JEFFERSON CITY — On the night of May 22, 2019, an EF-3 tornado tore through Jefferson City, leaving businesses and livelihoods in ruin behind it.
One business, Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair, Inc., is just now returning to fully normal operations five years later. Alan Braun, one of the shop’s owners, worked as a volunteer firefighter at the time of the tornado, and after a night of working and helping the community, it was time to go see what was left of his own shop.
“We were working all night with the community before we got down here,” Braun said. “Then we started handling the mess that was our facility.”
Before and after: This is what the lot of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair looked like five years ago, on May 22, 2019.▲
Looking at the amount of damage was devastating. Braun said it felt like generations of hard work was thrown away.
“It’s a pretty bad feeling to come in and see everything that your mom and dad worked for, and you and your brothers have worked for, for many many years, just laid in devastation,” he said.
Before and after of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair following an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City in May 2019▲
Braun said it took months to get things going again. Waking up every day was hard, knowing all the difficulties that waited for him.
“You got a pit in your stomach knowing every day you’re going to go down and deal with this and try and clean it up and rebuild it. It takes a lot,” he said.
Braun said none of the rebuild would have been possible without the help of the community. Braun named two people who went above and beyond: Dave Perrey of Turks Construction Inc. and Doug Schrimpf of Doug Schrimpf Construction.
Doug Schrimpf overlooks the aftermath of an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City on May 22, 2019. Haley Davidson/Flyin 2D Photography
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Schrimpf said he goes to bed early and is a heavy sleeper, so he had no idea what awaited him the morning after the tornado came through.
“I went to bed about 8:30 that night, but my wife stayed up watching the TV,” Schrimpf said. “I didn’t know anything about it until I pulled up to the lot and saw all the damage.”
He immediately called his crew and began cleaning up, but he didn’t start cleaning his own shop and belongings.
“We didn’t even clean up our sheds and stuff for a week,” he said. “We just helped clean up everything else.”
Before and after of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair following an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City in May 2019▲
A bulk of the initial work included making calls to customers, telling them he wouldn’t be able to finish their jobs for a little while. He said he received great feedback from customers, which allowed him to go and help the community first.
When asked why he helped the community first, Schrimpf said, “I’ve always been that way, I guess. I just like helping people, and it makes you feel good.”
Although some point to his individual efforts, Schrimpf said his crew and the entire community, as one, should receive the praise.
“Everyone worked together good, you know, this is a good community here,” he said.
Schrimpf said especially after the tornado, and even to this day, it’s important just to take life one day at a time, and keep moving forward.
“You just got to take it day by day, one foot in front of the other,” he said. “Then before you know it, even with something as bad as this was, it’s all over.”