Friends, strangers arrive to help
HALLAM - The long line of vehicles into town Monday looked like a funeral procession.
They were there to help victims of a killer tornado pick up their lives - and whatever they could find in the rubble that once was Hallam.
"All gone," said Lou Keele of Lincoln as he and his wife, Phyllis, sat in their red Buick. Their daughter and son-in-law lost an acreage, a metal barn and two pickups to Saturday night's tornado.
"Thank God they were safe," Phyllis Keele said.
All over town Monday, residents sifted through broken lumber, bricks and other debris in search of family albums, books, jewelry, papers and other remnants of their lives. They loaded what they could onto horse trailers and pickups, planning to come back for more.
But they were forced to evacuate late in the afternoon as a second storm loomed in the distance.
It was something they did not need after the hell they went through Saturday night.
A tornado roared through the town of 300, destroying everything in its path. It was the most destructive part of a Nebraska storm system that spawned tornadoes, killed a 73-year-old Hallam woman and injured 37 others. In all, it destroyed 158 homes and damaged at least 57 others in Lancaster, Saline, Gage and Cass counties.
The tornado ripped off the tops of homes, leaving only basements filled with water. The Methodist church was gone. Hallam United Church of Christ was heavily damaged. Downtown, the Hallam State Bank was the only building left.
Condemnation signs were posted everywhere, but "everybody has been accounted for," said Doug Ahlberg, director of Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management. "One death - that's one too many."
No damage estimate was available Monday, Ahlberg said. Insurance adjusters joined those working their way into Hallam.
"I'm just overwhelmed by the goodness to help," Joetta Schwaninger said. "People provided us with a place to sleep - a gal came from Omaha just to help. We don't know her.
"She took our clothes home to wash and dry."
Cory Hall and his girlfriend, Carolyn Connelly, picked through mud and debris in Hall's front yard on East Avenue, like two children playing on a beach.
"I found some fossils and arrowheads and some Michael Jordan rookie cards that were all right," Hall said.
Earlier, they had discovered three unbroken eggs on the kitchen floor. They found the refrigerator door but no refrigerator.
Deloris Oltman recovered something valuable - her wedding rings. They were in a dresser door buried under debris.
She and her husband, Vernon, took shelter in the basement behind a large buffet when the 1½-mile wide tornado ripped through town. Rescuers pulled them through a basement window because the stairwell was blocked.
"We both prayed to God and thanked God that we were both alive and not injured," Deloris Oltman said, "and we're still praying."
The only thing left standing in their brick home, where they had lived since 1966, is a walk-in closet.
Along East Avenue, residents pored over basements and yards looking for things to take to storage units or houses of friends and relatives. That's where most opted to stay instead of an emergency shelter.
"We'll just take it and sort it out later," Millie Schuster said as she raked through some debris. "We're doing fine. Our family took off work today and came to help us.
"What more can you ask?"
A granddaughter found an undamaged Bible and an heirloom mantel clock Sunday. All but one of her seven grandchildren showed up. The one that didn't was too young, she said.
Few residents wanted to talk about what the town's future might hold.
"I don't know what I am going to do," said Tony Fisser, 83, who has lived in Hallam 58 years.
Then, he added, he didn't think he would rebuild, especially after he and his wife Hermine spent almost three hours in his basement Saturday listening to the tornado tear up everything above them.
"We could hear the noise. We knew what it was,"he said. "Oh, my, it was a long night."
But Ed Hall, 52, said he wasn't ready to pack it in just yet.
"We'd like to stay in Hallam," he said. "We love it out here."
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@;journalstar.com.
They were there to help victims of a killer tornado pick up their lives - and whatever they could find in the rubble that once was Hallam.
"All gone," said Lou Keele of Lincoln as he and his wife, Phyllis, sat in their red Buick. Their daughter and son-in-law lost an acreage, a metal barn and two pickups to Saturday night's tornado.
"Thank God they were safe," Phyllis Keele said.
All over town Monday, residents sifted through broken lumber, bricks and other debris in search of family albums, books, jewelry, papers and other remnants of their lives. They loaded what they could onto horse trailers and pickups, planning to come back for more.
But they were forced to evacuate late in the afternoon as a second storm loomed in the distance.
It was something they did not need after the hell they went through Saturday night.
A tornado roared through the town of 300, destroying everything in its path. It was the most destructive part of a Nebraska storm system that spawned tornadoes, killed a 73-year-old Hallam woman and injured 37 others. In all, it destroyed 158 homes and damaged at least 57 others in Lancaster, Saline, Gage and Cass counties.
The tornado ripped off the tops of homes, leaving only basements filled with water. The Methodist church was gone. Hallam United Church of Christ was heavily damaged. Downtown, the Hallam State Bank was the only building left.
Condemnation signs were posted everywhere, but "everybody has been accounted for," said Doug Ahlberg, director of Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management. "One death - that's one too many."
No damage estimate was available Monday, Ahlberg said. Insurance adjusters joined those working their way into Hallam.
"I'm just overwhelmed by the goodness to help," Joetta Schwaninger said. "People provided us with a place to sleep - a gal came from Omaha just to help. We don't know her.
"She took our clothes home to wash and dry."
Cory Hall and his girlfriend, Carolyn Connelly, picked through mud and debris in Hall's front yard on East Avenue, like two children playing on a beach.
"I found some fossils and arrowheads and some Michael Jordan rookie cards that were all right," Hall said.
Earlier, they had discovered three unbroken eggs on the kitchen floor. They found the refrigerator door but no refrigerator.
Deloris Oltman recovered something valuable - her wedding rings. They were in a dresser door buried under debris.
She and her husband, Vernon, took shelter in the basement behind a large buffet when the 1½-mile wide tornado ripped through town. Rescuers pulled them through a basement window because the stairwell was blocked.
"We both prayed to God and thanked God that we were both alive and not injured," Deloris Oltman said, "and we're still praying."
The only thing left standing in their brick home, where they had lived since 1966, is a walk-in closet.
Along East Avenue, residents pored over basements and yards looking for things to take to storage units or houses of friends and relatives. That's where most opted to stay instead of an emergency shelter.
"We'll just take it and sort it out later," Millie Schuster said as she raked through some debris. "We're doing fine. Our family took off work today and came to help us.
"What more can you ask?"
A granddaughter found an undamaged Bible and an heirloom mantel clock Sunday. All but one of her seven grandchildren showed up. The one that didn't was too young, she said.
Few residents wanted to talk about what the town's future might hold.
"I don't know what I am going to do," said Tony Fisser, 83, who has lived in Hallam 58 years.
Then, he added, he didn't think he would rebuild, especially after he and his wife Hermine spent almost three hours in his basement Saturday listening to the tornado tear up everything above them.
"We could hear the noise. We knew what it was,"he said. "Oh, my, it was a long night."
But Ed Hall, 52, said he wasn't ready to pack it in just yet.
"We'd like to stay in Hallam," he said. "We love it out here."
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@;journalstar.com.
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