It is a scenario no farmer would wish on anyone: A devastating tornado ravishes your hometown, your farm and feedlot, the home of your parents, and the farms and businesses of your neighbors and friends.

But that is the exact experience Josh Alexander, Pilger farmer, talked about during a recent midyear Nebraska Cattlemen tour at the new Cooper Family Community Center in Pilger.

STARTING OVER: The new Cooper Family Community Center in Pilger was opened in spring, with an official ribbon-cutting held June 16, the three-year anniversary date of the devastating tornado that destroyed much of the town.

Alexander farms and feeds cattle with his father, J.D., at Alexander Cattle and Farms near Pilger. Two deadly EF4 tornadoes struck the region on June 16, 2014, with one twister ripping through the community, charging on a course east and north of town where Alexander's feedlot and farm is located. "Our feedlot was hit," Josh Alexander said. "My parents lost their home. All of our lives were changed forever." The Alexanders lost cattle that day and neighboring feedlots lost hundreds of head.

Alexander gets visibly choked up when he recalls that terrible day. "In 2012, our town had 350 residents," he explained. "Now, we are back up to 200, and we are fortunate to have what we have today."

In the wake of the devastating twin tornadoes in the area that left two people dead, dozens injured, hundreds of head of cattle and hogs dead, and over 100 farmsteads damaged, the cost of destruction to homes, businesses, farms, livestock, crops and infrastructure has been estimated at tens of millions of dollars.

Alexander not only spoke of the total feeling of helplessness and loss after the tornadoes, but also of the generosity and care of strangers who came to the rescue. "About 12,000 volunteers descended on our area to help here in town with cleanup," he recalled. "Others were sent into the rural areas to help farmers clean up debris from their fields. We had people just pull up to the farm and help us pick up part of our lives, which is literally what we were doing."

Hundreds of volunteers from all over Nebraska and across the country went to farmsteads and walked fields with buckets, picking up debris, Alexander said. "High school football teams, FFA chapters and all kinds of volunteers did that for a month straight," he said. "Rescue units from all around came to town to help people. After the tornadoes, people were just walking around in shock. They had lost their homes; they didn't have their medications. They had lost everything."

Over the past three years, local people and businesses have stepped up to the plate for Pilger, Alexander noted. Businesses have rebuilt, including the local farmers cooperative, convenience store and bank. The spacious new community center, which was officially opened at the third anniversary of the storm, includes a senior citizens center, wellness center, conference and educational facilities, and a large banquet hall with a commercial kitchen.

Aaron Becker, general manager of the Farmers Co-op of Pilger, Stanton and Winside, told the group that the co-op is the lifeblood of the rural community. "The day after the tornado hit, we met with our board of directors and made the decision to rebuild," Becker said. "The tornado followed our property, so it took everything besides the scale," he recalled. "One month later, we had everything cleaned up, and we were ready to start over," he explained. The co-op had to deal with rebuilding facilities for grain storage, feed, seed and maintenance. "With our main office in Pilger, in five months we had moved into a new office building," Becker said.

The experience served as a wake-up call to many producers around Pilger. "The tornado was devastating to farmers and livestock," Alexander said. "We learned through this that it is a good idea to run yourself through a worst-case scenario, even if you don't want to think about it," he suggested. "Ask yourself how you would proceed if you lost everything. Where would you go with your livestock? Where would your family go?"

Alexander added that these are things you hope you never have to experience, but they are things every producer should think about.