University of Evansville baseball student-athlete Kasey Wahl knows firsthand about the destruction caused by the November 6 tornado that claimed 23 lives in Evansville, Indiana, and nearby communities. Although his family's home on Elm Drive in Newburgh, five miles east of Evansville, suffered only minor damage, neighbors on the same street had their houses destroyed.

The tornado cut a 40-mile swath through northwestern Kentucky and southwestern Indiana in the early morning hours while residents slept. The 23 deaths were the most from a single tornado in the United States since 1998.

"It was kind of weird the night of the storm, because I never watch TV late at night, but I flipped it on that night and saw there was a tornado warning," said Wahl, who was in his dorm room at the time. "Then I could tell it was headed right toward my parents' house. I called them about 10 minutes before it hit and warned them. Then I couldn't reach them after the tornado went through, but my mom reached me about a half-hour later. She was really shook up, but everyone was safe."

Wahl said he was amazed how some people escaped the damage and others on the same street did not.

"We had some trees knocked down and minimal damage to our house," he said. "Our neighbors right across the street can't even live in their house anymore because of the damage. Right up the street, a friend of my brother got out of bed just before the wall caved in on his bed, and then threw his sister downstairs to save her."

About 75 Evansville student-athletes and others from the campus community joined in the cleanup process in the days after the tragedy. Most spent several days in the Newburgh area, where more than 300 homes were damaged or destroyed.

"On Sunday I e-mailed my teammates about what had happened, and I got 20 e-mails that day
alone," Wahl said. "Everyone wanted to know what they could do to help. And it wasn't just the baseball team. A lot of students here wanted to do whatever they could. I told them there would be plenty to do for weeks just in my own neighborhood."

One of Wahl's teammates, senior Scott Souther, told an Evansville television station, "It's incredible to see what these people have gone through. You get out here, and you can't believe how much destruction there is. We're just trying to help. But what we're doing is no big deal compared to what these people have gone through."

Bob Boxell is the sports information director at the University of Evansville.

The following is a letter from Kasey Wahl's mother, Mary Wahl, to Evansville Athletics Director Bill McGillis:

I just want to commend your baseball and volleyball teams and coaches for what they have done at our home and neighborhood. And I cannot forget Kasey's AT (athletic training) friends.

Yesterday around 1 p.m. the athletic trainers entered our neighborhood and started chopping, picking up and clearing. Then comes the first group of baseball players with trucks and lots of big strong boys. The coaches even supplied the chipper to break down our trees.

They worked very, very hard -- all of them. Then around 3 p.m. comes (assistant baseball coach Kevin Koch) with another group. They went right to work with the others. We got our yard pretty well cleaned up and then they moved up to my neighbor's house. He was overwhelmed -- he even cried a little. The volleyball team joined the group a little later in the afternoon. It began to get dark, so the athletes left, but not the coaches. They insisted on staying until all our chipping was done. They worked into the darkness. What an effort!

I sat down last night and just cried at their generosity. It would've taken our family a week to do what they did in one afternoon. I am very certain that Kasey is in the right place with the right people. These are good people! We will never forget what they have done for us.

Mary Wahl