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When severe weather hits the area, the community of Copan is covered thanks to the efforts of Glen Custer and Pete Elkens.

The Copan Community Storm Shelter located on Weldon Avenue and Caney Street in the Town of Copan came to be after a young woman and her child were seeking shelter from a storm in 2013. Custer told the woman at that point where she could take cover, but he ultimately realized that there was a need for their current shelter.

Soon thereafter, Custer sent in a grant application to Grand Gateway. After waiting several months, GG denied him the grant funding for the shelter. In 2015, Custer went to the Lyon Foundation to look for a grant, and sure enough, they gave him a grant in the amount of $38,500 to build the shelter.

Custer said they now have approximately $50,000 invested in the storm shelter now. Both Custer and Elkens said they have used the storm shelter 25 times since it was built in 2016. And when severe weather hit last spring, the shelter held up to 68 people at one time.

The big population of senior citizens and the large quantity of trailer homes was another motivation for them to build a storm shelter. Custer added that the individuals that use the shelter are working class and the poor cannot afford their own storm shelters.

A storm shelter that was built in the Town of Wann also inspired the Copan Community Storm Shelter. Custer said he toured Wann's shelter with Elkens to see what it was like. Custer said they knew nothing about storm shelters going into the tour, but came out knowing they wanted to go through with the shelter, and build a better one if they could.

The storm shelter in Copan is about half the size of Wann's shelter. They do meet the Government standard for a storm shelter in Copan, however, as they have 8-inch thick cement walls with 1-inch rebar throughout the walls interior. As Custer put it, "it's almost indestructible."

Looking back at the talks with the folk in Wann, Custer said one of the problems they had in the past was the fact that they let animals into their shelter. After an animal fight took place in Wann's storm shelter, animals were no longer allowed. Custer said that rule has been adopted at the Copan Community Storm Shelter. He said that is the only rule they have in place.

The shelter has had a little bit of some history added to it. Custer said they were looking for some seating for the storm shelter, and they found some seats from the old Phillips Petroleum Gym.

Phillips Petroleum Company had given all the seats from their gym to Copan Public Schools. Custer said they made a deal with the school, took all the seats that they could put in the town's storm shelter, and sold the rest of them.

The seats from the old Phillips Petroleum Gym had to be dusted and cleaned after sitting in an open barn owned by Copan Public Schools. Three church pews from the Dewey Methodist Church also provide seating in the storm shelter. Renovations at the church caused the removal of the pews, but they were really called to a higher purpose.

No extra funding came out of selling the seats. Building the building, putting in electric, installing bathrooms, and supplies have come at a cost. Custer said the generous people of company have alleviated some of the pressures that have come with the upkeep of the facility though. He said they could not do it without them.

Pete Elkens' wife came up with a good idea for the shelter as well that has further shown the generosity of Copanites in recent years. The thought was to invest in toys so kids would have them to play with in the shelter while a storm is blowing through. The kids have had the opportunity to take the toys home with them if they would like.

Elkens said the toys also help the kids remind the parents that the storm shelter exists. Normally they go out to local garage sales to purchase the toys, but sometimes when they explain what they are getting the toys for, people will just donate them instead. Elkens said seeing folks in Washington County give is great. He said they could probably get a truckload of toys in 15 minutes if they needed to.

Vandalism and the future possibilities of the crime has caused them to lock up during the day and at night. For example, both Custer and Elkens said they have had intoxicated people come into the building in the past and vomit all over the floors. They have also had someone steal their generator.

The generator was locked up outside in a cage (pictured below). They suspect that someone came and cut out the lock during the day at some point. They never did figure out what happened to the generator and they do not plan on replacing it anytime soon.

Custer said the generator is not necessarily needed, but it proves to them that they need to take extra precautions with the shelter moving forward. If they wished to pursue a new generator, Custer said they would probably would go after another grant. He said the people of Copan would probably be generous enough to help them out, too. A generator would only be a convenience if things were to get really bad during a storm, but it is not required.

Keys to the shelter have been entrusted to a few individuals around town. The Copan Fire Department also has their own set of keys like Custer and Elkens do. They have this in place so someone can open the shelter if and when bad weather comes and the others are away.

For his efforts with the Copan Community Storm Shelter, Glen Custer has won the Joe Henton Memorial Award. That was from Grand Gateway in 2015 for outstanding volunteer service. Pictured is Glen Custer with the award sitting next to his wife Jay Ann. Elkens is pictured to the far right. They are sitting in the seats obtained from the old Phillips Petroleum Gym.