GAYLORD, Mich. — Two years ago, the unbelievable became the unavoidable.
An EF-3 tornado ripped through Gaylord, MI, leveling several parts of the small city. Their efforts to rebuild since then can be the blueprint for other places like Portage, which now finds itself in the early stages of that same painful yet inspiring process.
Scott Distler moved to Gaylord 13 years ago to be the lead pastor at the local Evangelical Free Church.
“Thirteen years ago, it's like, 'God, why are you bringing us to Gaylord, Michigan?'" he asked. "But 13 years later, there's nowhere else I'd rather live than right here in Gaylord.”
Distler believes everything happens for a reason. Although, sometimes it's hard to explain.
"No one expected a tornado to hit Gaylord, Michigan, you know? We get blizzards; we don't get tornadoes," he said.
That changed on May 20, 2022. An EF-3 tornado flipped the town of about 4,000 people upside down.
Gaylord Chief of Police Frank Claeys said, “It literally went west to east across the entirety of the city.”
Authorities reported 95% of the Nottingham Forest Mobile Home Park was destroyed, and Consumers Energy said 6,500 lost power, while two people lost their lives.
Out of that darkness came a light those living there had never seen before.
"If you were looking at it from the air, it just looked like an army of ants descending on the town to put it back together," Claeys said. "It was really, really humbling. It was really remarkable to see.”
Maybe this was the reason Distler had been searching for, immediately turning the E-Free Church into a safe haven.
“For more than 24 hours, a nonstop line of cars, dropping off supplies, giving money, businesses that were donating things," Distler said. "I've been doing this pastor thing for 37 years; it was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen."
The people of Gaylord were left without much, but Distler said they had each other and that unity helped the city go from hurt to healed.
“You can’t even tell anything happened two years ago," he said. "Hobby Lobby is back open, and it's bigger than ever. My wife is in sheer heaven because of that.”
Claeys added, "I think if you were a new person to our community, or somebody who didn't live here, you could drive through and you would never know anything happened.”
RELATED: Multiple tornado touchdowns in SW Michigan, extensive damage reported
Now, Portage is right where Gaylord began two years ago, navigating a journey Claeys and Distler are all too familiar with.
They said it won't be easy. In fact, while the physical scars are mostly gone, some of the emotional ones still remain.
“In a little while, it'll be a memory," Claeys said. "It'll be one of those things that every time the sky gets a little dark, you'll kind of wince a little bit."
However, they also believe Portage will rebound just as well, as long as they stick together.
"You got to be able to say, 'It's okay that we have differences. That's not the issue right now. We're all one family because we're in one community affected by one tragedy,'" Distler said.
He added one more powerful line: "Compassion doesn't wait for an invitation." Distler stressed you don't need to wait for an organized effort to go help those in need.
Still, if you'd like to keep up with Portage's recovery plans, you can click this link to access the city's tornado page.
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