Members of the United Methodist Disaster Team have been driving from Columbus to Old North Dayton almost every month since the Memorial Day Tornadoes in 2019. They’ve been cleaning up and rebuilding areas that were hit the hardest.
On the weekend of April 17, over a dozen volunteers met up in the Old North Dayton neighborhood to help replant some trees that were uprooted by the storms.
Walter Kley has lived in his Old North Dayton home with his wife for fifty-seven years. He said one of the tornadoes leveled a line of old trees that stood between his backyard and the road.
“That big tree on the corner, that big oak tree, that big around, (the tornado) just laid it over," Kley said. "And it took four other ones down. It took all the trees down back there. Wouldn’t have been for them it would have totaled our house.”
Matt Tepper is the president of the Old North Dayton neighborhood association. He said some trees fell right across the fence in Kley’s backyard. This made cleanup difficult.
“What ended up happening was the private crew was just cutting it apart and then throwing the pieces across the fence," Tepper said. "It was real good teamwork ‘cause you have those lines, they can’t walk on private property and they figured out how to do it.”
Vicki Nichols, a volunteer with the disaster team, was digging a hole for a tree. She said she’s grateful for the opportunity to help people in need.
“We’re all blessed to be able to do this," Nichols said. "We’re retired or we’ve got enough time or we have resources but a lot of people don’t.”
The volunteers have already planted dozens of young trees around the neighborhood. That weekend, they planted a row of American Hornbeam and Tupelo trees where the old ones fell behind Walter Kley’s house.
In the fall, the leaves will turn a vibrant red.