Wadena

Yesterday morning, I turned on the radio before I got up and lay there listening to news on NPR. I heard that the governor of MN would be visiting towns in the northern part of the state that had been hit by tornadoes. "Hmmm, wonder if they're near any of my cousins." A few minutes later, the tornadoes were mentioned again, but this time they said WADENA. My eyes flew open. That's my mother's hometown! I was born twelve miles from there! My Aunt Nina and several cousins live there!

About fifteen minutes later (I had thrown on some clothes, made a cup of coffee, and turned on the computer), my sister Pauline called and asked if I had heard. She heard Thursday night (I had turned off the radio about 7 pm), and had emailed several cousins. One, who lives about 30 miles away, had replied that her son, who lives in Wadena, thought that everyone was OK.

Today, looking at pictures from the Wadena Pioneer Journal, it looks like my cousin Grayce has lost her house. I think she probably was not in town. Since retiring, she and her husband spend much of their time elsewhere, helping with clean-up and repairs following natural disasters. I guess now their hometown needs the services of the group they work with.