In God We Trust ST. ELMO BANNER Serving St. Elmo and Brownstown Since 1880 St. Elmo, Illinois - Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 $ 1 Check out our Gift Guide on page 7 Event Calendar Share the details of your organization’s meeting or event by calling newspaper correspondent Anna Jean Rhodes (618) 829-5488 Tuesday, Nov. 18 5:30-6:30 p.m. -- “Gluten Free Fads and Facts” class through the Vandalia Kaskaskia College Campus in the Vandalia Extension Oﬃce. There is no cost for this course. Pre- register for the class by calling (618) 283-1780 or (618) 545-3255. One year later www.altnewsban.com Volume 134 - Number 46 Tornado victims rebuild homes, lives BY NATHAN SCHOLES Leaning against a wheel of Russell and Patricia Booherʼs camping trailer, rests a heart- shaped landscaping stone that reads: "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." One year after a tornado destroyed their home and upended their lives, it is great perspective to have. The Boohers, as well as their former neighbor Ina Abendroth, were victims of the tornado that touched down in rural St. Elmo this time last year. All three have spent the past year dealing with the aftermath. The Boohers are building a new home on the same ground, while Abendroth is living just outside of Brownstown. The storm “I had been to church that morning. I came home, cooked dinner, washed the dishes and had sat down to read, when the noise started,” Abendroth recalls. “It was completely black, so I went into the bedroom, laid on the bed, and covered myself under three pillows. I was scared to death. I thought I might die.” The tornado ripped through her home, making a “terrible noise,” taking most of the roof oﬀ and nearly all the windows out. The only room of the house that was untouched was the bedroom that Ina was bunkered in. “It was the good Lord,” she replies when asked about the reason she was unharmed. Shaken up, Ina phoned her son, Paul, who lives in Altamont. At ﬁrst not believing her, he was soon convinced of her emergency. “He made it from his house in Altamont to my house in six minutes,” she says with a smile. She found temporary housing with family member Lorene Abendroth. For the Boohers, the day of the tornado was much diﬀerent. “We were gone, my wife was at work,” Russell states, adding that he was at a friendʼs house. Soon after the storm, he received a call from a friend urging him to return to his home. “We went over there, and from highway, I thought ʻwell, the house is still there,ʼ but once we got closer, I •see TORNADO pg 9 Ina Abendroth sits in the living room of her new home. She has struggled with anxiety and insomnia since surviving the November 2014 tornado. Wednesday, Nov. 19 1 p.m. -- Royal Neighbors of America November meeting at the Phillips Building 1:30 p.m. -- St. Elmo HCE meeting at the St. Elmo Public Library Thursday, Nov. 20 Noon -- Exxon Mobil Annuitants at the Vandalia Ponderosa 6 p.m. -- The Vit-Em-In Sunday School Class of the First United Methodist Church Thanksgiving turkey potluck in the church fellowship hall. Sunday, Nov. 23 1:30 p.m. -- The Historical Vandalia, Inc. second event of the 6th annual Season of Events will be held in the Vandalia First United Methodist Church Wesley Hall. Monday, Nov. 24 10 a.m. -- The Fayette County Home and Community Education Board at the Vandalia Extension Oﬃce 6 p.m. -- The St. Elmo Lions Club at Mary Ann’s Restaurant. Tuesday, Nov. 25 7 p.m. -- St. Elmo Masonic Lodge meeting Russell and Patricia Booher have spent the past year building their new home, which they hope to complete next spring. The far left and far right windows were salvaged from their previous house. This stone rests against the Booher’s camping trailer in which they currently reside. The inscription serves as a reminder of the blessings still possessed, despite all that was lost. St. Elmo VFW retires ﬂags, honors vets BY NATHAN SCHOLES The St. Elmo VFW held their annual ﬂag-retirement ceremony on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11. Due to unseasonably cold temperatures and scattered rainfall, the ceremony was held in the Phillips Building. VFW member Bob Herckert led the event. The various ﬂags ﬂying above the city's veterans' memorial were returned to their donors. The ﬂags and their donors are as follows: --Prisoner of War Flag, St. Elmo Christian church Reverb youth group --United States Air Force, David and Jeanne Guinee of Marseilles, Ill. --United States Coast Guard, Grady Marchman, Jr. in honor of his father, Grady Marchman, Sr. --United States Army, David, Sally, Beth, and Mark Sproat of Glen Ellyn, Ill. in honor of Jack Sproat --United States Marine Corps, Sperry Service --United States Navy, Janet Eckhardt in memory of her father, Charles Cothern --American Flag, Fleeta Guﬀey and family in honor of Scott, Candy, and Sonny Gallion Saturday, Dec. 6 VFW members Ernie Myers and Bob Heckert follow proper protocol for folding the American Flag during the ceremony. The ﬂag was donated by Fleeta Guffey and her family in honor of Scott, Candy, and Sonny Gallion. 8 a.m.-noon -- Annual clothing giveaway at Freedom Reigns in Christ Church Sunday, Dec. 7 5 p.m. -- Christmas in St. Elmo Lodge #769 Tuesday, Dec. 9 Noon -- Golden Years Christmas potluck dinner at northeast corner of First and Division Streets Bob Heckert presents the POW ﬂag to St. Elmo Christian Church Reverb youth group representative at the St. Elmo VFW Veterans Day ﬂag retirement ceremony. The youth group donated the ﬂag that ﬂew above the veterans' memorial this past year. Ernie Myers and Chuck Bosomworth work together to prepare the ﬂag for presentation to its donors at the VFW Veterans Day ﬂag retirement ceremony.