This article is from the March 2023 edition of SDPB Magazine. See past issues HERE.
On May 12th, 2022, a tornado tore through the South Dakota town of Castlewood. Among the wreckage was the school. The F2 tornado touched down on the south end of Castlewood and tore through the middle of the school, destroying eight classrooms, the lunchroom, the kitchen, and the
gymnasium. Angela Keszler, Principal and Athletic Director, left the school at 4:30 that day and noticed the change in weather. "I remember walking outside and looking at the sky, and it was a weird color, and the air was super heavy and gross," says Angela. The aftereffects of the tornado left parts of the school in shambles. Angela continues, "Right away, it was chaos. The roof of the gym was already to the ground. There were bricks everywhere. Water was pouring into our elementary."
A canceled practice just 15 minutes before the tornado hit left the school primarily empty. Ethan Kemp, Bus Driver & Custodian, was in the school when it all happened. After getting some weather reports on his phone, he pulled his truck into the building for protection, barely making it inside in time. Ethan states, "I ended up getting a little too close as I saw the weather coming. I turned around and tried to get in the door, fumbling for keys, I barely made it in, and when I did, the door slammed shut on me. A loud bang and dust everywhere. That was it." The fire alarms went off, and the adrenaline started setting in. Ethan continues, "I could barely see halfway down the hall. That's when I ran over to the gym because I knew, about a half hour before, there were kids doing play practice. I didn't even notice that the gym roof was off because it was dark." Ethan was able to let in some people who had lost a house across the street, and luckily, there were no injuries within the school.
The building will come back, but the people are still here, so that's what makes it specialAngela Keszler
Even with all the devastation, Castlewood remains strong. "That's been one thing even before the tornado that stood out to me is that Castlewood is a close-knit community. There's a lot of efforts community-wise to help the schools and the community itself," says Angela. She continues, "We had a lot of donations from area schools just for supplies for us to use for those couple of days because we were in all three churches in town, including the Catholic Church, for the last two days." Surrounding
schools aided with supplies and space for the remaining days of the school year. The next school year started on time thanks to the help of those in town and other efforts. Units were brought in from Texas to help make up for lost space; these units are pods with eight classrooms and four makeshift offices that are used for elementary. Two local churches, The American Lutheran Church and the Presbyterian Church donated their space for preschool.
"There already was a lot of community pride here, and this event just enhanced it that much more," says Angela. While rebuilding the school is predicted to take 2-3 years, the town's team spirit perseveres. Despite the challenges of only having one gym, practices remain with well-attended games. Booker Schooley, a player for the boys' basketball teams, comments on how the team is just as close, no matter where the practices and games take place, saying, "We're a tight-knit group of guys, and it doesn't matter if we're hanging out on the basketball court or not. It's not just a basketball team; it's a family." The school is seizing this as an opportunity to make improvements – a vote for a bond happens on March 7th. Angela even praises that enrollment is rising, saying, "We were worried about losing enrollment, and we haven't. We've actually increased."
