Friday, May 2nd 2014, 4:09 pm
The Orr Family Farm is preparing for its second annual Weather roundup this weekend.
It's a day they created to replace a community's fear with awareness about Oklahoma's terrible twisters, one they experienced first hand last year.
On May 20, 2013, the Orr Family Farm took a direct hit from the EF 5 tornado that hit central Oklahoma.
"That building, was almost nothing left of it," said Dr. Glenn Orr, pointing at one of the building on his farm.
Orr said he remembers the tornado like it was yesterday.
"It sounded exactly like they say, like a huge freight train is running right by your bedroom window or something," he recalled.
He along with his family and employees at the farm took cover from that deadly tornado, minutes later, they came out to see the entire farm destroyed.
"It was just terrible," Orr said.
But then, he said something beautiful happened.
"We had no idea how much the people appreciated us," he said.
An outpouring of support in Oklahoma and across the nation blew in and lifted them up, helping them to rebuild in only five months. Bigger and better than before.
"We just pulled the blessing out of it," said General Manager Shanin Kemp. "We focused on the bright side and we tried to make some changes we had wanted to make before."
Like increasing the sizes of some of the buildings, adding a convention center and new attractions like the Fun Farm Yard, while keeping some of the old favorites like the jumping pillows, zip line, the animal barn and the serene wedding garden.
"It's another miracle that everything is brand new," Orr said.
Along with some damage, like a bent pole, that will remain to remind them of how a tornado changed the farm forever, in the end, for the better.
The Weather Roundup is set for Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. News 9 will be there. Admission is $10.50 plus tax. Moore public school students and faculty will receive free admission.
News 9 will return to the Orr Family Farm Weather Round Up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Schedule of Events:
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. -- Amanda Taylor, Kelly Ogle
10 a.m. to Noon -- David Payne, Lacey Swope, Matt Mahler, Justin Rudicel and Rachel Calderon
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Pilot Jim Gardner and Storm Trackers Val and Amy Castor, Hank and Patty Brown, Marty Logan, Alan Broerse and Tom Pastrano
May 2nd, 2014
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