Heavy machinery and chainsaws roared as the past 20 years fell into the rubble.

Penny Burke stood by to witness the demolition of the skeleton of what she had called home for so long. Burke is just one of the many residents who spent Saturday picking up what was left of their belongings after an F3 tornado hit Brookport Nov. 17.

“It’s just devastating,” Burke said. “I’m just thankful that God didn’t take my life. He saved us all. With his grace we will rebuild.”

One block away, Amanda Henley of Brookport helped sort through what was left of a loved one’s personal items. Her husband’s aunt, Scholitta Burrus, was one of the three victims who died in the tornado.

“It’s very scary,” Henley said. “In a matter of seconds life as you know it could be completely changed. You walk outside and it’s pure destruction.”

Henley said they were grateful to find several family photos, and appreciate all the volunteer help throughout the town.

“I’ve got so much support it’s just unreal,” Burke said. “It’s helped me emotionally to stay together. They don’t even know me, but this is what the community does. They pull together and do what they can do for you. It’s just really awesome.”

The volunteers helping to sort materials from the Burke property debris were members of the Massac County football team. Kelly Glass, who teaches in McCracken County, has spent more than 30 years coaching high school football, many of those years in Massac County.

“We had a great football season this year,” he said. “But then you get beat in the playoffs and you’re down because you lost the football game, and then this happens. Then the football game’s not very important anymore. You feel like you’re actually doing what God put us here to do.”

Burke said seeing such young people volunteer their time for the cleanup gives her hope.

“It’s a teachable moment for the kids,” Glass said. “It’s a terrible thing, but it sure is good to see that America, especially this part of the country, is full of good people.”

Other young people also came to assist with the Brookport cleanup. Fraternity members of Murray State University’s Phi Kappa Alpha sorted pieces of metal and wood from a home that had been blown through a tree line.

“It’s very humbling,” said Murray freshman Logan Foster. “You see this stuff on TV, but once you get here and it’s in person, that’s when it hits home.”

The cleanup volunteers came from a variety of organizations, and people of all ages. Volunteer Kendell Stevenson of Benton, Ky., joined the Bread of Life humanitarian relief this past week. He said his time in Brookport is the best three days he has ever spent.

“That’s not debris we’re cleaning up, that’s people’s lives,” he said. “This could happen to any one of us at any time. The more people we’ve got to care about other people, the better off we’re all going to be.”

Stevenson joined the relief effort shortly after retirement. He said his prime motivation is a Christian duty to help those in need. Having grandchildren of his own, Stevenson said there was one victim who really touched his heart.

“I worked 45 minutes with a little boy about eight years old,” Stevenson said. “His bedroom was in a pond. We found his tennis shoes, his pocketknife, and his Wii game. Those kind of things might seem unimportant to you and I, but to that little boy, his life was laying in that pond.”

Bread of Life Operations Manager David Neeks, of Lowes, Ky., said the group consists of mostly retired men and women and is supported by the donations of some 30 churches. All of the equipment, from the safety goggles to the front loaders, was donated.

“We do whatever they want us to do, don’t matter what it is. Everything we’ve got has been donated,” he said. “Once you’ve done this a time or two, it gets in your blood. You see the hurt, and you want to help. You just want to open your heart and say, ‘What can we do?’”

Neeks said the Bread of Life organization has been in operation for eight years, working from Florida to Kansas, and they advise the victims to take life one day at a time, and each day will get a little better.

Debbie Christiansen, principal at Brookport Elementary School, said things are getting better day-by-day. Brookport schools were closed district-wide Nov. 18, in session Tuesday with the children in buildings still structurally sound and back in full force Wednesday.

The playground at the school was victim to the tornado as well. An uprooted 120-year-old tree, ripped fencing and environmental debris littered the small lot.

“The kids have come back by and large,” she said. “This playground looks good now, but it was pretty cluttered. We had 4x4s in the roof, things overturned, lots of debris.”

The playground cleanup was done by volunteers from Operation H.E.L.P., a relief organization of Grace Pointe Church in Mayfield, Ky.

Director of the operation, Jennifer Hughes, said their group has been to disaster areas in Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma and now Illinois.

“My husband preaches, but this is what I do,” she said. “Being out in the community touching peoples lives, there’s nothing more exciting than what we’re doing today. When you do stuff like this, every one of these people will be ready for the next disaster.”

Hughes said the playground destruction hits particularly close to home for her since she has spent many hours on the playground with her five children.

“It could have been us,” she said. “We live 30 minutes from here, and you just would like to know that someone’s going be there for you. Seeing the people and their stories and you connect with what they’re going through, you feel part of their family.”

Christiansen said she is happy the kids can now come back and have a safe playground to spend their recess time on.

With the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, Operation H.E.L.P. teamed up with the Bob Evans restaurant in Paducah, Ky., which donated 15 percent of its profits Saturday to help fund a Thanksgiving dinner put on from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the elementary school.

“With this disaster hitting so close to the holiday, it was only fitting that we jump in,” Hughes said. “We contacted the local Bob Evans and they were on board immediately.”

There will also be a supply handout in the school gymnasium on Thanksgiving Day. Items vary from toiletries to mattresses to pet supplies. A full list of necessary items can be found on the Graves County Prayer Chain Facebook page, and monetary donations can be made through the Paducah Bob Evans or Operation H.E.L.P.

Kayli Plotner can be reached at 

[email protected] 

or 536-3311 est. 252.