The Leach Dairy Farm in Linwood took a direct hit in the massive tornado on May 28. They lost 10 barns and all six ponds on their property will have to be drained because they’re full of metal.But Tuesday night, two weeks after that tornado tore through, the community continues to come together to help the victims.
“It just seems like we’ve been going around the clock ever since the tornado hit,” Rob Leach, lost dairy farm in storm, said.
And yet Rob and Lisa Leach are grateful they still have a home. The family had 25 minutes to grab their shoes, dogs and get to the basement.
“It was really loud and windy, kind of like a jet plane and then what we thought was hail, was bricks from our chimney hitting the roof,” Leach said.
Their house is still standing but they did lose an awful lot, not just their barns, but several award-winning dairy cows. A clock was in one of those barns stopped at the moment the storm hit.
Some of their belongings were found on the tarmac of KCI some 46 miles away. The farm has been in the Leach family since 1964.
KCTV5 News introduced you to Leach’s sister Chris, last week. She lost everything including her home ripped right off its foundation.
Leach said the most amazing thing has been all the help. On some days he said hundreds have shown up asking what they can do.
People in Linwood even started a Facebook page trying to return scattered mementos to the families that have lost so much.
One woman just posted a sonogram picture from 1984 and another found an old family film she captured images from.
Everywhere you look, whether on line or in person, people are looking out for others and doing what they can to ease the burden.
For these families, it means the world.
“We really don’t feel sorry for ourselves, we’re not that sad, we just, I feel for all the people that have worked so hard to help us. I just can’t say it enough how grateful we are,” Leach said.
The one thing everyone remembers Tuesday is that despite all the horrific damage, not one person in this town was seriously hurt.
They said that’s really all that matters.
