VILONIA, Ark. — Not all walks down memory lane are pleasant, but as Vilonia Mayor Preston Scroggin strolls through Aspen Creek Drive, he sees nothing but positives.
"I remember just the severity and kind of the shock," Scroggin said as he recalled the EF-4 tornado that tore through the area on April 27, 2014. "It was a very, very severe event."
But just as clearly as he remembers the damage, he remembered something else that has been evident in the decade since.
"Your mind goes to, 'How are you going to overcome this?'" Scroggin said. "I think what I've liked about our town is that they've recovered one bite at a time, and they've been very good at resilience and working and moving ahead."
Aspen Creek Drive is part of Parkwood Meadows, a subdivision built adjacent to a Scroggin Family pasture. In 2014, he wasn't mayor yet, but he needed to get through the neighborhood to reach his father's house.
The homes there took a direct hit.
"Just the emergency vehicles and amount of people that were here to help," Scroggin said. "It was completely gone. I think only one home was left in this subdivision."
With piles of debris and lives lost, the neighborhood became the backdrop for a visit by President Barack Obama days after the storm.
"I was south of town doing clean up," Scroggin said. "I was driving a Mack dump truck hauling debris, but I saw him come over. My father and [everyone] were down here. We appreciated his visit."
Obama spoke of the strength of the people he had met on that comfort mission. He said it with a Democratic senator and governor on one side and a Republican congressman on the other.
To Scroggin, this shows how politics can be altered after a storm. Fights over fence posts and potholes are tempered after you've helped haul your neighbor's house away.
"I think the biggest issue we had here at the city during that time was keeping everything cleaned up, making sure the grass was cut and debris removal," Scroggin said of the obstacles he faced after becoming mayor. "Stuff just started kind of easing in. People started returning and building, and we're in full bloom now. Very, very proud to be."
Parkwood Meadows exemplifies that today, nearly every lot is being rebuilt or has a plan in place. One lot will remain empty, though, for Remembrance Park.
"It's a special place as we sit right here right now," Scroggin said.
The park was given to the city by the family of Daniel Wassom II, a 31-year-old father and airman who lost his life protecting his daughter from the storm.
"Cool breeze, and the birds are talking, and it's the sun that shines again," Scroggin said. "A lot of places across the globe, including Arkansas and other communities, even last year, Little Rock and Wynne... You just have to pick up and move on. You never know what the good Lord will send your way."