Iowa Farm Begins Tornado Recovery

By: Jennifer Carrico

All that’s left of the original 1930s Queck family farmstead is a lilac bush. An EF-4 tornado destroyed the farm west of Orient on May 21. Paul and Abbey Queck had moved to the farm six years ago to continue the legacy which had been started by his parents, Steve and Dara and grandparents, Bob and Barb. Bob’s father was the one who purchased the farm in the 1930s and Paul hopes his sons Henry and Hudson will want to be the fifth generation to farm the ground and raise cattle in southwest Iowa.

Paul said he was watching the storm after they were alerted to the weather. “I could see it in the distance and watched for a while. I told Abbey we either needed to leave right away or we had to ride it out,” he said. The family took shelter in their basement. They could hear the tornado coming. When it hit, the house was taken, and a wall fell on them. When they came out from under a blanket, nothing was above.