VALLEY VIEW — Downtown Valley View was quiet as the sun rose Monday morning.
A burger place, hair salon, coffee shop, churches and stores wrap around the small town’s square with a weathered water tower in the background. A blinking red light marks the four-way stop beside the John Fortenberry Community Center that has a mural featuring a silhouette of a cowboy mounted on a horse against a Texas flag overlooking a longhorn in a field and a bald eagle.
The peaceful moment, only interrupted by a train’s horn, would last a couple of more hours before the community center turned into one of the local ground zeros for deploying donations and resources.
Less than 48 hours before, severe storms ripped apart trees and fences, swept away homes and devastated the rural community of about 800 people in Cooke County. Seven people were killed and roughly 100 others were injured in tornadoes that traveled through at least 50 miles of North Texas on Saturday night, officials said.
Kristy Spainhour, a Valley View resident and volunteer at the community center, worked to organize cases of water, diapers, sunscreen and other donations. She smiled at everyone she made eye contact with and helped direct anyone who had questions.
The building overflowed with donations, making it a crammed space to walk through, as more supplies continued to be brought in.
Spainhour paused, looked around, then fought back tears.
“It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s not surprising,” she said. “We always show up for each other. We always rally and we always do what needs to be done.”
She said small towns can often be overlooked, but with the world watching the devastation in their community, they’re reminding everyone what it means to be neighborly.
Being kind and lending a hand isn’t new for Valley View residents, though, she said. It’s the kind of place where people greet you by name and ask how your mama is. This natural disaster has just given them the opportunity to show southern hospitality and humanity on a larger scale.
Jamie Hurley of Krum pulled up in his muddied gray Ford pickup with a trailer hitched to it. Before he fully hit the brakes, volunteers in neon yellow vests ran to the bed and began unloading bread and baby food.
Hurley, an Army veteran, founded the nonprofit Lone Star Heroes Outdoors, which is typically focused on providing hunting and fishing trips to veterans and first responders. The last few days, he’s been driving around to multiple locations to transport donations.
“We’re all Texans and neighbors,” he said. “We’re all helpers.”
His wife, Jennifer, and three of their sons — Jase, 9, Kason, 8, and Atlas, 4 — also ride along in the truck.
The Hurleys are fast-paced, swiftly hopping on and off the trailer. Before they’re done unloading, Hurley is already asking volunteers what else they need.
Hurley’s organization partnered with Operation Texas Strong out of Weatherford to donate an RV to a veteran who lost his home in the tornado, and fishing company Googan Squad in Krum offered up its headquarters as a drop off point for the RV.
“We love people and helping people,” Operation Texas Strong founder Bobby Crutsinger said. “In a disaster like this we’re all neighbors and give back to those in need.”
Crutsinger, wife Peggy, and their 17-year-old son Chris delivered donations to neighborhoods Sunday.
They had 48 cases stacked high on a trailer, Crutsinger said. When he took a tight turn some of the cases toppled over.
Everyone nearby rushed to help pick up the bottles.
“It almost brought tears to my eyes,” he said. “People dealing with just losing their house stopped and helped us. Everybody pulls together no matter what.”
By Monday afternoon, the Hurley family and their friends Chris and Mariah Steele of Sulphur, Okla., navigated backroads to deliver the RV.
“Our community was hit by a tornado recently and Lone Star Heroes helped us and sent donations so when we heard what happened here, we didn’t hesitate to come down,” Mariah Steele said.
Chris Steele, another Army veteran, squeezed his truck past onlookers and linemen and pulled the RV into David and Deanna Vickery’s front yard as volunteers worked to nail blue tarps to the roof that had been mostly blown away.
“Alright. Do you want to come see your temporary home?” Hurley said as he walked over to David Vickery and handed him the keys. The two walked inside and before celebrating began talking logistics about septic hookups and air conditioning.
The hand-me-down RV camper is a temporary solution until a more updated fifth wheel camper can be delivered.
“Once you get that and rebuild your life, you can go out and have some fun with it,” Hurley told Vickery, a 62-year-old Navy veteran.
The Vickerys had lived in their home for more than two decades and were devastated to see what damage the storms had done but were thankful their 17-year-old grandson, Jareth, who was alone in the house when the tornado hit, was OK.
“I’m a tough guy,” David said. “But when I saw my home …”
“I’ve only seen my husband cry twice,” Deanna said as David paused. “When his mom died and when we saw the house.”
The Vickerys said within 30 minutes of returning home from a trip they had been on in Flagstaff, Ariz. — a 14 hour drive they did without stopping — people from all over descended upon their property to help.
“Small towns like Valley View are more likely to take care of each other like this,” David said.
He looked at his wife with a soft smile.
“When others leave and we’re still here days from now, we know our community will help us pick up the pieces.”
