Former Kentucky player wowed by community’s support following Nashville tornado – kentuckysportsradio.com
Former Kentucky player wowed by community’s support following Nashville tornado kentuckysportsradio.com
Tragedy has a way of bringing people together. In the tight-knit neighborhood of East Nashville on Tuesday, that meant 70 people teaming up to help a former Kentucky Football player and his wife clear their backyard of debris from Monday night’s tornado, most of them complete strangers.
Martin McPherson played free safety at Kentucky from 2003-07. The Somerset, Ky. native walked on his first three years and was given a scholarship his senior season. Before this week, I had no idea he played for Kentucky. I simply knew him as the UK fan in the running club who had the Power K flag on his house across the street from the 4-Way Market. If there’s one thing the past 72 hours have taught me, it’s that strangers can quickly turn into neighbors.
McPherson and his wife Chelsea were fortunate in that their house was mostly spared from the tornado; however, their yard took a major hit. Several large trees were ripped from the ground and crushed their fence. A neighbor’s shed was flipped completely over and rests against the roots of a giant stump. You can tell from the way the trees fell where the storm was headed; if its path was even just a little different, McPherson’s bedroom could have been crushed, with him, his wife, and his dogs inside.
“I didn’t hear any of this,” he recalled. “I didn’t hear any of the fence crashing. I didn’t hear any of these trees falling. These are big trees. That would be something you would hear. That’s our bedroom. All I could hear was a whistling, whipping sound and stuff just belting the house. I walked out and didn’t see. Just to see this, the patching we’re going to have to do [to the roof], a broken window in my car, that’s the least of it. If I have to look at some tree stumps for a while — there are some people that won’t have their house anymore.”
Since the tornado came through, one of the most difficult things to process has been the randomness of its path. My husband and I were completely spared, but just a few blocks over, it looks like a war zone. McPherson’s house is on the other side of the destruction. While making the rounds on Tuesday morning, I walked by his house and introduced myself. At the time, he and his friends were just beginning to survey the damage. The streets were blocked off by downed trees and power lines, but people picked their way through with chainsaws, rakes, brooms, water, and food in what has become the new normal.
As the day went on, some of McPherson’s friends from the East Nasty Running Club came over to help take down the trees. By evening, the crowd grew into “an ant hill of people” to clear the yard, which will better help the insurance adjustors examine the damage to the fence.
“To see 70 random people all work together, 10-15 of whom I knew, the rest were just complete strangers. Hipsters, millennials, all the fun stuff. Long haired hippies wearing cowboy boots. Not farm boots, the two-stepping kind.”
“I didn’t ask for anything. They brought food, brought water, trash bags, ropes, loppers, and saws. And now I have a big, giant stack [of chopped up wood]. It was really cool to see people who didn’t care if they knew each other. They were like, ‘Hey, there’s something else we can do.’ One guy said, ‘We heard saws and it’s the end of the day and we came with what we had.’”
With most of the branches now gathered near the street, stumps and sawdust are all that remain until a tree service can come in. McPherson and his wife are still without power and could be for a while, but have friends to stay with if needed. As time goes on, the reality is beginning to settle in.
“It kind of stinks. I was telling my wife this morning, one of the things I love about East Nashville is how beautiful it is. I woke up this morning and looked out and it was so much brighter, but for not the right reasons. You could just tell. I looked out our windows and the treescape is not there anymore.”
Little moments of normalcy are crucial in times like these. On Wednesday morning, McPherson ventured out to a local coffee shop to charge his phone and take a break, which included his daily scroll through KSR and the radio show. He missed the Tennessee game on Tuesday night — which was probably a blessing — but lit up when I asked about football.
“I wish I could get to a lot more games. I still have my tickets. It’s a good feeling. It makes you happy to see that we can still be on the map. What [Mark] Stoops has done is incredible. We would get excited with some of the players we brought in as recruits – and not to take anything away from them because they were great players – but the staff’s ability recruit and develop and teach these kids is amazing.”
The program’s rise has also made it a lot easier to live in enemy territory.
“Finally, to be able to talk some smack to the Tennessee people, even though we’ve lost and dropped the last few. Just to not be taken for granted anymore. You’ve got to show up or shut up and it’s fun.”
The holder for McPherson’s Kentucky flag broke off the house in the storm, so he lodged the pole into a bush to make sure it still flies proudly. That didn’t stop fans of opposing teams from lending a hand.
“Nobody caring anything about what sport you like, what team you like. I know a ton of Tennessee people – there was even a Louisville Cardinal out here for Pete’s sake. I almost kicked him out but I didn’t.”
The stumps in McPherson’s yard following a day’s worth of hard work
Next week, thousands of Kentucky fans will make their way to Nashville for the SEC Tournament. North Nashville, Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, and Cookeville sustained major damage and are still in recovery mode, with many major roads closed until further notice.
“I think a lot of people want to help and that’s great, but it’s congested right now,” McPherson said. “There are people coming in, there’s construction, there are roofers and people trying to come through and tree services. It’s a little bit crowded, so look to donate.”
KSR is teaming up with Gideon’s Army to collect supplies and donations at Tin Roof Broadway starting on Friday, March 13. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has also set up an emergency fund. Local organizations like the Nashville Humane Society are taking donations of dog food, dog beds, blankets, etc. Although many local businesses were hit, several restaurants and bars in East Nashville remain open (I’ll have a list on the site next week).
“Be kind,” McPherson asked of fans coming down. “Be patient. I know you want to see the damage. Come over here and the places that are open, go to those establishments.”
This is the third major tornado to hit East Nashville in the past 100 years. Seeing how the paths converged on one neighborhood is eerie; however, if there’s one thing this community knows how to do, it’s come together and rebuild.
“There are a lot of things to be happy and thankful for, but at the end of the day, these past 24 hours, there are people dragging treats and snacks and looking to help. I’ve never been a part of a disaster like this and it gives you faith. It gives you faith in people and as crappy as people can act on the internet and social media, you don’t get a real pulse.
“Nobody cared. Nobody cared about what you did or who you were, it was just, somebody needs help and then helping. I’ve met more neighbors, unfortunately, this way. You get to see people’s true hearts doing this.”
