Easton neighbors rush to each other's aid after tornado touches down
EASTON — Back in the 90s, Mark Butler had his eye on 67 Poquanticut Ave., a small Cape on a graceful bend in the road. He asked the owners to call him if they ever wanted to sell. They did.
Twenty-five years ago Monday, Mark and Susan Butler bought the little house. They've expanded it three-fold, adding bedrooms, a three-car garage, a pool and an iconic wrap-around farmhouse porch. Butler, who works in concrete, did much of the work himself.
Saturday's storm wrecked the wrap-around porch. A tree that towered over nearby power lines fell and crushed one side, damaging structural wood that ran around the rest of the porch.
"I just want my porch back," Butler said Monday. "I put a lot of heart and soul into this place."
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By Monday, much of the damage at the Butlers' place and nearby homes and farms had already been cleared away. Meteorologists say a tornado touched down in the area Saturday night, churning a 100-yard swath for about 400 yards.
At the Wilbur farm just down the road, winds toppled a corn crib and peeled tin off barn roofs. Todd Wilbur and 8-year-old Gracie Wilbur sheltered in their sturdy cinder-block home. He described the wind as "screaming" across the farm, which has been in his family since 1939.
Wilbur points to a gap in the tree line across the road, saying the tornado tore the tops off trees there. One evergreen still poked up high, like a "Charlie Brown Christmas tree," he said.
Heavy damage on Kennedy Circle
No residential neighborhood appeared to fare worse than the area behind Center School. Kennedy Circle in particular suffered.
Longtime Cardinal Spellman counselor Tammy Genereux surveyed the damage from her porch Monday. Towering trees had fallen all around her family's Kennedy Circle home. Fortunately, no one was injured. She figures that all told, up to two dozen trees will have to be taken down.
She's holding out hope that her Chrysler Town & Country isn't a total loss. It's buried under the tree that knocked out her home's electrical system. Genereux bought it used but it's "fully loaded."
"My truck is under there," she said with a sweep of her arm.
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Back at the Butlers, Mark Butler said the lack of treetops being sheared off makes him think their tree was the victim of high winds but not the tornado itself. Citing damage he saw in Monson when a tornado touched down there in 2011, Butler said he would have expected to have lost shingles.
Whether it was the actual tornado or not, it was a stroke of fortune no one was hurt. Mark Butler had decided against a swim as heavy rain moved in. His wife, Susan, took video of the storm. Within 30 seconds of her putting down her camera, the crash came.
"You can't describe how loud that was," Butler said.
Susan's father, Bill Pedersen, had been watching the storm from a smaller porch next to the wrap-around porch. The family dog, Ollie, also wasn't injured.
Early the next morning, neighbors were already dropping by to help. Wilbur dropped off some chainsaws. Another neighbor brought his crane. Soon the tree itself was gone.
Each Christmas, the Butlers lovingly light and tastefully decorate their house. You can bet that well before Christmas, they'll have their porch back.
Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Easton, MA, tornado rips off Mark Butler's Poquanticut Avenue porch
