By Carol Stark
CNHI News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Joplin Globe photographer T. Rob Brown walked into my office this week to ask where I thought he could buy a good pair of shoes.

His laugh turned into a choked sob when he pointed to his water-logged tennis shoes, covered in grime. T. Rob hadn’t ruined his shoes while on an assignment to photograph a weather disaster. He was wearing the only clothes he had left.

For that matter, so were 26 other Globe employees that day.

All are part of the human tragedy that has settled over our city since last Sunday evening, when an EF-5 tornado destroyed a third of Joplin.

The stories within the walls of our own newspaper are like the ones we’ve been reporting from our community all week.

We’ve shared hugs of joy and disbelief upon learning of colleagues who were spared while hiding in a closet, a bathtub or under their house. We cried Thursday when we learned a missing page designer, Bruce Baillie, was identified as one of the 132 people declared dead so far from this storm.

We've witnessed with amazement the human spirit and the generosity of those who have heard about Joplin’s plight.

Particularly touching here was a care package from the Tuscaloosa News. It arrived with a letter from editor Douglas Ray, whose staff faced similar circumstances after a tornado devastated their town April 27. His letter read, in part:

“We are sending you these goodies and supplies to sustain you a bit in the coming days. We also want you to know that you and your community are in our thoughts and prayers. ...

“We know the physical and emotional strain you are under now, but the work you are doing will play a big part in pulling your community together and helping in the recovery. ...

“You should also know that, in sending you this box, we are paying a debt forward. The newsroom in Roanoke, Va., sent us a similar care package in the immediate aftermath of the storm here. It included a letter of encouragement and explained that since the tragedy at Virginia Tech, they have made a practice of sending support to newsrooms responding to tragedy.”

The package we received included junk food, sunblock and a University of Alabama Crimson Tide Frisbee. Many in the newsroom signed a card.

Others have offered support: Our parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., quickly stepped in to provide assistance to our employees. The Missouri Press Association started a relief fund, as did the Suburban Newspapers of America and National Newspaper Association Foundation.

My phone has been ringing with calls from newspaper editors from across the country offering equipment and staff as we tackle this story in the long term.

T. Rob will get his new pair of shoes. Slowly, but surely, he and others here will find homes and cars and other essentials that until now we took for granted.

In the meantime, we at the newspaper join our community as we all try to find a new “normal" in life after the tornado.

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Carol Stark is editor of The Joplin, Mo. Globe.