MONSON, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Monday marked fifteen years since a tornado devastated parts of Hampden County, including the town of Monson.

Many in that area are continuing to stand strong.

“I didn’t know what was happening, but I thought an airplane was hitting my house,” said Russ Bressette Jr. with the Monson Board of Assessors.

June 1, 2011, an Ef-3 tornado traveled nearly 40 mph, causing destruction from Westfield to Sturbridge.

“As I shut the door, the house blew out of my hand, and I was thrown down in the basement,” Bressette said. “For a second, I was confused. I grabbed onto one of the lolly columns in the basement, and then I was sucked up about four feet off of the ground holding onto the pipe.”

Bressette escaped with just a bruise on his forehead, but the aftermath was another story. Like many other homes in the area, his Stewart Avenue house was destroyed.

His home was lifted off the ground and landed on his car in the driveway.

Town officials showed other photos of carnage in the area, including the steeple ripped off of First Church of Monson, the original town office’s building ripped apart on the inside and trees stripped from their roots.

“I had lost my wife just six months before that,” Bressette said. “And then when I looked at the town, the town was in shambles. It was just almost unbelievable. It was in such disarray.”

As the town continues to reflect on this disaster, Bressette says the two main takeaways of this are the spirit of kindness and togetherness.

“We had the church that was feeding everybody. People went around with food. It was just unbelievable how the town got together after that,” he said.

Today, the town has a new office building, the steeple at First Church has been fixed, and most of the pieces across the neighborhood have been picked up. As for Bressette, it took him two years to rebuild his house.

For several years, he and other town officials have worn shirts saying “Monson Strong” and “Monson Unites,” two messages that assembled the community as one.

“It gives me shivers when I put this shirt on,” Bressette said. “It reminds me of the people that came together and helped everybody.”

A town’s close bond that Mother Nature can never and will never break.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.