Interview with Angela and Greg Buteau, former residents of Evergreen Mobile Home Community, Tornado, July 31,1987

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it has only been just over sixteen years. The images and feelings are easy to conjure up, as I was there, in the midst of that tragic day.


We had just bought our first home in May 1987, at Evergreen Mobile Park. In July of 1987 we lost our home; in time we endured the loss of our marriage, went into bankruptcy, and questioned our spirituality.


This is my survival story of living through the tornado that devastated the Edmonton Community in 1987.


My first memory was that the sky was a very, very brilliant blue; it was so hot that day.


And you guys were playing in the park.

Greg: Yeah, with the parks and rec guys.


You guys came home from the park?

Angela: I remember it different from that. I thought that you were leaving the park to go grocery shopping and stopped by the park to get me. I thought that I came home with you because I have a vision of being in the car and seeing Greg on his bike coming home in the rain. I had gone with you and when we got back it was raining really bad and I remember seeing Greg on his bike and you drove by him and you said okay let's go. I don't remember coming home with him from the park.


What about Jamie and Michael?

Angela: We were all with you.


I had Michael because he was just a baby.

Greg: I wasn't sure, I thought that we were at the park together. Then the fellow that was running it said 'okay everyone, its time to go home, big storm is coming in.' And as that was happening you were coming home from the grocery store. We came into the house, and loaded the groceries into the house and sit down and start watching the Jetsons.


You guys remember the Jetsons?

Both: Yes.

Greg: It must have been about noon or one.


I think it was lunchtime.

Greg: Yes, it was lunchtime, I remember you putting on a pot of macaroni, and you might have been doing lasagna as well. Then the power went out.


Where were you guys, in the living room?

Both: Yes.


Greg: And the power went out and I don't remember much after that. We talked a little bit.


Angela: We were asking what was going on.


Greg: It was really dark.


Angela: It was changing so quickly, from being a totally blue, gorgeous day, then raining and the power going out.


Do you guys remember the smashing of the windows?

Greg: I remember going in to the kitchen and looking out the kitchen window, it would have been looking at the neighbors place and seeing the swirl. My personal memory is of pointing it out.


Oh, you remember that?

Greg: Yes, looking out and just seeing all the leaves blowing and windows popping and all of us behind the couch. How did you have it? It was Michael, and then Jamie, Angela and then you were kind of cradled over us, behind the couch.


Angela: I remember I went right before Greg did because that's why was I was the only one that ended up with the cuts. The windows were smashing and when Mom went on top of us, I remember going down and a window smashing, and that's how I ended with the cuts. Just when the window smashed, just through that exposure I ended up getting some of the glass cuts from that.


Greg: I figure it was a couple of minutes of us being under there and then we got up and the windows were gone. And looking down the hallway the length of the trailer where the bedrooms were connected to, and the doors were actually on the other side of the hallway. ***


So looking down the hallway and seeing the doors was your first memory; what about you Angela?

Greg: That's where most of my memories come from, from right after we got up from the couch.


Okay, well how about you tell your story from that point and then we'll have Angela tell hers.

Greg: Yeah, we pretty much just got up and did a walk around the house and everybody just kind of went what the heck just went on? I'm not sure, was it a fellow that came to the house or had we gone outside? I remember, oh it was just chaos, the doors were blown off the trailer next to us, the trailer behind us was on its roof. Yeah, it was pretty much chaos around us. Our trailer actually did okay, minus the windows and doors and a little of this and that. We all went outside and started walking across the street; the water was up to your waist. We were going through the water and ran into a fella, and he said that everyone was collecting over at his house and he pointed over there, because the other side of the street had not been damaged like ours had. We all went there, whoever it was - three or four families. I remember the kids were in the living room and the parents in the kitchen trying to figure out what was going on. We ended up all getting in a car, or a couple of cars - I know it was fairly squishy in the one car anyways - and driving to Alberta Hospital, because that's were the emergency center was being set up.


I am going to stop you there and have Angela tell her story up until that point.

Angela: Well, it's pretty similar. I don't recall seeing down the hallway or anything like that. I just remember leaving. One memory actually triggered from your story, Mom, is that I remember you saying 'don't look back' and when I heard that I was like... you totally said that, I totally remember that. 'Just get out, and keep looking, don't turn around just keep going.' I remember being on the lawn and seeing stuff all over the grass, stuff like that. Just looking around at all the damage, and the home behind us was turned over on its side, and just not knowing... I just remember the water, then looking and seeing the guy, and going over and then we didn't see anybody, like there was nobody there, we couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anybody.


It was just silent?

Angela: Yeh, it was silent, I just remember coming out.


Greg: Insulation everywhere.


