Joni Ginn
Jacksonville Alabama Tornado Oral History Collection
On March 19, 2018, an EF-3 tornado devastated the City of Jacksonville, Alabama, and had a significant impact on the campus of Jacksonville State University (JSU). Using an oral history approach, a team of researchers from JSU's Center for Disaster and Community Resilience (CDCR) conducted in-depth interviews with 25 residents of Jacksonville who experienced the EF-3 tornado. Interviews took place in the Houston Cole Library, were conducted in private, and lasted approximately 90 minutes each. An article was published in 2022 based on the tornado oral history project in the Weather, Climate, and Society journal by the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
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National Capital Contracting
On February 21, 2019, Erin Rider interviewed Joni Ginn for the Tornado Oral History. The interview was conducted at the Houston Cole Library as part of a project documenting personal experiences of the tornado and the recovery process. Joni Ginn begins by describing the significant damage the tornado caused to her home, which included a large oak tree crashing through the roof while she and her husband were sheltering in the basement. This incident occurred while the couple was already navigating her husband's recent cancer diagnosis and upcoming surgery. Despite the damage, she highlights how their immediate concern was coping with the destruction while ensuring her husband received medical care. She discusses the challenges of managing home repairs, including securing contractors and dealing with environmental hazards like asbestos, all while her husband was recovering from surgery. Ginn recounts the overwhelming support from friends, neighbors, and even a church group that helped clear the debris from her yard, sharing that this assistance was a major emotional and physical relief. Throughout the interview, she emphasizes her reliance on faith, family, and friends to navigate both the personal and logistical difficulties of the recovery process. Despite the length of time it took to repair her home, Ginn reflects positively on the experience, noting how it strengthened her faith and brought her closer to her community. The interview also touches on the emotional and financial toll of living in a hotel for 129 days while repairs were underway. Ginn describes how she kept busy by working part-time and how reimbursement from insurance helped alleviate the financial strain. She concludes by reflecting on the resilience the experience instilled in her and offering advice to others facing similar challenges: to rely on others and have faith that everything will work out in time.
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