As cleanup from last Saturday’s Tornado continues, a farm owner in Massie says the community has been helpful in ways she never expected.
Janice Beattie’s property, known as Torrie Farms on Veteran’s Road saw a fair amount of destruction when the EF-2 tornado tore through the Chatsworth area that afternoon.
Beattie lives one concession over from the young Zehr family whose home and vehicles were destroyed in the storm.
Beattie’s house was left intact, but her barn was demolished and so was her driving shed where all the farm vehicles are kept and numerous large old trees were knocked down. “It was devastating to even see it,” says Beattie.
She says people have come to help clear the debris by cutting up fallen trees and picking through the cornfields for wayward pieces of metal, wood and shingles, “Shingles from somebody’s house. I don’t even have shingles,” says Beattie.
One day this past week, she went to New Orlean’s Pizza in Owen Sound to buy lunch for the people who were helping her clean up. After ordering and paying for the pizza, Beattie waited in her van for them to be ready, “The next thing you know,” she says, “There’s the manager standing in front of the van and she was so sincere, she could not believe that had happened to us and she went back in, she came back back with my money and handed me all of my money back.”
Beattie says they were sent home with five pizzas instead of the three they had initially ordered.
Beattie says she’s overwhelmed by the kindness in this community, “It’s amazing how people are coming down my laneway and actually coming to help.”
Beattie was at her cottage at Francis Lake when the tornado hit and there was no one there at the time.
Now, she’s waiting on the insurance company to assess the damage to her house, though her barn and her driving shed are covered by insurance. She says there’s nothing she really needs, and is grateful for all the help she’s received.
“I think the moreso, the family behind me needs more than I do.”
At the Zehr farm a concession behind Beattie, a cleanup is set to be held on Saturday (July 3).
The Zehrs’ home and vehicles were destroyed by the Tornado and the two parents and five children lost just about everything.
The clean up party starts at 8 am. People are welcome to assist and are free to come & go as time permits. The family does request everyone park on the same side of the road. The Zehrs are 456815 Concession 3A in Chatsworth.
A tree on Beattie’s Property