Retired Methodist minister Charlie Thompson, who lives south of Jefferson, wanted to see the tornado that was approaching Wednesday evening shortly after 5 pm. The insistence of his son John Thompson that he head for the basement may have saved his life.
Charlie said he was standing on the deck on the south side of his house and saw the tornado approaching the farmstead of Lindsey and Debra Larson, just about a quarter-mile southwest of the Thompson farmstead. “John hollered at me that I really needed to get to the basement. I had just gotten down there when it sounded like a truck hit the house. It was a loud crash. Five seconds later it was done,” he said.
Windows were gaping. The old pines that surrounded the house were broken and twisted. The corn crib “exploded.” A new addition on a 1920s outbuilding was damaged, although the original building wasn’t.
Debris from Larsons’ farmstead and other neighbors litters the field to the west of Thompson’s home. 
The Dec. 15 EF2 tornado left a jumbled mess at the Rev Charlie Thompson’s farmstead south of Jefferson. 
All this damage occurred in about five seconds, Thompson said.
Charlie finds the positive in all things. A tree that he and his late wife Karyl almost removed because it was “just about dead” 15 years ago protected the bay window on the south side of the house. The best-producing apple tree on the property is still standing. He’ll enjoy fresh apples next fall.
