West Springfield remembers June 1, 2011

Date: 6/6/2012

June 6, 2012

By Debbie Gardner

debbieg@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Merrick neighborhood, the town of West Springfield, the valley that is Western Massachusetts are all stronger than a tornado.

That was the message that echoed again and again at the June 1 ceremony on the grounds of the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club, marking the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornado that scarred the town's oldest streets, homes and businesses.

Governor Deval Patrick, who spoke after the ceremony's moment of silence at 4:27 p.m., called the pause, which was followed by the peal of church bells throughout the town, "far more eloquent than anything that I could say."

Looking out across the crowd of Merrick residents, many of whom are immigrants, he added "To see you here, from all corners of the globe, is far more eloquent than any message I could bring today."

He praised the way the neighborhood came together in the wake of the tornado, telling them they "raised hope together" through their community spirit.

"I ask you now to hold on to that, remember our common fate, our common cause, our common destiny," Patrick said. "There will be other challenges after the cleanup and rebuilding from this tornado, just as there were challenges before. But that coming together, that common cause and that common faith, is the solution to every challenge we face. Hang on to that, and there is nothing we can't accomplish."

Gareth Flanary, board chairman of Raising Hope Together Tornado Recovery Group (RHT) reminded attendees of the total shock created by the impact of the tornado.

"The chaotic event of June 1, 2011, caught residents of the Commonwealth by surprise," Flanary told the crowd. "After watching the devastation of Joplin, Mo. only a few days prior, who would ever have thought we would experience a category three tornado in this area?

"We will likely never forget the experience as the funnel cloud touched down in the Munger Hill section of Westfield, the Feeding Hills section of Agawam and the Merrick section of West Springfield before skipping across the river to Springfield, Wilbraham, Monson and Brimfield," Flanary continued, "The scar on the landscape has been imprinted on our mind throughout this year."

In the face of the destruction, wrought in a brief three minutes, Flanary praised the strength and spirit of the residents, who have pulled together over the past year to help each other heal.

Standing beneath a massive tree that Flanary noted had survived both the tornado and the Oct. 29, 2011 blizzard, he told the crowd, "You have stood in the face of the storm, and we thank God for your resiliency."

Mayor Gregory Neffinger told the crowd how he had come down to the neighborhood shortly after the tornado hit, tweeting photos of the damage to his Facebook page.

"Immediately, I started getting responses from all across New England and the Northeast from former residents of West Springfield who were seeing for the first time the destruction," Neffinger said.

One year later, Neffinger said, "I am here today to tell you we are not defined by being hit by a tornado. We are not defined by destruction. But we are defined by as we see here, by a rebuilding effort.

"A town is more than just buildings, the town is also people, and as we do a long term recovery for the town of West Springfield, we are also here to say our lives are not defined by destruction. Our lives are defined by hope, by life, by rebuilding," he added.

Following Patrick's remarks, State Sen. James Welch and Rep. Michael Finn presented citations to Lutheran Social Services, the West Springfield Church of Christ, RTH and Mass Support, all which provided immediate and continuing services in the wake of the tornado. The legislators also recognized the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club, which provided the space for a reflective garden commemorating the effects the tornado has had on the community, and the West Springfield United Methodist Church, which donated its former building to house RHT and other tornado support services.

The ceremony concluded with Neffinger and Patrick planting an America Redbud tree in the community's new reflective garden, followed by former Ms. Sr. Massachusetts Connie Lind leading attendees in a rendition of "God Bless America."