Of Tornadoes and Teddy Bears

IMAGE: Damaged farm buildings in Ripley County, Indiana. From the Osgood, IN website.

Earlier this month, several states in the Midwest where hit by dozens of tornadoes. Many small towns in states like Ohio and Indiana have been virtually wiped off the map. Some may never be the same, much less rebuilt. One in this writer's home county was the subject of an earlier piece. Moscow, Ohio, is attempting to defy the odds and rebuild. Donations can be sent to:

Zumba For Moscow
Vickie Dietrich
7184 Lakewood Drive
Unit E
Cincinnati OH 45241

Make the check payable to Summer Rackley, with "Zumba for Moscow" in the memo line.

IMAGE: A scene in downtown Osgood, Indiana. Yes, there really is a theater with that name.

Meanwhile, across the border into southeastern Indiana, where many German and Swiss Catholics settled in the 19th century, Father Zuhlsdorf “had an UPDATE from Fr. Shaun Wittington of St. John’s Catholic Church, in Osgood, IN which was devastated by a recent storm.” Heading to Osgood as this is written, are three boxes of toiletry articles, medicine cabinet supplies, and ... stuffed animals. In a phone conversation with Father Whittington yesterday, it was acknowledged that young children who have lost all of their toys might do well with a little comfort, once the initial recovery is well underway. So one of the boxes is stuffed with seventeen small bunny rabbits and teddy bears, including one squirrel.

IMAGE: Photo by Paul McClure. Used without permission or shame.

They didn't ask for aspirin or antibiotic ointment either, but we knew that this would be a headache for some of the people there, and cut and scrapes are not unheard of when cleaning up at a disaster site. If you want to help, please check the link above to learn what they need and don't need. Three places worth checking for supplies are giant thrift stores, so-called "dollar stores," and the trial size aisles of big-chain drug stores. If you can send money, by all means do so, to:

St John’s Catholic Church
331 S Buckeye St
Osgood IN 47037

Be sure and write "tornado" in the memo line. And remember, anything they cannot use will be sent to other little towns in the area, several of which were hit no less severely. This includes both Henryville and Marysville, located not far from Osgood, both of which have been featured on the evening news in the wake of the disaster.