Mike Moser "I Say" Published Nov. 22, 2002

The mettle which
makes our county great

It has often been asked about skydivers, "What makes a sane man want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?"

The same logic can be applied to nearly 100 volunteers who converged on Cumberland County's tornado-stricken land last Saturday, leaving perfectly warm homes and families to labor on one of the coldest days since last winter, in the rain, to cut downed trees and help clear debris and the rubble of what was once someone's dreams.

"I think it means a lot to people," County Fire Department Assistant Chief Joe Wood said. Although ragged and tired from 10- to 14-hour days, Wood is coordinating volunteer efforts at the command post set up in the Thunderbird Rec Center at Lake Tansi.

"It's all volunteer help now, helping clear people's property and homesites" Wood said. It may not seem like much considering some people have lost everything, but it helps make some of the victims feel better. "And I've gone out every day since the tornado. I've hugged a few and cried with them."

Because of where the storm hit, many of the victims are retired or elderly and unable to clear the massive damage. To illustrate this, Wood noted that the night of the storm trees and downed power lines had to be removed from every road in the stricken area. And before the rain stopped, volunteers were out there with chain saws and equipment, doing what they could to help.

Perhaps Cumberland County Commissioner and real estate company owner Jeff Brown summed it up best at Monday night's county meeting: "I am proud of all the emergency workers and volunteers" who pitched in to help their friends and neighbors. "It's why I live here."

The maelstrom in the air that left in its wake a devastating path of destruction over seven miles long and a quarter-of-a-mile wide in places was over faster than one can say "One M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i." It will take some years to recover materially, others a lifetime to recover mentally. Some will always be haunted by the memory.

Yet, the spirit of those who survived, although battered and bruised, remains buoyed by hope and the outpouring of love and care from the dozens of unnamed volunteers who showed up and "just wanted to help, because it is the thing to do."

Most insurance policies only allow $200 to $500 for tree removal from storms. "With the damage so great, that doesn't even touch how much it would cost to hire someone. So many of these people don't have it," said Wood.

Some residents have found refrigerators or other large household items in their yards. Strips of siding and heavy metal. "A lot of these people can't move heavy stuff. They need our help," said Wood.

As many as 25 to 30 firefighters from Clarksville are traveling to Crossville in shifts, volunteering their time on their off days. Workers from the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge and Sequoyah near Chattanooga, volunteer firefighters from Cassville, are pitching in to help us.

"When the tornado hit Clarksville in '99 we had people in town from all over Tennessee and Kentucky," said an assistant chief from Clarksville. "We figured it was our time to return the favor and help someone else."

When asked how long the command post would be directing volunteers to areas in need of labor, Wood responded, "As long as it takes."

One can only conclude that the people of Cumberland County and our area friends are among the finest. If Tennessee is the Volunteer State, then surely Cumberland is the Volunteer Capital of Tennessee. Those helping hands make Rocky Top a little less rocky for our storm victims.

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Mike Moser is the editor of the Crossville Chronicle. His column is published periodically on Fridays.