As Bremen begins recovery, help flows in from far and wide

Marty Gish has had life throw a lot at him in the past few months, but to hear him tell it he is thankful beyond words. He and his wife, Shannon, welcomed twins in October who were born three months premature and have been in a neonatal intensive care unit since.

While he was with his new family at the hospital in Louisville, his home on State Route 81 was destroyed by the tornado that ripped through Bremen on Dec. 10.

A month since that day in December, babies Sailor and Adeline are doing well and expect to come home in March.

Marty and Sheila Gish sit on the porch of her home in Bremen. A crew of workers from a Mennonite church in Illinois are busy putting a roof on her garage, at no cost to her.

His home, on the other hand, has been cleared away and only the foundation remains.

Gish is now living at his mother’s house, just around the corner from where his used to be. Sheila Gish lives in a brick home where she and her granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law rode out the tornado. Her son got a mattress off a bed and they took shelter under it in a hallway.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Sheila Gish said, adding that she doesn’t scare easily. “But boy, I was scared that night.”

Now, a month after the storm, a group of men are busy working to put a new roof on the garage. They have removed the debris and torn down the addition to Sheila Gish’s home that was destroyed by the tornado. This group has been working in the Bremen community since just after the storm hit.

The group are members of Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church (EPMC) and have come from Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maryland and Pennsylvania to help. Organizer Alrin Kraemer, from Wayne City in southern Illinois, said they use their church network to mobilize crews to help after disasters strike.

Kraemer said they came to Bremen because the small town wasn’t getting the same notice as other places where the tornado hit. They were seeing a lot in the media about Dawson Springs and Mayfield, and thought they could have an impact in Bremen.

On Jan. 11, the group was operating two crews in Bremen, one in Earlington and another in Dawson Springs, as the number of volunteers has grown. They have rented a few empty farm houses in Slaughters, where they’re staying while they work.

“I’m humbled to see the amount of people that are willing to give,” Kraemer said. “All we’re trying to do is express God’s love to people through serving them, and right now labor and equipment is the way to do that.”

Daylight shines through the roof of Sheila Gish’s garage in Bremen. Members of EMPC church were making repairs on Jan. 11.

The EMPC members don’t charge anything for their work. “We perform this all as a gift of love from God, no charge to the property owner in any way.”

Marty Gish said Kraemer approached him and asked if they could help, as he was working in the rubble of his aunt’s home just up the road. Martha Brown lived on State Route 175, and lost her home and several buildings, including a 40-stall horse barn.

“The next morning they had 20 guys down there, they had all their equipment, everything ready and they started helping us,” Marty Gish said. When they finished at Brown’s home, they began clearing away his home as well.

The men have cleared away 14 homes in the past three weeks and have now turned to repairing things at Sheila Gish’s home.

Across town on Black Lake Road, another group of volunteers have come to help. They are busy building an outbuilding for Jeff Vanover on the property where his mother’s home sits. In the distance, what’s left of Vanover’s home is visible.

Vanover said he came to his mother’s house when the tornado warning was issued. They got into a back bedroom and waited. “It was terrible. It was a growl, and it vibrated you from the inside.”

The crew from Yoder’s Construction has been traveling 150 miles each day from Odon, Indiana to help. Nathan Yoder has donated their efforts and has constructed three buildings for tornado survivors in the Bremen area.

Yoder said people in Daviess County, Indiana, have been donating and volunteering in Bremen over the past few weeks. “In 2005, we had a tornado go through our area. It wasn’t really anything like this, but it probably woke our community up.”

Yoder said that experience has resonated there and people have been eager to help out in Kentucky. “You hear about something like this in other places, and think, ‘It’s not home’, and you brush it off.” Yoder said it’s not that way if you’re in a community affected by such a disaster.

A Bremen local with a unique hobby fostered a connection with people in the Indiana community where the tiny town of Odon sits. Barry Vincent said when news of the tornado’s destruction mentioned Bremen, he started to get calls from friends in Indiana who share his love of horse drawn wagons.

Vincent has been trading and working with people in Daviess County, Indiana for 30 years. “I haven’t done anything,” Vincent said, “These are the people who have done everything.”

Vanover said the building will allow him to start working again, and help to rebuild his community in Bremen. He works doing masonry.

“Jeff does a lot for our community,” Vincent said, “Nathan came over here to donate this building, so he’s putting Jeff in a position to help the community, the people who need help. That’s what it’s all about.”

Vincent also lost his home, across the street from Church Street General Baptist Church on State Route 181. Yoder Construction helped him as well, putting up a building on his land.

Volunteers from New Hope Church in East Tawas, Michigan helped to sort donations in Central City. (Leader-News photos/Stacie Barton)

Almost immediately after the tornado struck on Dec. 10, donations started to pour in from all over the country. Now, they are being stored in locations around the county, waiting for storm survivors who are in need.

A building in Central City usually home to the local cross-fit community is currently filled with donated goods, from bedding and toys to water and household items. A local mattress and furniture store was giving away mattresses there on Jan. 12, and has donated nearly 150 mattresses for families impacted by the tornado. Owner Nathan Shemwell said they have given away more than 70, with another 60 to 70 available.

Inside Blue Knight Cross Fit on First Street, another group of volunteers have traveled here to help. This group is from New Hope Church in East Tawas, Michigan, more than 600 miles away.

A dozen people from the church, including a few outliers from Iowa and Illinois, have been staying at the United Methodist Church in Sacramento, and spending their days helping out. They have spent several days sorting and organizing the massive piles of donations.

As the debris is cleared and new construction begins, the work of volunteers in Bremen has been felt deeply by those who have survived the tornado.

“They’ve been a tremendous uplift, what they’ve done,” Vincent said of the volunteers. “They’ve taken away that defeated feeling that our community is feeling. When these guys show up with their help, it’s very uplifting.”

Marty Gish said strangers have filled many needs they have faced since the Dec. 10 tornado.

“I can’t say thank you enough. I feel like the only conversation I have these days is talking about how thankful I am. But that’s what is in my heart.”