The community of Lutts in Wayne County has been rebuilding since a tornado struck the town on December 23, 2015.
On Tuesday, 41 days after the December tornado struck, more severe weather rolled through the area, reminding those in Lutts of what happened just over a month earlier.
“Everybody around here has just been thanking the lord that they were safe.” Marie Franks of Lutts said.
Marie was with her husband Billy Ray when the December toranado hit, and she said while she was “scared to death” along with many other members of the community, they have begun to work together to not only clear debris, but to rebuild.
“It could have been a lot worse, cause we all could have been gone. Gone ourselves.” Franks said.
As of Tuesday, many residents of Lutts are still out of their homes, working to get trailers to live in until they can recover.
The Lutts post office was still in pieces on the ground, and very little of the neighboring church remained.
Due to the church being destroyed, members of the community began holding their Sunday services at the Lutts Fire Department.
“All of these songbooks have been donated from different churches.” Kathy Frank, treasurer for the fire department and piano player for the church said of the books stacked throughout the fire department.
Frank said that while the December storm was a tragedy, it showed how the Lutts community can come together, even when Mother Nature rips it apart.
“It’s been really hard.” Frank said while choking back tears. “But, you know, you just make the best of it. You just pick up and go on.”
The Lutts community has been working on plans to rebuild their church, along with many other buildings in the area.
