The Christmas spirit has found a way to grow through the rubble and damage created by the tornado that ripped through the city’s south end this past summer.
The tornado that touched down in Barrie on July 15 left several people displaced and many homes with severe damage.
Jacqueline Jacobs and her family were one of the families who are just now starting to get their home back to normal almost five months later.
Jacobs and her family had to find alternate accommodations for about three weeks after the storm, staying in a local hotel.
“We have been staying in a home without insulation until last week, so at least we’re warm now,” Jacobs told BarrieToday. “There are still a lot of repairs to be done, but because of COVID it has been slow going for many people.”
The Jacobs family lives at 136 Succession Cres., near Mapleview Drive East and Prince William Way, an area where the twister hit several homes before heading farther south before dissipating.
Many homes are still boarded up and awaiting repair, but Jacobs wanted to find a way to have some kind of festive spirit for everyone to celebrate as the holidays approach.
The idea of a community tree came about, in part thanks to a Christmas classic.
“We wondered how we could spread some cheer while everyone was hoping to get their houses fixed up sooner than later,” Jacobs said. “The idea sort of came from the movie The Grinch and how everyone was surrounding the tree and singing, being happy."
Jacobs took her idea to some local businesses. A tree and stand were soon donated by Home Depot, with other stores providing ornaments and Staples creating a sign that reads: “We have been through a lot this year. Please help decorate this tree for Christmas cheer.”
The tree is expected to go up in front of the Jacobs home this afternoon (Dec. 8) and be lit up with some ornaments from the family, topped with a star.
"We hope that people will come and put an ornament on the tree to decorate it and show that the Christmas spirit is alive and well here, despite all we’ve been through,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs says she won’t soon forget July 15 and the storm that hit. She and her family were home when it happened.
“Me, my mom and my daughter were in the basement and we heard it and saw it. It was just very devastating. The house two doors down from us lost their first and second floor, which was hard to see,” she said.
“We saw people who were a bit hurt and had some severe damage to their homes and because everyone is staying where they can until the homes are fixed, you just wonder how they’re doing," Jacobs added.
Everyone in her home was physically fine, “just mentally tore up for a little while," she says.
It's just another reason she can’t wait to get the tree up.
“We need some feeling of normal, a feeling of community,” Jacobs said. “It is quite amazing to drive around the area and see some homes still under repair, but that have decorations on their front lawn.”
