Published: May 25, 2009 06:03 pm      

10 years after tornado, Mulhall celebrates town’s comeback

MULHALL — No one could really blame Anya Richardson or any of her fellow Mulhall residents for wanting to leave town and not look back after an F4 tornado struck on May 3, 1999, leaving this community devastated.

But for Richardson, whose family lost their home in the storm, leaving wasn’t an option. Nor was it an option for her friends and neighbors.

“There wasn’t any question of us building back,” Richardson said. “We have a very Christian-oriented community and we are rooted here. I look back at this storm as a blessing of sorts. It was a sense of renewal for us. We are in a better place now.”

On Saturday, the community had its annual Mulhall Day Celebration, which celebrates the town’s Western heritage. It also will commemorate the 10 years of rebuilding since the tornado leveled 80 percent of the town’s structures. This year’s theme is “Back on the Map,” celebrating 10 years of progress.

Teri Aldridge, a member of the Mulhall Community Club, which sponsors the annual celebration, said Mulhall has come a long way in the past 10 years.

“We are going to celebrate the town’s rebuilding along with its western heritage,” Aldridge said. “We wanted to make a big deal about the celebration. The town has come so far in 10 years.”

Aldridge said celebration activities were highlighted by the downtown parade and a weather show presented by the National Weather Service. All events were in the center of downtown Mulhall, just 15 miles north of Guthrie on State Highway 77. The day was filled with entertainment from award-winning chainsaw artist Tom Zimmer and trick roper Tuffy Gessling, accompanied by the young performers of Western Star Productions.

Aldridge, who has lived in Mulhall for about seven years, said she didn’t understand the mass destruction of the storm until she saw it first-hand.

“You hear the stories, but you can’t put it into perspective until you see it,” Aldridge said “It’s amazing that no one was killed. We have much to be thankful for.

Richardson remembers that stormy night 10 years ago well. She had rushed home from a night class at Oklahoma State University just in time to gather a few personal belongings before joining her family and friends in a neighbor’s storm shelter.

“There were about 15 of us crammed into that storm shelter,” Richardson said. “I remember it was pretty scary. The winds from the tornado ripped the front door off the cellar and we watched our neighbor’s house fly away.”

Richardson said it seemed “like an eternity” before it was safe to come out and see what damage was done.

“I was shocked,” Richardson said. “It was pretty devastating. You couldn’t even tell what street you were on because everything was gone.”

Jack McAnally is Mulhall’s mayor as well as Richardson’s father. He said he was amazed by how much damage was done to the community, which has a population of 220.

“My house was completely destroyed,” he said. “You could see a lot of buildings had been torn apart. They were snapped like toothpicks. It was pretty overwhelming.”

McAnally said the response to help rebuild Mulhall was overwhelming. He said the town was slowly able to rebuild with state and federal help as well as the volunteer efforts of those from surrounding towns and states.

“This tornado was devastating, but it was also an opportunity for us,” McAnally said. “We really capitalized on it. We were able to rebuild our school, replace our entire water system and get a new water tower among other improvements.”

McAnally said for the town to survive it was going to need to improve its tax base. Part of that help came with the opening of the restaurant Lucille’s. The establishment has become a popular destination for visitors from Oklahoma City, Edmond, Guthrie, Stillwater and beyond. Recently, the restaurant hosted more than 1,000 for a weekend gathering.

“That business brought in five times the population of this community over a weekend,” he said. “We are pretty proud of what this place (Lucille’s) has done.”

Richardson said another positive coming from the storm was the construction of a new school and a growth in enrollment.

“I wouldn’t have my kids go anywhere else,” she said. “It’s one of the best school systems in the state.”

McAnally said he believes Mulhall will continue to slowly grow and its future continues to look bright thanks to the residents of the community.

“I think we are a resilient bunch here,” he said. “There is a deep sense of community. I have lived here for 52 years. I realized I wouldn’t be satisfied anyplace else. This is home.”