No House, No Barn, No Cars
‘But We Have Each Other’
power line that crossed the mea
dow where the cows woe grazing.
The Kurtz farm wasn’t the only
Berks County farm hit by tornado
or storm. At the Mertz family dairy
farm, within eyesight of the Kurtz
farm, neighbors also were helping
clean up.
(Continued from Page A4O)
the remains.
Everyday neighbors prepare
meals for the hundreds of volun
teers. It’s a great sacrifice of time
and money. While they worked,
they shared memories.
“This valley has had its share of
disasters,” said Phoebe Hitler, a
neighboring farmer. “There’ve
been fires and wind storms. Every
one works together to clean up.”
In fact, the Kurtz family had a
previous disaster exactly 18 years
ago when 32 of their dairy cows
were killed when lightning struck a
Gov. Ridge Requests Aid
For Storm-Ravaged Counties
On Sunday night and again on
Tuesday night, a series of torna
does and severe thunderstorms
raced across the state, leaving a
trail of disaster in Allegheny.
Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lan
caster, Monroe, Montgomery,
Philadelphia, Pike. Somerset, and
Wyoming counties.
At least three Pennsylvanians
were killed, hundreds hurt
through injury or damage to prop
erty. Numerous farms throughout
the state had buildings destroyed
or received significant damage.
Gov. Tom Ridge issued a dis
aster emergency declaration for
those counties. He requested
President Clinton for a presiden
tial Major Disaster Declaration to
trigger state and federal financial
assistance for eligible victims of
the storms.
Marko Bourne, press secretary
for Pennsylvania Emergency
Management Agency (PEMA)
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The Mertz farmstead had its
house roof ripped off and some
exterior damage. A cow had died
from the shock.
Most neighboring places had no
damage. However, three miles
away, the tornado heavily
damaged 20 homes in a two-block
said that preliminary and cursory
estimates were being made of the
damage to establish that a disaster
has occuied.
After the initial findings ate
received and a rough estimate is
made of the loss sustained; "it
takes more time for all the specif
ic tangible lossess to be reported,
and the total adjusted for a more
accurate assessment of loss.
Bourne said that the initial raw
number is to be used to help sup
port the state’s case of suffering a
disaster to receive further assess
ment effort from the Federal
Emergency Management Agen
cy. He said assessment teams
would be in the field for the com
ing week.
Although the people of com
munities with storm damage
don’t need a technical analysis to
know that the Storms were dis
astrous, the assessment is a prere
quisite for federal aid.
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area of the village of Lyons.
Although the Kurtzes’ neigh
bors reportedly heard the sound of
a rushing train that is affiliated
with a tornado, the Kurtz family
could not recall or describe any
impending noise.
There are endless decisions to
be made and sleepless nights, but
the Kurtz family will survive this,
stronger and happier than ever.
How do I know?
Because Judy is my sister. She is
During cleanup, a hole is dug in which to bury debris. In the distance is the Mertz
farm, where the house roof was taken off and some other damage. A cow collapsed
from fright, but other than that the herd was undamaged.
_ rear * ise u , master bedroom,. im which more than five tons of
brick were removed dui ing cleanup. If the tornado had struck an hour later, the couple
no doubt would have been in bed and faced instant death from the bricks that scat*
tered a three-foot-high layer over the room. The clothes remained hanging In the bed
room closet, only one example of many idiosyncrasies of tornado behavior.
.95
Item No. 79-770
always bubbly, seeing the bright
side of things—always helping
and caring for others, always mak
ing things beautiful. Her husband
Luke is strong, hard working,
dependable. I think of Jon, who
risked his own life by leaving the
safety of the basement to rescue his
father, and of Tammy who so
closely mirrors her mother’s per-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 6, 1998-A4l
sonality, a 16-year-old who claims
her mother as her best friend.
I love my sister, Luke. Jon, and
Tammy. I want the best for them.
And so does the God in whom
they put their trust He promises, “I
know the plans I have for you.
Plans to prosper you, and not harm
you. Plans to give you a future, and
to give you hope.”