Tornado victim passes history on to neighbors, friends

When a tornado struck Perryville, it took a life and destroyed dozens of homes.

Unfortunately, it took some history with it as well.

The Feb. 28 twister took out Kevin Schemel's house that was built around an 1886 log cabin.

"I hate to see her go, because she saved my life and my wife's life," Schemel said.

But all was not lost. Parts of the old log cabin structure will go into another home, Schemel said. He gave several logs from the house to his next-door neighbor of 21 years. They'll be used in the foundation of a new house to be built for his neighbor's daughter, Samantha Dippold, who had relatives live in the log cabin many decades ago.

Schemel said anything in the house that was reusable was given to the volunteers who helped after the tornado.

As we've stated before, the tornado's wrath has brought out some of the best in people. Schemel is another example.

We feel sympathy for Schemel, but uplifted that some of that Perryville history will live on with neighbors and friends, thanks to his generosity.