Vern Reynolds held on to the door of the Elmwood movie theater he has owned for 31 years and watched out its window as an F2 tornado ripped through the town June 5, leaving many historic buildings in shambles.
“I held the door as long as I could,” said Reynolds, owner of the Palace Theatre, built in 1913.
Winds from the storm pulled the door out of his hands, leaving only the handle that had broken off from the force, and leaving Reynolds exposed to the twister.
“I was literally looking inside of the sucker,” he said.
Reynolds, a resident of Morton and owner of three other theaters including Morton Cinemas, had stopped at a nearby gas station on his way out of Elmwood after leaving the Strawberry Festival. It was here that he heard the warning siren and was told by a worker at the station that a tornado had been spotted at the edge of town.
“I immediately got in my car and drove to the theater,” he said. “There were a few people outside, so I got them inside.”
He latched the front door, but did not have the key that was needed to lock it. To prevent the door from flying open as the tornado passed, Reynolds held it shut.
He said he watched as the tornado hovered over homes on a nearby street, but did not touch down.
“I was praying the whole time it would keep doing that and go on by,” he said. “Little did I know there was another one to the south of us as well.”
About 65 people were inside the theater, many in the basement, as the tornado crumbled a portion of the roof and caused damage to its west wall.
“It was a pretty scary moment for everybody,” he said. “But there were no injuries in the building or in the town. We were so blessed in that respect.”
Many of Elmwood’s historic buildings, the Palace Theatre included, did not fair as well.
Reynolds said it could cost more than $450,000 to restore the theater.
“Hopefully we can rebuild with everybody’s help,” Reynolds said. “We’re not afraid to ask for help at this point.”
Brimfield resident Bill Seipel, has made a personal goal to raise $25,000 to help save the theater, where he said he saw his first movie, “E.T.”
“I’m just a concerned citizen,” Seipel said. “I’ve lived here 33 years.”
