JARRELL, Texas — Brenda Cooper still remembers May 27, 1997 like it was yesterday. The images and memories of a horrifying tornado changed the Jarrell, Texas community forever.
“It was just huge, this big black cloud, as far as you can see,” Cooper said. “So many lives were lost that day and we knew them all.”
Retiring at year’s end, the longtime athletic secretary at Jarrell High School chose never to dwell on that day. Instead, she focused on how her neighbors rallied in their darkest hour.
“We didn’t run, those of us that were left, we stayed to rebuild,” Cooper said.
Brenda will turn 80 years old later this year, and from her schoolwork to charitable endeavors, she has made the most of every second from then until now.
“I can honor them by doing something worthwhile here,” Cooper said.
Jarrell mayor, Larry Bush, moved to town in 1998 but was there to help just days after the devastation.
“No washers, no dryers, no furniture, no pictures of children when they were younger,” Bush said. “It was all gone.”
In an instant, his wife’s son, daughter-in-law and their child were taken — along with her house.
“That was a difficult time,” Bush said. “What our legacy should and will be is all of the things we have built and put together after that.”
So much of the city’s revitalized inspiration can be found at the Memorial Park Community Center. It was built on donated land from the Igo family, which lost five members on that fateful day. Twenty-seven names are honored here.
“Everyone knows where this is at,” Bush said. “Our legacy is never going to be about this tornado. You can’t live in that past, or with that image or memory.”
In many ways, this site is a metaphor for Jarrell. The past will always be a part of their narrative. But on that foundation of community, they continue to move forward towards a promising future.
“We weren’t a city, we were just a wide spot on the road,” Bush said. “Now we have more than 13,000 people and are building our third elementary school, second in four years.”