Joplin update from this weekend

[PhotoBob]

Just and update for you on how things are in Joplin:

This weekend my co-worker was in Joplin, MO with his church group helping with the relief effort. They were assigned outside cleanup around a town house that is scheduled for demolition. (3 walls – no roof)  Before they went out, they were told to keep a close eye out for photos and pick them up when spotted. They found eight photos that day. Some were under debris, some they found in the dirt and leaves while raking it away from the foundation. One photo was still in it's frame, another was alongside it's frame (broken), but somehow they stayed together.  I asked about the condition of the photos and he said "not bad really".  They came around twice that day just too pickup photos from the volunteers. It's obvious they are serious about people getting their memories back. The other comment that he had about Joplin's current state was "Those people are in a world of hurt."

PhotoBob

[Tori803]

It's nice to know that more and more folks are becoming mindful of saving the photos!

Tori

[Mhayes]

Hi PhotoBob,

I don't know if your co-worker knows that there are several drop off locations for photos? They will be scanned for viewing online and there is hope to have a location where people can view them. See the homepage for more details. The sad part is that the place taking the photos, there are 16,000 of them and the number increases everyday.

Because of how bad it is there, OPR will probably make a 2nd trip to help.

Thanks for posting about what is going on!

Margie

[Pat]

It is incredible PhotoBob that after this length of time there are still photos lying around in the Joplin area to be found as your friend describes.  It really brings home the truth of your friend's statement that the Joplin people must be in a world of hurt.  Let's hope that the family those photos belong to can be found and reunited with their photos.   

Thank you for the update.

Pat

[PhotoBob]

Margie, there were people that came and gathered the photos from them, twice that day, just to make sure they went to the right place.  Hopefully when we make the second run, most of those 16,000 photos will be reunited with family or relatives.

Pat it is incredible they are still finding as many as they are this far out. I rode home from work tonight with my friend that lost his Aunt in Joplin. Of course he's been down there many times since the tornado. He said 2D photos don't tell the story. When you see the extent of the  destruction with your own eyes you begin to understand how it's possible that photos are still turning up or other such odd things. One of the "events" he took part in a month ago was a group of about 50 of them cleared a 30 acre hay field of fiberglass insulation and debris. They filled the bed of a pickup with small pieces of buildings, but they covered a flatbed semi with bags of insulation. He said it was like picking pink cotton. Every bit HAD to be picked up because of what it would do to the cattle if eaten. When finished the farmer just cried he was so happy and appreciative for their help. That field was the winter feed for his herd.  In that entire 30 acre field, only one photo.  You just don't know.

What blows my mind (no pun intended) is the photo that that made it 218 miles!  Do we draw straws for who gets to restore that one??

Bob

[Mhayes]

Bob, I had heard something to the effect that all of the debris that they are hauling out is 100 times more than what came out of the World Trade Center. The other thing that I read is because everything was destroyed in the tornadoes path, it was hard to know where to look for people since all street signs and land marks were gone. What they have done is paint the street's name at intersections and that may stay in place in case of it ever happening again.

I can't imagine picking up insulation and I would still be afraid the silvers of the stuff would still be on the ground and picked up by the cattle grazing. What a wonderful gesture of caring by those 50 volunteers.

I think OPR's effort in Joplin will rival what was done after Hurricane Katrina.

Margie