Sweetwater has recovered from the twister that struck 10 years ago

By DOUG WILLIAMSON
Business Editor

SWEETWATER - Ten years ago today, David Shumaker woke up "butt naked" on his neighbor's roof.

He survived the tornado that destroyed his trailer house, killed an elderly man, injured 90 residents and inflicted $15 million in damage.

Shumaker had an eerie feeling last week as he sat on the concrete step where the trailer used to be, recounting that Saturday morning in 1986 and the decade that has followed.

"I never heard anything," he said. "You hear about the roaring sound of a train, but I never heard it. I woke up butt naked on that roof over there with a gash in the back of my head."

Shumaker ended up with 36 stitches to close the wound. His wife, Mary, and brother-in-law, Albert West, ended up inside the neighbor's house, being propelled through a window when the trailer exploded.

He said his wife had cuts and bruises, and his brother-in-law, now 33, became a paraplegic from his injuries.

They spent the next night with her parents in Sweetwater. Without insurance, it took "a long, long time to recover. We had to do it a little at a time."

Today, Sweetwater has recovered from the disaster. The final toll from the few minutes of 200-300 mph winds was:
- 530 homes, mobile homes and apartments destroyed or damaged.
- 400-500 vehicles damaged.
- 41 businesses damaged or destroyed.
- 1,500 people left homeless.

The overwhelming outpouring of support and aid not just from Big Country neighbors, but from people and groups nationwide, is a bright, lasting memory for the people of Sweetwater.

Within hours, money, food, clothing and labor was on its way to start the rebuilding and recovery process.

Gov. Mark White and President Ronald Reagan declared Sweetwater a disaster area and opened the doors for financial assistance.

The recovery process continues. Almost all of the residents, including the Shumakers, have recovered physically. The exceptions are West and Maria Castro, who must use wheelchairs because of their injuries.

The emotional scars remain.

"As a community we have recovered, but obviously, lives were affected 10 years ago," City Manager David Mattox said. "The individuals and families who lost possessions will never get them back. Otherwise, as a community, we have recovered generally as well as can be expected."
The people of Sweetwater learned how fragile life really is, he said.

"In a moment, things can change," he said. "Those things that we think are important suddenly are as important as we thought. The tornado reinforced that a community cares and will come together in time of need."

The community unity during the strife was a factor cited in 1988 when the National League of Cities named Sweetwater an "All-America City." Its efforts in historic preservation and work with the Nolan County Coliseum were the others.

Many residents still think of that Saturday morning every time they see a dark cloud approaching. Shumaker termed himself and his wife "storm chickens" for the first two or three years after the tornado.

"We still pay attention to dark clouds," he said. "When we bought our house on Henderson Street, we made sure it had a cellar. We use it, too."

The Shumakers live with daughter Rebecca Dawn, who was born 9 months after the tornado, and son David James, 5. Their current house is only a few blocks from where the trailer house stood, prior to 7 a.m. on April 19, 1986.

The Shumakers left Sweetwater for several years. He found a maintenance job in Marble Falls at a granite company. In 1990, they returned to Nolan County. He is a driver for Ennis Trucking. She works at the 76 Truck Stop on Interstate 20.

This isn't the only tornado Shumaker says he's been through.

"Driving 120,000 miles a year, I run through a lot of storms," he said.
In early 1991, he was trucking roofing supplies from Sweetwater to Albuquerque. As he was going up a hill near Post, "I felt the truck shake. I looked in my rear-view mirror and the trailer was off the ground.

"It was dark, pouring down rain and windy. I think it was a tornado. When I got to Albuquerque, all the 2-by-4s (under the trailer) were gone."