ELKHORN, Neb. (WOWT) - Two weeks after the tornado outbreak, hardware stores in the areas hit hardest are flooded with people needing tools.
Tim Roberts works in the power equipment section at Elkhorn’s Ace Hardware, just a few blocks away from the damage paths. christmas agent
“This is the busiest section of the store,” Roberts said. “It’s going to be like this forever back here.”
The store wasn’t hit, but lost power for a few hours. During that time, a couple customers were allowed to take items without paying.
Supervisor Lael Ramage said, “Their houses were destroyed. We allowed them to get tarps and gloves. The two that did come in did come back and pay.”
Roberts said, “We finished the evening busy, and then the next morning all hell broke loose in here.”
Associate Justin Reed said, “We opened about probably about 20 minutes earlier than we were supposed to and we sold about $3,000 worth of chainsaws. I had an entire back stock up there two days before and it was gone.”
The busy activity was a distraction from the employee’s reality. “We had two employees that lost their homes which was very upsetting because they’re wonderful people,” Roberts said.
Ramage said the store never ran out of equipment. “Our Columbus and Fremont stores sent chainsaws over to help us with our need. Our owner actually placed an emergency order of chainsaws as well, that evening,” she said.
Usually, a spike in sales is something to celebrate. However, in this case, each transaction was a reminder of homes and lives torn apart.
Rogers said, “It’s a mixed reaction. Yeah, sales were great, but people were in bad shape. They lost everything.”
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