Wallowa Mayor Gary Hulse, right, presents a “What the Hail Was That?” T-shirt to Gov. Kate Brown as Oregon Department of Forestry forester Matt Howard, left, watches Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, during Brown’s visit to see the effects of the Aug. 11 hailstorm on the town.

WALLOWA — It was a night to reflect on how far they’ve come as a community in the year since a hailstorm wreaked havoc on the town of Wallowa.

“Tonight is a night to remember, to contemplate and to also be thankful for the progress we have in the recovery,” said Mayor Gary Hulse in opening the festivities at a Friday, Aug. 11, potluck to mark the anniversary.

He quoted the Aug. 9 edition of the Chieftain: “’The people of Wallowa stepped out in the silence (after the hailstorm) and went to work fixing their town.’ I have been very honored to see most of this happening by the people of this city. It’s been fantastic.”

The mayor thanked city workers who brought tables to Evans Park, Marilyn Soares, who organized the event and businesses that helped out in the wake of the storm.

“I want to thank Community Bank who took donations and put it into an account to help with recovery, and 1917 Lumber from Joseph was down here immediately, really, with plywood to patch windows so people could stay in their homes that night,” Hulse said. “Also, we want to thank Blue Mountain Long-Term Recovery, who did receive $2 million from the state of Oregon for the recovery. Blue Mountain Long-Term Recovery did that job so well that our small city was able to handle that.”

While many of the about 50 people who showed up recalled their experiences of Aug. 11, 2022, most just enjoyed the get-together, the food and the company.

“It’s a night to celebrate, also, we have two brand-new medical clinics in town that just opened up and we’re slowly getting repaired,” Hulse said.

One woman reminded the mayor that in the wake of the storm, he and city Recorder Carolyn Harshfield were constantly on the phones fielding calls from residents in need.

“We (each) just had one house to repair; you had 850,” she said. “We’re still trying to get things done but it’s good to know that neighbors helping neighbors build a community.”

Visitors hit, tooAlthough the majority of those who suffered damage were local residents, there were visitors in town on the day of the storm.

Tom and Kathy Waterhouse from Yamhill County had their fifth-wheel parked in Wallowa.

“I’ve wanted to come to Joseph and see it,” Tom Waterhouse said, adding that they had planned to go to Safeway in Enterprise for supplies.

They’d gotten in their pickup and gone for a drive up Lostine River Road. While there, they got a text message about the hailstorm.

“We were like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t look good,’” Kathy Waterhouse said.

They went by Safeway but couldn’t get in because the power was out, so they drove back to Wallowa. About a mile from town, they came upon a car that was pulled over with its windshield shattered.

“We got into town and the pavement’s all green from all the leaves that had been pulled off the trees,” Tom Waterhouse said.

Emergency personnel were routing traffic around all the downed power lines. When they got to their fifth-wheel, they found the windows gone, and glass and plastic everywhere. Structurally, though, it was intact.

“We still had a roof, still had an air-conditioner,” he said.

He got Ace Hardware in Enterprise to stay open so he could purchase tarps to cover the fifth-wheel.

“Luckily we had our truck out, because every single vehicle we saw had its windows broken,” he said at the potluck. “Now, we’re back here in the same fifth-wheel, and we’re glad to be here.”