EDITOR’S NOTE: The tornadoes brought many people to a crossroads where they had to face questions about life and self, the future and sometimes the past.
IDER, Ala. – Valley Head. Mentone. Henegar. Ider. Shiloh. The names march north on the DeKalb County map, up and down the hills of the small communities.
A year ago, they were just typical towns in rural America. Neighbors rarely talked to each other, mostly casting a nod or throwing a wave as they met driving the crisscrossed roads.
People took jobs in sock factories. Got laid off. Sent their kids off to college. But the tight weave of the old rural neighborhoods was gone.
Until a year ago, when an EF5 whirlwind ripped out the heart of every community, killing their brothers and mothers and leaving them homeless. They could have struggled to survive, drifted off to places where the devil wind couldn’t reach them.