Friday, June 18, 2010

Here's to you, Mr. Michaels

Dad to the Bone:
Seeing the funnel cloud barreling toward the small town of Mentor in northwestern Minnesota on Thursday, Wes Michaels yelled to his daughter working in the family-owned gas station.

"It's coming straight for us," he shouted. "Get in the cooler."

"In seconds, everything was on top of us," said Michaels' daughter Heidi. She survived the storm, her father's body shielding her from the debris that killed him.

The tornadoes that ripped through northwestern and southern Minnesota on Thursday killed at least three people, leveled a broad swath of Wadena and damaged numerous houses and farm buildings across the state.

Heidi Michaels said her father had owned the Cenex gas and convenience store in Mentor for four years and wasn't supposed to have been working Thursday, his 58th birthday. He had come in only to check on her after hearing the storm warnings. When he saw the twister headed for the station, he ordered her and several customers into the cooler just before the store and four vehicles were destroyed.

"He saved me," Heidi Michaels said.


Here's an update on Mr. Michaels, a great example.

2 comments:

  1. Dad to the Bone, indeed.

    Raising my glass...

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a great story for father's day. And here's a shout out to all you fathers on Grumpy Old Men. Have a fabulous Father's Day!!!!!!!!!!! You guys deserve so much recognition and love!!!

    ReplyDelete