When an EF-1 tornado destroyed the Colmar elevator on April 18, 2026, it didn’t just magically disappear. It continued a path of destruction that hammered other property. Just ask Nathaniel Hicks, owner of Hicks Electric and Home Repair, along with his wife, Chelsea, and their children.
Although Hicks and his company had helped other communities in dealing with disaster, this time was very different. Huddled in their basement hoping to survive the onslaught, they prayed to be spared. This time, the disaster came home.
“I was more scared for my wife and kids,” Hicks said about the experience. “We hunkered down in the basement as it shifted a foundation. Water started coming in sideways and we actually had to pull a house wrap and it sucked through the foundation and, more importantly, you never really understand until you go through it, just wanting to make sure the family was safe and okay.
“After that, everything else is just clean up and people rebuild,” he added. “We stay busy pretty well all year long. We do our best to help out the community and help out people who are going through the same stuff that I’m going through.”
Hicks talked about working through the disaster damages in LaHarpe and Blandinsville in previous years.
“We’re no strangers to disasters by any means,” he said.
But this time, as he admitted, it was very different. Garage doors had to be boarded up.
“All the house wrap is a mess,” he noted. “I’m hoping that, by next month, the house will be down and dirt work will be done for a new foundation and start from there.”
The family camper was seriously damaged, along with a livestock barn.
“Our barn got moved 12 inches off its foundation and broke a lot of the structure. No injuries to us or more of our farm animals. We just lost a few chickens that were in the trees.”
Hicks is thankful for the presence of his four employees.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” he said.
Those employees allowed him to balance the needs of his community with those he faces at home. He encouraged those in need to contact his business at (309) 331-4387.
