![]() ![]() Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at Follow him on Twitter To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription for all dnj.com stories. "And they fly to South America," her son Alan Smithson added. "They come every spring at the end of March and leave in July," Johnson said. The tornado bent two tall metal poles in Johnson's yard that held hollow gourds serving as nests for purple martins that eat mosquitos and other bugs. "He loved his garage and mowing this big yard, which I get to do now." ![]() "He would have been heartbroken," said Graham, who lives in Murfreesboro. Graham said she hated that her stepfather's big garage was destroyed with tools scattered everywhere. Johnson's son Alan Smithson and daughter Angie Graham also came with other family members to help clean up the destruction. Her grandson Jacob Smithson then left his home in Murfreesboro and "rushed down here" to be with her the rest of the night. to tell her to get in the safe place in the closet under the stairs. Johnson was at her home alone when her son Scott Smithson called her at 1:54 a.m. We didn't know what a swimming pool was." "This whole community means a lot to me," she said. Seventy-nine-year-old Johnson has lived in Readyville her entire life. "They gave me an acre to build this house." "My grandparents owned all this land," said Johnson, who inherited about 8 acres from them. The tornado that damaged her roof destroyed an awning, antique wrought-iron patio furniture and the large detached garage where her second husband, who died a couple of years ago, kept all his tools. The extended family of Cheryl Johnson came to clean up debris at the Readyville home she built in 1969 with her first husband before he died. Watch Video: Family responds to tornado in Readyville “Some homes eerily were left untouched,” said Carr, who met with Cannon County Mayor Greg Mitchell to support the rescue efforts in both counties. The storm also destroyed numerous homes on Readyville Street and the Tilford Lumber Co. “It looked like a bomb went off,” Carr said in the press release. Bill Lee to declare a state of emergency and provide state assistance for the "wiped out" Readyville community, according to a press release from Rutherford County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lisa Marchesoni. Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr asked Gov. I got my friend's family out of their cellar." Rutherford County officials seek help from governor "When we came out, we had neighbors calling us for help," Bailey said. ![]() It passed through the community without damaging his home while his family sought shelter in their basement. Readyville resident Cameron Bailey helped neighbors after the tornado that arrived just before 2 a.m. Utility crews with Middle Tennessee Electric blocked roads to repair downed power lines and poles, while neighbors used chainsaws to cut up trees that fell in large numbers. ![]()
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