Tornado survivors share stories

BARNEVELD - The morning of June 8, 1984, proved what many believed about the village of Barneveld was a myth. A tornado that day claimed nine lives, from as young as two years old to people in their 50s.

"They always said, Barneveld's protected by the mounds. We're never going to have a tornado here," Sue Clerkin said.

Clerkin, who used to go by the last name of Aschliman, has since moved away from Barneveld. She lived in one of the hardest-hit areas, a neighborhood along Swiss Lane, next to Patti Salisbury.

"You talk to people, you say you're from Barneveld and they go, ‘oh, that's the town that had the tornado,’” Salisbury said. “I think people still remember."

Trevor Simon, known by many as TJ, cannot remember the day. He was short of his second birthday when the tornado killed his parents, Bruce and Jill, and his big sister, eight-year-old Cassie.

A newspaper article after the disaster details Trevor's injuries. He was thrown three blocks from his family's home on Swiss Lane, then found along railroad tracks.

"They found me and then they recognized me because they knew my dad, knew me," Simon said.

His father, Bruce, who was 35 when the tornado hit, was well known among first responders, having trained many of them.

"He seemed, from what I'm told, to be a pretty extraordinary person,” Simon said. “He was a teacher, he was a nurse, EMT, in the Air Force."

Simon says the stories about his family almost seem like fairy tales.

"He just seemed too good to be true. I wish I could've gotten to know him, but what can you do?"

Simon, who now lives in Green Bay, grew up with his natural father's brother, Rick, and his wife, Judy, in Watertown. He also has grown up in a wheelchair, paralyzed by the injuries he suffered as a toddler. But, a fan of wheelchair basketball, he says he's proud to share his story with his teammates - a story of survival.

"When I go out and say (my story), they just kind of look at me with disbelief, like, ‘you're pulling my leg,’” Simon said. “And I have to say, just go look it up."

A number of people say they still get nervous when severe weather heads their direction. They say they never will forget the tragedy of June 8, but they've also put it away, let it go for the families and the community itself.