BARBARA BRANNON AND KAY ELLINGTON |
Around 10 p.m. on April 25, 2023, a freighttrain of a West Texas storm roared down on Floyd and Dickens counties, bringing straight-line winds and enormous hail. Right at the confluence of that rural area stood the heartbeat of pop.-21 McAdoo: the community’s patron-owned Crosby County Fuel Association Coop store.
The storm ripped away the Coop’s roof and rain flooded in.
The following morning there’d be no coffee poured, no seed loaded, no fuel pumped.
But already, through the night, area residents and emergency personnel had already started the cleanup. By the time adjusters and news crews arrived at daylight, Coop board members were already pulling out salvaged goods and shoring up the ruins. Over the coming months they sorted through inventory as the old walls came down and new ones rose.
Last Friday, they got to celebrate their rebuilding efforts at last.
In presenting a plaque for the Coop’s new building, completed some weeks ago, Crosby County Fuels general manager Steve Riley said, “We knew we had to get that store back in business, because they so rely on it.”
The new facility, with its three large vehicle bays, shop, front counter, inventory shelves and customer space, cost upwards of $600,000, which was covered by insurance proceeds and a contribution from the Coop, Riley said.
McAdoo resident (and emergency management coordinator and fire chief) Mack Gardner said regarding the Coop, “They’ve been with us for a long time, just like family. We’re so thankful for this luxury building.”
The building, indeed, stands for more than just supplying fuel, chemical and seed, or fixing the occasional flat, or selling a belt or bolt. It’s where farmers still gather for morning coffee, and, once the McAdoo school closed and consolidated decades ago, it’s the glue that holds this dot on the map together.
The Coop, founded in nearby Ralls in 1958, also supports the communities of its four current locations (Crosbyton, Lorenzo, McAdoo and its headquarters in Ralls) through donations to junior livestock sales, youth sports, high school Project Graduation, and much more, said Riley.
Coop staff (there are 23 employees throughout the organization, two in McAdoo) pump and deliver gas and diesel; fill propane tanks; fix flats, service farm and ranch vehicles, plus the local fire trucks; supply ag chemicals and seed; contract for fertilizer and chemical spraying; and sell animal supplies.
McAdoo manager Luis Guzman, who joined the Coop team in 1996, said the most important aspect of his job is the people. “We serve hundreds” in a typical week, he said. “We stay busy all the time” with ag-related tasks depending on the season. And on Thursday mornings, more than a dozen gather for free donuts.
What do you all talk about? we ask. Guzman replies with his customary wide smile, “Most times we talk smack.” But he’s serious about his job, which he says is “all about serving people.”
“I do everything I can to help people out—like I would want my own wife or mother treated,” he said. Their number at the McAdoo location is (806) 697-2707. We jotted that down in our notebooks. If we’re ever stranded nearby, we want that kind of service too.
2023 brought [a] thunderstorm acrossTulia, just northeast of Floydada, and eventually through McAdoo and Dickens before finally weakening over far southeast Dickens County late Tuesday evening. During its 6+ hour trek, the thunderstorm was a proficient hail producer, tossing hail as large as baseballs, softballs and even grapefruit. The large to giant hail caused significant damage around the region, including Dickens, which took a direct hit. Windows were smashed out of homes and vehicles, while roofs and siding incurred large impact craters. The hail-producing thunderstorm occasionally generated intense straight-line winds too. The McAdoo West Texas Mesonet (WTM), located 3 miles northnorthwest ofthecommunity,measuredapeakgustof90mphat9:39pm.The severe winds swept through the town, destroying an old, abandoned grocery store, while causing considerable roof damage to several other structures. In addition to generating very large hail and damaging winds, the Tuesday evening supercell produced one brief tornado near Dougherty, in a rural area of southeastern Floyd County. A NationalWeather Service (NWS) SurveyTeam the following day could not find any signs of damage from the short-lived tornado.Thus, the tornado was assigned an EF-Unknown rating. —National Weather Service
CCFA’s new McAdoo store, with it three generous-sized service bays, has been in service for several months while details were completed.
