Calm, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The sound of birds chirping on a beautiful June morning in northern Kansas. A perfect day for the town cookout. Hiawatha, Kansas, a small town of about 3,000 people, where the June cookout brought the whole community together to have a good time with friends and family.
 
“Brad, this is Sarah Smith, journalist from the Kansas City Star. She’s here to write about the local cookout, and I think you’re the perfect person to ask,” said Mayor Rob Garrett.
 
“Hi, I’m Brad Wilson, owner of the only town market in Hiawatha. I know everyone in this town like the back of my hand. I am married to Katie Wilson, the town pharmacist and have three boys, Mark, Sam, and John. They are all currently attending Hiawatha High School”.
 
“Nice, so what is so special about the local Hiawatha Cookout?” asked Sarah Smith.
 
“I feel like this event brings the whole community together to have a good time and meet new people. We have many activities, from a bouncy house to a volleyball tournament. It’s just a fun time and everyone is welcome.”
 
“Alright, that’s it. I will let you get back to working. Thank you for your time, I’ll stick around for a bit and grab something to eat and take pictures.”
 
“Ok, sounds great!”
 
 It’s currently nine o’clock in the morning and everyone is setting up the town park for the cookout that’s about to start in two hours.
 
“Hey Brad, need help with that,” says Steve Anderson as I unload my grill. Steve is our neighbor and the Hiawatha Police Chief. “I got my buddies coming over to help set up the bouncy house later, so I got free hands”.
 
“Nah, I got it Chief. Thanks though.”
 
Eleven rolls around and people start coming in and the park looks great. Volleyball nets are set up, bouncy house ready, and the smell of hot dogs, and burgers made me hungry right away. Several people are here at the cookout, from the Police Chief to the town workers. The whole community coming together was a sight to see.
 
“Everyone get in so we can take a picture,” shouted Chief Anderson with his megaphone.
 
Everyone rushed into the park bleachers to take a community picture.
“Get in front kids. Sarah is going to get a picture for the Kansas City Star newspaper,” said Chief.
 
“Ok everyone, say CHEESEEEE,” said Sarah
 
“CRASH!”
 
Thunder and dark black clouds started to ripple in as everyone looked up in the sky to see a big funnel cloud forming.
 
“Everyone get inside a shelter; a tornado is coming.” shouted the local mailman.
 
The whole community was in panic mode seeking for shelter. They looked like ants rushing to a piece of food on the floor. I run to find shelter, then I suddenly remember that I have my keys to my store in my pocket.
 
“Everyone get into the market,” I shouted.
 
I opened the door and people flooded in. “Whoosh,” a big gust of wind took out the door and the lights flickered out. I was with my family in the back corner of the store, when I looked out the front windows and saw Sarah, outside hanging on a pole so the wind wouldn’t blow her away.
“Sarah, get in here,” I screamed.
 
I reached my hand out and pulled her in.
 
“Thank you.”
 
“Come back here, my family is in this corner,” I said, as I step over the knocked cans and containers from the wild stampede of people rushing in to take cover.
 
We sit in silence as I can hear my heart racing, thinking about my store being destroyed, and the loss of friends and family.
 
“BANG,” a piece of ceiling falls and debris hits the glass, shattering it. Then a gust of wind pushes through, knocking everything over as I’m praying everyone is okay. Then, silence.
 
“Hello,” I cry out. “Is everyone alright.”
 
 No response. I grab my phone and turn on my flashlight to see a bunch of food scattered around the floor and shattered glass. I finally get a response from a family saying they’re alright and the paramedics are on their way. I find my family which got separated from me when the storm came in and said they’re okay. Paramedics arrive and ask if everyone is okay and out of the market. Then I realize, where’s Sarah? I rush back in by myself and search everywhere.
 
“HELP,” I hear a scream and know it has to be Sarah.
 
“She’s trapped between two shelves,” I screamed to paramedics.
 
They rushed in and helped me get the heavy metal shelves off of her. She had scratches and blood all over her. They rushed her to Lancaster Medical Center, which was the only other hospital since the tornado wiped out the whole town.
 
That June afternoon was the worst thing that ever occurred in Hiawatha, Kansas. A total of 36 casualties and a town with nothing left standing. Three months have passed, and we still grieve the loss of our community.
 
“Hey Brad, look at this,” says a local firefighter.
 
It’s the Kansas City Star with the headlines, “A brave soul saves my life, and many others.” An article published by Sarah Smith, mentioning how I sacrificed my shop to save lives and how we care for each other in this community. Later that year, the Governor of Kansas declared June 25 as Hiawatha Day, a state-wide cookout in Wichita, Kansas to raise money for the effects of the tornado and for the families of lost loved ones. I was also awarded with a hero medal for my brave act, protecting the citizens of Hiawatha, Kansas.