ALTO, Texas — Jerry and DeAnna Bennett of Alto still have reminders of a painful day one year ago.
"The sound, I think, is what I remember. Definitely ears were popping," Jerry Bennett remembered. "Those memories are frozen in my mind."
The couple have lived for years in Alto and longtime members of the Alto community. On the street they live on, there were once seven homes. However, only three still stand.
"After the tornado left us, we came into the living room, and you can look outside and see. It was like when you look on TV, and the bomb drops, it was like a bomb dropped all around us," DeAnna remembered. "It was like a war zone. Anyway we could get out. It took us a while and then finally we could see the police car up at the front."
Their house was spared the damage that befell so many others, including DeAnna's mother's home. Fortunately, she was out of town at the time of the storms, a small blessing from a dark day.
"If she had been here, we would have been down with her. Her house is no longer there," DeAnna said. "A tornado took the whole house."
During the fury of the storm, they took comfort in prayer.
"Our faith definitely sustained us."
One year later, the peaceful setting of their street has returned, mainly due to the help of neighbors when they were needed most.
"We appreciate everyone who helped," Jerry refelected. "It was a good united effort."