The horrific storms that tore through Chattanooga also were destructive at the campus of Grace Baptist Academy, located at the corner of Jenkins Road and Shallowford Road.
Buildings were cracked open much like discarded egg shells and debris littered the grounds. Metal, glass and insulation covered parking lots and playgrounds where children had once swung and climbed. Power lines and poles lay haphazard on the ground.
Buses and vans were left in a heap, a light pole lying across them. The athletic fields where the Golden Eagles football, baseball, softball and soccer teams once played were laid to waste with debris and downed fences. Dugouts and the concession stand were blown away. The ticket building stood with parts chipped away.
One mother and her daughter stood near the destroyed van, tears streaming down their faces. The anguish in their voices as they spoke to their heartbreak at the scene before them was palpable.
Huddled together outside another building a group of parents, teachers and students stood surveying the wreckage. Their faces, though streaked with tears, showed determination. A casual conversation through social distancing revealed that they all had faith that God would prevail and that Grace would be rebuilt.
It wasn’t just the school that suffered during the early morning following Easter. According to assistant football coach Terry Knecht, Athletic Director and head football coach Bob Ateca and his family had lost their Holly Hills home to the tornado that ripped through the neighborhood, just past the school. The Atecas spent the morning sorting out their personal loss before heading over to the campus to observe the heavy damage there.
It appeared that every building on the campus had suffered some damage; only a thorough examination will be able to tell if any will be able to be salvaged.
A common trait among schools to is to allow seniors their own reserved parking spots and then the students would paint them as they pleased. Two such spots stood out in the middle of the devastated campus. One said, “Greetings from Senior Year, Wish You were here” and the other read what may become the watch word for Grace as it rebuilds, “Faith can move mountains. Matthew 17:20.”