Tornado strikes small town; Oconto bank comes to the rescue

When Oconto banker Charles Devine surveyed the damage of his tornado-ravaged town on Halloween night and the day after, he knew he had to help his community, a place his thirdgeneration, familyowned bank had called home for 95 years.

Gone were the village library, community hall and a number

"This is the only disaster of this magnitude that we've had as long as I can remember," Devine said of the Oct. 31 storm.

Surprisingly, there were no injuries in this town of 150 people. But a potential tragedy was barely avoided because 19 children and a few adults were inside the community hall during a Halloween party when the tornado destroyed the building.

As a town leader, Devine's bank started a community fund for tornado victims. The money will be used to pay for housing, food and clothing for the handful of families displaced by the damage. Among that group is The Farmers Bank's assistant cashier, Milrae Dittmar, who lost her home and farmstead southwest of Oconto.

In addition, the bank's leaders are helping the community secure state and federal grants for tornado relief. Vice president Roger May has been working with government agencies such as the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to obtain grants for public building construction. Such grants usually require matching monies collected locally.

The Farmers Bank, a $17-million asset institution, plans to put in more than its two cents worth by making a $25,000 donation toward replacing the library and community hall, which also served as the senior citizens center and housed village government offices, Devine said.

"We lost all the children's books (at the library) because they were covered with glass," Devine said.

The community hopes to formulate a rebuilding plan by May along with a new structure or structures completed within a year.

Donations have been coming to Oconto from throughout the state. On Nov. 18, Devine and May were in Kearney at the state Lions Club convention to accept a $10,000 relief grant from the International Association of Lions Clubs.

The tornado received statewide attention as Gov. Mike Johanns visited Oconto-about 50 miles northwest of Kearney-the day after to assess the damage. Besides the library and community hall being destroyed, the town fire hall lost most of its roof. The Farmers Bank's brick building sustained some damage as well. Six windows were broken, the roof sustained extensive damage and the ceiling nearly collapsed. The bank closed for a day before re-opening, Devine said.

During the community clean-up, bank employees pitched in by serving meals to the numerous volunteers and rescue workers who logged about 4,000 hours during a three-day period.

According to Devine, the storm stretched 120 miles through central Nebraska, traveling in a northeasterly direction. Devine remembered events leading up to the tornado, which touched down at about 6:40 p.m. He and his wife, Jo Ann, were in the basement of their Oconto home, four blocks from the bank. As the area was being pelted with heavy rain, the couple listened to weather reports on radio.

"It was just a freak weather phenomenon," said Devine. "There was very little warning. It was that close."

One thing that didn't help was lightning knocked out the community's emergency warning system minutes before the tornado touched down. "They were about to blow the whistle and the fire hall got struck by lightning, which blew the system apart," Devine said.

Clean-up efforts were going well until stalling on Nov. 11, when about 15 inches of snow blanketed Oconto. The heavy snow along with tornado disaster merely added to the tough, recent weather conditions experienced in the Oconto area. Earlier, a summer dry spell led to the most severe drought in the area since the 1930s.

Even so, the community soldiers on despite the conditions.

"We got a year's worth of weather in about two weeks," May said. Donations may be sent to the Custer

County Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 224, Oconto, NE 69960.

By Monte Olmsted