weather. However, I had no idea until I began to drive home (since there had not been any news reports about east Nashville at all) that the tornado had ravaged my neighborhood. I encountered a traffic backlog on Briley Parkway near my exit, and when I called back to work to warn them of the traffic situation, I was informed that my husband had called there with a warning message for me to "not attempt to come home." Since I could no longer reach him, I felt even more resolved to make it home. My street was cordoned off by police officers who told me I was not allowed to enter. Sobbing with flashlight in hand (it was pitch black), I disobeyed them and crawled through the debris and fallen trees for the two blocks it took me to get to my house to discover that although we had lost all 3 of our beautiful 100 year old red maples, our house was relatively unscathed. I just held my husband and cried.

We became a lot closer to our neighbors in the ensuing weeks as life seemed to slow to a halt. I had never before spent so much time hanging out on porches, talking, drinking beer and retelling our experiences.

With no electricity, we shared a generator with our neighbor, which we used sparingly and illuminated the house with candlelight. Neighbors helped neighbors. I met and befriended an invalid woman across the street and we brought her food and staples. Strong bonds were formed on our street during those 2 weeks.

About a year later, a neighbor one street over knocked on the door and presented me with a photograph she had taken of our former beautiful red maples in their full autumn glory. I framed this photo not just for its beauty, but as a reminder of an event that not only altered our neighborhood, but changed many lives.



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