Angela: Yeah, insulation, the pink insulation was everywhere. Back to the guy, I remember seeing him, and we followed him because his trailer hadn't been touched or anything. I remember going there; it was there, I remember, that somebody had said that I'd been cut. I was bleeding because I got cut on my knee and my arm. Then I remember getting into the car... there was so much water it was flooding Like there was water in the car and I was like where are we going, what's going on? At that point I didn't know what was going on, but we drove away and slowly but surely we made it out of the park, and to Alberta Hospital.


Greg: Leaving the park I remember seeing the convenience store and the gas station on the corner. [Angela agrees] I made a wisecrack about how all that bread must be like pancakes, something like that. Leaving there was nuts, emergency personnel was just setting up, they were just getting there.


There were already roadblocks set up, weren't there?

I do not remember seeing any emergency crews because we left so fast, because I remember they had a battery operated radio in the kitchen of the trailer that we went to and they had said that they thought another tornado was coming and it was like we are getting out of here now!


What is your recall of getting to Alberta Hospital?

Greg: I don't actually remember driving up to the hospital and walking in, but a couple of real vivid memories that I have in there - we were there in the rec room, with pool tables and apple juice and cookies handed out to everyone. I remember going to the bathroom and there was no guys bathroom or girls bathroom, and seeing this lady there and she was missing a good chunk of thigh, and it's like she didn't even know what happened to her. Another vivid memory was everyone was trying to figure out names of who was missing and who was not. We were in another room watching TV and there was this family, there were three or four ladies, a mother and a couple of daughters and they were just hysterical; they were just screaming, it was terrible, really screaming - they had lost somebody.


What is your most vivid... do you remember how you felt at that time?

Greg: No, I don't. I don't remember being scared or anything. It was just like something had happened and we're here now and this is what's going on. Yep, definitely the whole magnitude of that day has definitely affected me. My whole life and everyone else's who was a part of it. Probably none of us would be in this seat or done the things that we've done. It was pretty wild.


How about you Angela?

Angela: I don't remember pulling up or anything like that or signing in. Really the only major memory I have is me going in to the bathroom and I saw somebody with half a face - there was blood, just blood all over their face. It was the same thing, nobody was freaking out. I remember that's when I starting crying too, when I saw the blood - I know my blood was nothing in comparison to anybody else's. I don't think I saw a doctor, because of the magnitude of other people's injuries, and I think with us being the first group there that the hospital was hit as well. The tornado had gone across the city - Evergreen was one of the last places hit; they thought it was pretty much done, after it had gone through Clareview. I think how quickly we got from Evergreen to the hospital - they probably didn't even know that Evergreen had been hit by the time we showed up there.


We were actually the first ones that got there.


Greg: It got busy.


Do you guys remember when we went up to another floor?

Angela: I recall getting a hold of Jamie's Dad. I remember showing up at Jamie's Dad's house, I remember trying to get a hold of Dad and Grandma. I remember the signing in, being up there and being on the survival list. I think after the tornado hit I don't remember a lot, I don't know if you purposely block it out or whatever.


Greg: Initially we were all in the recreation area, that's where I had my bathroom incident. Then I remember moving up and I remember it getting really crowded and busy and people being hysterical. It was pretty wild.


In closing, Greg you have said how you feel about it as an adult, but looking back as a child how do you think that this, overall, has affected your life?

Greg: It's defined my personality and who I am. After that happened you and Dad separated and times were really tough. I was hitting that age where I was getting into trouble at school and being defiant because I didn't know how to handle everything, and then all of a sudden Boom, family's gone, no more happiness. It was awesome, parks and rec; everything was so good and then after everything transpired it turned things upside down. My fascination for storms is unbelievable.


Angela: I have a fascination with [them] as well.


How about you Angela, in closing, how did affect you or who you are today?

Angela: Oh, I think it definitely did. One thing is it really puts a value on life, because I know some of the kids, the Reimer kids, that we hung out with at parks and rec did not survive. Looking back at a family who lost their kids and then for us to have been in a trailer with four kids and not be touched... with all the devastation around us, you can't help but think why us.


Greg: We were literally ten feet away from our house to the row of trailers behind us. (Angela is agreeing). If you and Dad had decided to buy on the street behind us it would probably be a different story.


Angela: I remember looking at the Black Friday paper and seeing the aerial photos of the aftermath and what Evergreen looked like - just seeing how there were some trailers not touched but all around them were smashed, and knowing that that was us. When you see that, it provides that faith, that spirituality or whatever. It is has allowed me to excel and want to do good, and I think I have positive outlook. I have been faced with that "where were you" when people ask what were you doing when the tornado hit. When people find out I was in Evergreen I get that "no way, you were in Evergreen?" So many people have different views on what happened, but to be one of those lucky few to have experienced that - it provides that different outlook. We faced death, we were there, and we came so close and walked away from it after so many people didn't.