MATADOR – Driving into Matador on U.S. Highway 62 a year ago, visitors would have been greeted with the sight of twisted metal, foundations of houses with their contents scattered for miles and emergency vehicles lining both sides of the street – evidence of a tornado.
A year later, newly built businesses and overgrown vegetation on foundations hide the scars of the deadly tornado that ripped through the community on June 21, 2023. The city is still recovering from that trauma and has a new mayor, a newly built diner, and a new vision leading them into the next chapter of the city’s history.
June 21, 2021: EF3 tornado in Matador kills four people and causes damage
According to the Lubbock National Weather Service, a supercell thunderstorm developed in a southeasterly direction during the afternoon of Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
The storm ultimately spawned five tornadoes, one of which struck the community of Matador — a town of about 570 residents 70 miles northeast of Lubbock — at 7:50 p.m.
A Matador citizen told the AJ in 2023 that they had little to no warning about the tornado, and then-Mayor Pat Smith echoed the same thoughts after seeking shelter in his restaurant with two of his waitresses.
The tornado struck his restaurant, Billie Dean’s Restaurant, in the western part of the city. Smith said it felt like the longest 20 seconds of his life.
Dig deeper An ‘unprecedented tornado’: Violent storm leaves four dead in Matador and damage to the Texas Rolling Plains
NWS reported that the tornado was one-third of a mile wide, with maximum wind gusts between 140 and 165 miles per hour. This resulted in an EF3 rating.
The damage was extensive: several gas stations were hit, one of the city’s iconic restaurants/motels was severely damaged, a Dollar General was leveled, and one of the city’s two transformers was destroyed.
The tornado injured 15 people and killed four, including:
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Jo Etta Bumgardner, 85, of Matador.
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Randell (Randy) Rolin, 59, of Purcell, Oklahoma.
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Victor Valenzuela Jr., 43, of Austin.
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Troy Hernandez, 23, of San Angelo.
Dig deeper: Texas officials identify 4 Matador tornado victims and provide recovery updates
Although it hurt, the spirit and grit of West Texas brought the community together to rebuild in the days after the storm. A year later, that same spirit continues in Matador.
Billie Dean’s iconic restaurant in Matador is reopening, with motel plans underway
Smith, owner of Billie Dean’s Restaurant and Motel, lost both businesses after the night of the tornado but told the AJ he was “determined to rebuild.”
A year later, on the anniversary of the tornado, Smith literally reopened Billie Dean’s Restruant – 1224 Bailey Ave, Matador – bigger and better than before.
“The building is a third bigger,” Smith said. “It used to be about 2,000 square feet, and now it’s 3,250 square feet.”
The building replaced the old brick and mortar that Smith’s father purchased in 1964, when the family moved to town and opened the restaurant. Although new, this restaurant means as much to Smith as the last building.
“We started making plans and my cousin made a blueprint of the building for us – he’s an engineer,” Smith said.
After the plans were drawn, it was time to get to work. Smith said he and his son-in-law built 80% of the building, outsourcing only the pouring of the foundation, windows, central heating, air and insulation.
During this time, Smith received $50,000 in donations to help him rebuild and help him get by after losing his livelihood. But people also gave their patience and skills to help him rebuild.
Smith’s friend, Bruce Wynn, an independent contractor, traveled to Matador to help install the building’s drywall.
“He was driving back and forth from Lubbock,” Smith said. “He came over once or twice a week. He came to work and came here at seven at night (and) until four or five in the morning.”
Now with a brand new building, Smith said in an interview this week that he was ready for the grand opening on June 21 — the anniversary of the tornado — with doors opening at 7 a.m.
And yes, the famous Saturday Night in Matador mural can be seen throughout the restaurant along with other remnants from the former restaurant. As for the motel, Smith’s has plans to bring it back in a modern way.
After losing so much, Smith also had the duties of the Matador mayor, leading a city through disaster.
That disaster destroyed much of the city’s electrical grid. The outpouring of community support was so great that, as previously reported, the city was forced to ask the public to stop sending water and food because the city already had sufficient supplies. Officials were concerned that additional supplies would go bad before they could be used.
Through it all, Smith said, it became a lot to manage.
“It was really more of a challenge than I could handle,” Smith said. “I have not applied to be mayor again.”
Matador’s new mayor is planning for the future while focusing on continued impact on the community
In May 2024, citizens went to the polls to vote between two mayoral candidates. Gerald “Fuzzy” Conner received 81% of the votes and was installed as the new mayor of Matador.
Conner said the tornado was one of the reasons he ran for mayor.
“A tornado is devastating, and a lot of times people sit back and think, and that was one of my things: I’m a small business owner and I thought I had a lot to offer the community, and I thought this was a good reason to run,” Conner said. “I just want to see it grow and flourish.”
Conner said he moved to Matador two years after seeing his daughter get married on a farm there. On the night of the tornado, Conner said he remembers where he was the night of the tornado.
“I take a vacation once every five years. We got to the Bahamas the night the tornado hit and turned around and came home the next day,” Conner said.
He said he remembered seeing the destruction and praying for those who were lost, but then went to work cleaning up the city.
Now as mayor, Conner has an agenda to prepare the city for the next storm.
“We implemented an IRIS system, also known as a reverse 911 system,” Conner said.
An Immediate Response Information System is a mass notification system that allows city governments to communicate in real time about emergencies that occur through text messages, emails and phone calls, according to the city’s Facebook.
“We are working on getting more tornado sirens so there is better coverage in the city,” Conner said.
Texas Tech also installed the 154th West Texas Mesonet station in September 2023 to help detect future severe storms, providing the community with additional warning time.
Conner said the city still faces problems, including an overcrowded landfill, which is often closed. Smith said the city still experiences frequent power outages due to its continued reliance on a small substation, but both issues are being addressed.
Although scars are still visible in the city, Conner says he is looking to the future.
“I want to see growth,” Conner said. “I want to see corporate tax revenues increase. When you do that, it brings people. So we want to find not just a company, but the right company to come in and be part of our community.”
This article originally appeared in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 2023 Matador tornado challenges continue as community rebuilds
