Prairieburg asking for help rebuilding park destroyed by tornado

PRAIRIEBURG — Residents in the small Linn County community of Prairieburg are asking for help to rebuild the city park that was damaged by a tornado last month in order to hold their annual Labor Day tractor pull.

When an EF-2 tornado tore through the town of about 180 people on June 28, Baker Community Park — the city's only park — was flattened, said Mayor Arlene Holub. Located on the south side of town, the park is used for wedding receptions, graduation parties, family reunions, baby and bridal showers and the city's Christmas display and Fourth of July festival, Holub said.

The park also serves as a home for the annual Labor Day tractor pull, the last big event of the summer that brings the entire town out to the track, said Holub. The event acts as a fundraiser for the Good Ole' Boys, a not-for-profit made up of local farmers who use the funds to maintain the park.

The pavilion and concession stand were destroyed in the storm and picnic tables, guardrails and fencing along the dirt track were damaged.

'This is a big devastation for the town,' Holub said. 'This is our get-together place. It's just a big part of our town. It's just kind of the hub of the community.'

Additionally, the playground was weakened in the wind and had to be taken down.

'It seems like every time I look, something else is gone,' Holub said.

The community is asking for funds to help fix up the park, said Tammy Lawrence, whose husband Larry is president of the Good Ole' Boys. Tammy Lawrence started a GoFundMe page for donations. The page currently has $450 raised out of a $20,000 goal.

'I started the GoFundMe page to get the word out there that we needed help and to see how far it would go rather than just keep it local,' Lawrence said. 'The park provided the only picnic pavilion with complete kitchen facility, and a playground on the north side of the street.'

Though Lawrence said there was someone willing to donate a tent for a concession stand during the tractor pull, she and her husband still are looking for picnic tables. And Lawrence said she expects turnout for the event, which usually draws about 300 people, to increase this year as the community comes together to rebuild after the storm.

'I do expect it to be bigger this year because of what happened, and we're reaching out a lot earlier to help raise money to build what we can back before the tractor pull,' she said. 'There's a lot more talk about it (the tractor pull).'

Holub said the city is also open to donations of used playground equipment. Considering the outpouring of support and cleanup help, Holub and Lawrence said they expect the tractor pull to go on as planned.

'My husband and I are working pretty hard,' Lawrence said. 'We're on the phone daily so we can have that.'

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