Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/one-moment-a-lifetime/5012882/
Twirling cars, animals, and furniture overhead was more than Anthony Ferrell could comprehend. Ferrell grabbed a toy school bus and placed it over his head, while Jimmy Brown screamed as the whirling debris threatened to pull him and his family into the fierce gaping maw. In only a few moments, the fierce storm passed by, forever changing the lives of these Ridgecrest Child Development Center employees, along with every family in the bedroom community of Bridge Creek, just southwest of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Nell Ferrell, a teacher, had come back to the center for safety, seeking refuge in the supply closet. No one knew that nine people were in the building until they came crawling out. The center closed at 6:00 pm and the storm hit Ridgecrest Baptist Church - completely demolishing the large brick structure - at 6:29. In the Bridge Creek area, the storm took 14 lives, more than 100 homes, and the only large child care facility in the neighborhood.
Two days after the storm, the RCDC staff surveyed the damage. One look at the heap of bricks, drywall, and insulation could have led to dispair but the staff started looking for salvage. It seemed the only thing to do. ...