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Preserving the past for the future
May 22, 2019
Wednesday May 22, 2019, at 10:50 p.m., a Tornado blew through the city of Eldon, leaving a path of destruction.
We had spent the day preparing for our Grand Opening Celebration that was supposed to take place on Friday, May 24th. It was to be a kick off to Memorial Day weekend and our first summer season in operation as the new owners of Historic Randles Court.
A few Newspaper clips from this part of our journey...
Our family, and a guest, rode out the tornado in the living quarters of Randles Court. The destruction and devastation that hit in a matter of seconds is still hard to fathom. I wonder if the emotions surrounding the event would have been any less if we had not just finished the restoration work on the rooms, if we had experienced a few years of being open before it hit. I can’t imagine that any of those feelings would change. Whether it be your home or your business, whether they’re brand new, or 80 years old, the feelings are there.
We were grateful for our safety. The days that followed were full of evaluation of the damage and clean up. The outpouring of help we received during that time was overwhelming.
The day after the tornado hit I was walking around the property with my dad, and I asked, "Are we going to be able to do this again?". He didn't hesitate, with a nod and "Oh yeah, you can do this."
It took nearly 6 months to complete the work needed to re-open the motor court. 6 rooms re-renovated. We were able to save our chenille bedspreads and almost all of our furniture, and that was a huge blessing. Seeing the rooms ready for guests again was so exciting!