The Merrimans of Hornbeck are counting their blessings, but, unfortunately, not their chickens anymore.
A tornado destroyed the family's chicken farm in less than three seconds Monday afternoon a week ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt, said Pam Merriman.
"Our God was watching us; he took care of us," she added, grateful that neither her husband, Johnny, nor her three children were harmed.
The lightning is what first drew the family's attention to the weather she said. It hit one of their outbuildings, busting the concrete. Pam and her youngest daughter began tracking through the house, from the front door to the back door, spooked by the thick air and watching to see what the weather would do.
"It's just real funny how the air is" when a tornado is about to strike, said Pam. "It's like a silent, thick air." The wind blew over the tops of the trees as Johnny was out in his truck checking on the two chicken houses which were filled with about 40,000 chirping chicks, seven to nine days old.
As he rounded the corner of one house, he met a wall of debris coming toward him. He threw the truck in reverse and shot back toward the house. Just then, the tornado sucked up half of one house, turned it upside down and tossed it on top of the other house.
It took about three seconds for their living to be destroyed, said Pam, who despite the disaster, continues to see the bright side.
"I think the world is full of so much evil," she said. "I think evil does these things. [The tornado] could have taken any one of us, but God put his hand there and took one of the least things we had. Yes, it's our living, but we can replace that. His hand protected those that I love."
Mysteriously, the plastic feed lids inside the houses weren't moved an inch, she said. Not so the chicks inside. Only about 18,000 chicks could be rescued and transported to another farm.
Now, the family is playing the waiting game as insurance and PIlgrim's Pride, the company with whom they did business, sort things out. Unfortunately, the Merrimans did not have enough insurance to cover replacement of the houses, Pam said.
"We're just kind of in limbo as to which way to turn," she added. The family is discussing rebuilding, but, it's an expensive endeavor, with the cost of just one house at $300,000. Though making it with one house would be possible, since one house these days would have the same capacity as the two houses that were destroyed, it's not necessarily the best solution.
And options right now seem to be few and far between. "Farming is all we know," Pam said. For the last 25 years the family has depended on the chicken houses for their living. "Now, we'll just live one day at a time. "
In the meantime, clean-up, too, is on hold, since it's possible that parts of the buildings and equipment could be salvaged for a possible rebuild.
Thankfully, the family's immediate needs are taken care of, said Pam, who credited her family's penchant for saving. But, as time ticks on and the waiting game continues, those circumstances may change.
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The Merrimans of Hornbeck are counting their blessings, but, unfortunately, not their chickens anymore.
A tornado destroyed the family's chicken farm in less than three seconds Monday afternoon a week ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt, said Pam Merriman.
"Our God was watching us; he took care of us," she added, grateful that neither her husband, Johnny, nor her three children were harmed.
The lightning is what first drew the family's attention to the weather she said. It hit one of their outbuildings, busting the concrete. Pam and her youngest daughter began tracking through the house, from the front door to the back door, spooked by the thick air and watching to see what the weather would do.
"It's just real funny how the air is" when a tornado is about to strike, said Pam. "It's like a silent, thick air." The wind blew over the tops of the trees as Johnny was out in his truck checking on the two chicken houses which were filled with about 40,000 chirping chicks, seven to nine days old.
As he rounded the corner of one house, he met a wall of debris coming toward him. He threw the truck in reverse and shot back toward the house. Just then, the tornado sucked up half of one house, turned it upside down and tossed it on top of the other house.
It took about three seconds for their living to be destroyed, said Pam, who despite the disaster, continues to see the bright side.
"I think the world is full of so much evil," she said. "I think evil does these things. [The tornado] could have taken any one of us, but God put his hand there and took one of the least things we had. Yes, it's our living, but we can replace that. His hand protected those that I love."
Mysteriously, the plastic feed lids inside the houses weren't moved an inch, she said. Not so the chicks inside. Only about 18,000 chicks could be rescued and transported to another farm.
Now, the family is playing the waiting game as insurance and PIlgrim's Pride, the company with whom they did business, sort things out. Unfortunately, the Merrimans did not have enough insurance to cover replacement of the houses, Pam said.
"We're just kind of in limbo as to which way to turn," she added. The family is discussing rebuilding, but, it's an expensive endeavor, with the cost of just one house at $300,000. Though making it with one house would be possible, since one house these days would have the same capacity as the two houses that were destroyed, it's not necessarily the best solution.
And options right now seem to be few and far between. "Farming is all we know," Pam said. For the last 25 years the family has depended on the chicken houses for their living. "Now, we'll just live one day at a time. "
In the meantime, clean-up, too, is on hold, since it's possible that parts of the buildings and equipment could be salvaged for a possible rebuild.
Thankfully, the family's immediate needs are taken care of, said Pam, who credited her family's penchant for saving. But, as time ticks on and the waiting game continues, those circumstances may change.
