Family and friends gathered at Heritage Farms on Friday to clean up.
Despite the mess of tree branches and overturned picnic tables, 85-year-old farm owner Bernard Schmidt said he wasn't bothered.
"I don't know, maybe it's my age, but you can't let everything drive you nuts," said Schmidt.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, a tornado touched down 5.3 miles west of Matherville, Illinois. It was on the ground for six miles with a maximum width of 50 yards. The tornado was classified as an EF-1, with wind speeds around 100 miles per hour.
Schmidt's son-in-law Kevin Dean watched the storm roll in from his porch.
"Winds started blowing, and then I started seeing debris coming all around from the south side of the house," said Dean. "We got some house damage, little bit on the roof, bunch of windows broken out. Missing a lot of trees."
The family's only sadness, though, was over a tree planted in 2001 in honor of Schmidt's late wife.
"I feel kinda bad that tree broke down. Insurance companies don't cover those things. But maybe I'll plant another tree," Schmidt said.
Friday morning, family members, friends and neighbors arrived to help with the clean-up efforts. Many of them took the day off work to help haul branches, rake leaves, and check on Bernard's five windmills.
"I think that's very indicative of what goes on in the country," said Schmidt. "The world isn't as bad as it appears on television."
No injuries were reported from Friday's tornado.