Resilient Nebraskans always say “it could have been worse”

Back in the day, reporters used to be able to hitch a ride with the governor or National Guard to the site of a disastrous tornado or flood.

One of those trips involved a flight to Coleridge, in northeast Nebraska, after a tornado had destroyed two farm homes and damaged several residences on the north edge of the town.

At one of the farms, the owner stood just outside the now-bare foundation where his house once stood. The house was gone.