Photos and words by Sarah Fulton, Jennifer Gardner, Colton Warren<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_9578.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n

\u201cI felt the basement stairs cave in, and I felt a lot of pressure and I passed out. When I opened my eyes, there was dirt and glass flying, so I closed them real quick and I could hear my mom digging her nails into the cement and screaming. The cellar door was still attached, and it was opening, and I was thinking, \u2018Oh no, I hope they don\u2019t get sucked out.\u2019\u201d<\/strong>
\n– Deena Schell<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_0024-2.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n

\u201cIt just breaks your heart to see your own home torn down. We did everything there. It just really hit home. I am never going to come back to that house again.\u201d<\/strong>
\n– Larry Hendrickson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[aesop_gallery id=”5673″]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Deena Schell (bottom left), a mother of two, was home when the tornado tore through the tiny town of Fairdale, Illinois. The two levels of her home were ripped off, with one ending up across the highway from her property. She is partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build a new home in time for the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n[aesop_quote type=”block” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ width=”65%” height=”auto” align=”center” size=”3″ quote=”Fairdale is not as strong as its houses or its trees. It\u2019s as strong as its community.” cite=”- Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner” parallax=”off” direction=”left”]\n\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_9693.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n \u201c[The governor] could have just done a 10-minute, \u2018Hi, how are you? Keep up the good work,\u2019 got back in and gone. He was here for almost three hours. And I think he was very moved, too. I\u2019m glad he stayed.\u201d<\/strong> \n – Bill Nicklas (right), vice president of the DeKalb County Long Term Recovery Corporation<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_0012-1.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n A marker painted for first responders noting no casualties in this house remains visible one\u00a0year after a tornado damaged nearly every structure in the rural town of Fairdale.<\/p>\n[aesop_gallery id=”5653″]\n[aesop_quote type=”block” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ width=”65%” height=”auto” align=”center” size=”3″ quote=”April 9, 2015, was a horrible day. April 9, 2016, is a beautiful day.” cite=”- Chad Connell, chief, Kirkland Community Fire District” parallax=”off” direction=”left”]\n\n \u201cI stepped out of my back door, looked to the west and there it was — there was the tornado. By the time I had the time to register what was going on, the pagers dropped for our fire department to respond to Fairdale.\u201d<\/strong> \n – Chad Connell<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_1041E.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n\n \u201cWhat I can say is the community came together that night. They are a small community, a\u00a0great community.\u201d<\/strong> \n– Erin Wruck<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_1137E.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n “I have a little one — he\u2019s 2 — and he never got to actually meet his grandma. So seeing him grow up and not letting her see it was a little hard to take.\u201d<\/strong> \n– Justina Jackson, granddaughter of Geri Schultz<\/em><\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_0742E.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]\n \u201cThis day is celebration. This is a milestone. We have this new park. We have homes. It\u2019s just\u00a0a day of healing. Mother Nature put a nasty scar on this town, and we\u2019re just trying to cover\u00a0that scar up.\u201d<\/strong> \n– Chad Connell<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photos and words by Sarah Fulton, Jennifer Gardner, Colton Warren [aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/urban-plains.com\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_9578.jpg” parallaxbg=”off” parallaxspeed=”0″ captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”] \u201cI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"yoast_head":"\n