#DaytonStrong: ‘We’ll rise out of these ashes and be better for it’

June 02-- Jun. 2--In a big small town that's been beaten down repeatedly by floods, blizzards, recessions, addiction -- and now tornadoes -- Daytonians prove time and again that ingenuity and hard work can overcome anything.

Dayton's disasters also have been its most shining and defining moments, said Brady Kress, president and CEO of Dayton History.

"We've always had the sense that we can do that, we can fix that, we can change that, we can create a solution to that problem," Kress said.

In less than a week since 14 tornadoes pounded the Miami Valley on Memorial Day, the community has once again shown how being #DaytonStrong means giving 100 percent for others under the direst of circumstances.

"It's been a trying few days for Dayton ... KKK rally then the tornadoes," said Scott Johnson on Facebook this week. "But for all those Dayton haters out there, ya'll missing out. Seeing this city unify and come together has been inspiring, instilling a hopefulness that I haven't felt in quiet some time."

The examples of this strength and togetherness are already too numerous to count.

Four landscapers laid off this week took their tools and talents to Old North Dayton, clearing downed trees.

Neighbors in Trotwood with huge holes in their roofs told the driver of a church van they were all good, but pointed out several houses to check on because the older residents had more pressing needs.

A day earlier, a group of 60 or so possibly German Baptists descended on the same Trotwood subdivision to swiftly clear many downed trees and debris.

"I don't know where they came from, but they were fast," said Jerome Ware, who had a giant transformer down in his backyard and part of the second story of his home missing.

And Harrison Twp. residents Nicole and James Adkins mobilized their volunteers at With God's Grace Mobile Food Pantry -- which has served more than 600 needy families per week since 2015 -- despite their own home being mostly destroyed on Maplegrove Avenue.

"The community has really come together," James Adkins said.

'Heart and soul of this community'

Each part of the Miami Valley that suffered direct hits from tornadoes is different and neighborhoods have been supporting each other in ways as unique as they are.

The youth baseball community stepped up to quickly reorganize the planned USSSA Select 30 tournament scheduled to be held at the Action Sports Center this weekend with other teams offering up their fields after the complex was destroyed. Players from local teams were on site Thursday starting the clean-up process.

In Trotwood the Home Depot on Salem Avenue became a hub of emergency response with mobile laundry services, insurance company mobile headquarters and neighbors simply showing up with donations.

A group grilling free food and passing out supplies in the parking lot wasn't affiliated with any particular church or organization. They were just locals who banded together.

And in Northridge, where residents identify more so by school district than the township they live in, the schools stepped in to lead.

"The schools kind of are the heart and soul of this community," Northridge Superintendent Dave Jackson said. "It was really not even a matter of thinking for us."

School employees were on the ground within 20 to 30 minutes of an EF4 tornado striking the North Dixie Drive area.

When the school sent out a one-call alert about the district being closed for the last three days of the semester, Jackson included his personal cell phone number and told families to reach out with their needs.

Every day since Memorial Day, 50 to 60 school district staff members have canvassed and distributed food, water and other supplies. Although the Red Cross and other agencies have been present in the neighborhood as well, Jackson said the residents trust their school family.

"People know us. They're comfortable telling us their feelings, their emotions, crying with us," Jackson said. "We always say that we're the Northridge family. In times like this, we see it."

Nicole Adkins and her husband said the support from the school district has been amazing, but they worry their neighborhood might not recover from this blow.

"I don't even know if we should stay," Nicole Adkins said. She worries that some homeowners will abandon badly damaged properties and the blight will sit for years.

Jackson hopes that doesn't happen. The school district is reaching out to organizations that might be able to help those without insurance.

"I choose to believe that we'll rise out of these ashes and be better for it in the end," he said.

Remember the promise you made (in the basement)

In the aftermath of the 1913 Great Dayton Flood, community leaders set out to make sure that such a disaster would never happen again.

The fundraising campaign that paid for a series of dams that are still considered the gold standard in flood protection bore the slogan, "Remember the promise you made in the attic." It referred to the vows to rebuild that Daytonians made while huddled in the upper reaches of their homes as flood waters rose.

"Not only did they rebuild, they raised the money to make sure it never happened again," Kress said.

Going back further in history, Kress pointed to the cholera epidemic of the 1830s.

When infected individuals from Cincinnati came to Dayton on a canal boat, the city experienced, "a moment of fear and then coming together to help," he said.

Hospitals were built to quarantine the infected and Daytonians drew on the latest science, putting protocols in place to stop the spread of cholera.

"Once they gained a greater understanding of what had occurred, their answer was a call for clean water and keeping your outhouses far enough away from your well," Kress said.

More recently Dayton was scarred by the opioid epidemic over the past three years. Instead of accepting the label of "overdose capital," the community came together in a new way to create the Community Overdose Action Team, which led efforts that cut overdose deaths in half from 2017 to 2018.

"Daytonians have and have had just a can-do attitude," Kress said. "It's the reason that we led the country in patents per capita."

Tornadoes are an act of God that likely won't be stopped with an ingenious invention -- although no one thought humans could fly until some Daytonians proved them wrong -- but lessons can be learned from any disaster.

'Figure out how you can get it done'

Xenia residents are well-known for their resilience in the face of the deadly 1974 tornado that destroyed much of their city. And Xenia was hit again in 2000 by an EF4 tornado that killed one person and injured more than 100.

Dick Strous is one of many Xenia residents who have stories of rebuilding more than once and wisdom to pass on to the other Dayton-area communities now in the early stages of that process.

"It's probably starting to hit people: What do we do now?" Strous said.

The key is to not get discouraged from the outset because it's a long process, he said. "You can't be defeated in the beginning before you ever get started."

Strous co-owned a business that was destroyed in 1974 and couldn't be rebuilt. In 2000 he was on the board of trustees of Faith Community United Methodist Church, which suffered heavy damage to its roof, gym and education wing.

The church had just undergone a $2 million renovation the year before the tornado, which Strous said ended up being a stroke of luck. The board had reevaluated its insurance policy during that remodel so the damage was fully covered.

Xenia's past experience with natural disasters made Strous and others more aware of the need for good insurance, he said.

One year and another $2 million later, the church was rebuilt.

"It's a lot of work," he said. "You just have to have a lot of patience."

It can be both exhilarating and overwhelming in the first few days to receive an outpouring of help from communities near and far, Strous said.

"Sadly enough it's one of the times that draws people together," he said. "It's too bad that you have to wait for some sort of disaster."

The key to getting things done and not letting the influx of helpers get in the way is to designate strong leaders who step up and give directions, Strous said. He was that leader for the church project. That person needs to have a good relationship with the insurance company and contractors, as well as any volunteers.

"We had to start right away to get our heads together ... figure out how you can get it done," he said. "They're going to encounter a lot of things that are going to be discouraging."

A slow recovery, for example, can be hard for morale. In some ways the community will never feel the same, Strous said, but as soon as a few things start looking back to normal, spirits will improve.

"The minute you can start seeing improvements in the conditions, when you can start seeing buildings put back together and homes put back together ... they'll start to feel more hopeful about it," he said.

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