Shannon Downing had finished another long day at the IDK Café that she has operated for nearly 11 years in Baring, MO, and was looking forward to being lulled to sleep by the gentle sound of rain. 

Suddenly the rain got stronger and steadier, and the wind kicked up. Shannon heard glass breaking at the other end of the house and jumped out of bed seconds before a nearby window shattered and dumped glass shards on her bed.

“I guess you could say I was lucky. If I hadn’t moved when I did, I would have been covered in broken glass,” Shannon said. “What’s really good is that nobody in town got hurt, so we can’t be mad at God.”

Her house was damaged but still standing, but things were much worse at her café. Even before she took over, the café had been the gathering spot in the small rural town for those needing a cup of coffee, a bite to eat or just a place to sit and talk to each other.

It was where Monday through Thursday Shannon served breakfast and lunch, and on Friday and Saturday she added an evening meal.

“We got to go to church,” Shannon said as she, family and friends worked to salvage what they could from the café where sections of the roof on the century-old building had been ripped off by the storm and left hanging over the side.

Shannon said she was amazed at how many people showed up to help the morning after the F2 tornado plowed through the middle of town the night of Aug. 4, from friends and relatives to strangers like volunteers from the Red Cross and other agencies who showed up to help.

“It’s just amazing how people just showed up and wanted to help us,” she said, noting that Red Cross caseworkers were on hand to provide immediate recovery assistance, working at the local fire station which had sustained roof damage but still had electrical power.  

“I will always be grateful for that,” she said.

As she talked, the topic turned to what she was going to do now that the café was beyond repair and without any hesitation the answer was firm and deliberate.

“We’re going to stay here in town, that’s for sure,” she said.

Shannon said she had been talking to town officials and plans to build a new place on the vacant lot across from the old café.

“We’re still figuring out what kind of building it will be, but there will be a place for people to get together and eat,” she said. “This town is going to rebuild and so am I.”

When asked if she ever lost hope after what she had been through, Shannon replied “Oh no, not at all. I enjoy my job and the community has been so supportive. I’ll be there for them.”