One year after an F-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, the Callaway County Public Library is offering area residents a peek into what the hours, days and months afterward have been like for the southwest Missouri town.
The library will host a screening of "Deadline in Disaster" - which tells the story through the eyes of the staff of the local newspaper, The Joplin Globe - from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 24. Adult Services Librarian Sherry McBride-Brown said the event also will include a discussion afterward led by area volunteers who went down to Joplin to help with the recovery efforts. All three of the Daniel Boone Regional Library branches will be showing the film next week.
The film shows how the staff of The Globe sprang into action minutes after the tornado struck and continued to put together their newspaper and tell their community's stories even as they themselves dealt with personal losses.
"This is just a way to share information about the disaster - people are still interested in knowing what happened, how people dealt with it and how they continue to recover," McBride-Brown said. "It's something we were fortunate enough to have the resources to bring to the public.
"We are hoping the public will attend - I think it's going to be wonderful."
McBride-Brown said she has not yet seen the film herself, and is looking forward to the experience.
"I know it's going to be sad, but I think it's also going to be hopeful," she said. "From devastation comes hope, and from hope comes growth.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how things have continued to recover and how people are going on in the face of such devastation."