Now and Then

It will take months, even years for the folks here in Macon County to deal with the profound impact the deadly February 5th tornado had on our peaceful community. Tammie Oldham and her 13-year-old daughter, Brooke, are struggling to rebuild their lives after the ferocious storm swept down Akersville Road destroying everything in its path.

“I went to work that fateful morning at Dr. Chunn's office,” said Tammie, “where I have been employed for the past eight years and Brooke went to school. I stopped at Piggly Wiggly's later that afternoon and headed on home.”

A single mother, Tammie went about her normal routine of cooking supper and straightening up the house at 2314 Akersville Road.

“I didn't even know there was severe weather heading our way,” explained Tammie, “until it started thundering and I turned on the television. A little after 9:00, Channel 5 said severe weather was nearing Nashville from Jackson, but by all indications it would lose strength before it hit Macon County.”

“Why don't you sleep with me tonight,” I remember telling my daughter, because truthfully, I'm kinda scared of storms myself,” Tammie said.

Concerned for their safety, Tammie went to the storage closet and prepared it just in case, moving some boxes around and stacking quilts, blankets, and pillows in the corner.

Glancing back at the TV, Lisa Patton told Gallatin to take cover, a tornado was heading their way, and by 10:20 it was Hartsville, take cover.

“Within seconds the electricity went off and I grabbed the phone and called my Dad, Larry G. Roark, who told me, ‘it doesn't look good for Macon County'.”

After Tammie hung up the phone, she decided to go ahead and lay down, praying the storm would lose strength and perhaps pass on by.

But unfortunately, that was not meant to be.

“I had shut my eyes for about five minutes,” remembers Tammie, “when I suddenly shot straight up in the bed hearing that infamous train barreling down Akersville Road.”

“I screamed for Brooke to get to the closet and closing the door behind me, I threw my body over her and covered us with the pillows and blankets.”

“The wind ripped the roof off like it was nothing and an empty box was spinning above our heads.”

“It was an awful feeling,” Tammie said, “but I asked the Lord to protect my daughter and I and He must have been listening because neither one of us had a scratch.”

“After what seemed like an eternity, it was dead silent; my breathing was labored and I was thirsty.”

Still holding on to the flashlight, Tammie remembers telling her daughter to put on her shoes.

Pushing her way out the closet door, Tammie realized the right side of the house had collapsed blocking both entrances. Going back into the bedroom, she knocked out a window, throwing all the bedding on the ground. Jumping four feet herself, she then somehow managed to lift Brooke out.

With nearly every home in sight leveled, Tammie knew they had to assist their neighbors, who she could already hear calling for help.

“Crossing the road to check on the Wilsons, Brooke tripped and fell, cutting a deep gash on her forehead across her eyebrow.”

“Next we headed to the Brawners house, which was still standing, to check on them, and before long, people began gathering there.”

“Michelle had a first aid kit,” Tammie said, “and I began bandaging up the numerous cuts and scratches and I pieced up Brooke's eyebrow. Thankfully my medical training proved useful.”

“With help supposedly headed our way, we had to walk to John Dyer's old store to meet the rescue workers, but the roads were blocked, so once again we were on our own.”

“Someone brought the battered and bloody Stinson woman inside the store and laid her on the floor, and in all honesty, I thought she was dead. She was cut up pretty badly and her arm was swelled up to twice its normal size.”

Around 2:30 an ambulance finally arrived, only to turn around and head back because of reports of another approaching tornado.

“Fortunately they left some supplies with me, and Michelle and I were able to tend to Mrs. Stinson, stopping the flow of blood.”

A couple of hours later, the police and rescue workers finally began arriving on the scene and by 5:00 a.m. ambulances from surrounding counties, along with FEMA, had joined them. A school bus transported all the uninjured to the National Guard Armory where the soldiers had set up cots and provided food for all the evacuees.

“Soon after arriving, a doctor took a look at Brooke's cut and we were transported by private car to Macon County General Hospital to have her stitched up.”

With no idea whether their daughter and granddaughter were dead or alive, it was 12:00 noon before Tammie's parents found them at the local hospital that Wednesday.

“My parents had seen the horrific devastation on Akersville Road, naturally thinking the worst. ‘It's a miracle you are alive,' my Dad said during our tearful reunion.”

“I didn't see the house until late the next afternoon and I was speechless, as I realized the full extent of the damage. I was amazed that Brooke and I had lived through this deadly storm that had ransacked our home and destroyed everything in sight, but by God's protective hands, we managed to survive.”

“Unfortunately, many of our neighbors didn't make it, but by the grace of God, many of them did.”

“We have been overwhelmed with the support we have received from everyone and it is unbelievable how good people have treated us. I would like to thank the Church of Christ, National Guard Armory, family and friends for their kindness, and to those who donated clothes, money, and food.

“And last, but not least, thank you for all the prayers on our behalf that have sustained us through the months since the tornado.”

“Thank you once again.”