By Dariush Shafa, Messenger-Inquirer
Published: Monday, February 2, 2009 12:17 AM CST
Sharon Bard sat at a table with her family, playing cards at the Second Baptist Church shelter in Greenville on Sunday and smiled as she thought about all that has happened in the past week.
"It was wonderful to see another day," Bard said, remembering when the ice storm ended Wednesday.
On Monday, nobody seemed to really think that the coming winter storm would be much of a problem. On Monday night, there was concern. On Tuesday night, there was fear.
"You're laying in a house at night, you hear trees breaking, it was scary," said Andrea Willis, 33, of Greenville. "It was almost surreal."
Their story is similar to that of thousands all over the region. The freezing rain came that first night and did its damage. It came again on the second night and plunged Muhlenberg County into its worst disaster in decades.
"It was like the whole sky was on fire," said Steven Shelton, a 47-year-old Greenville resident who watched transformers and power lines explode and spark all of Wednesday night.
The first night, Bob Oldham and his wife of 31 years, Juanita, tried to ride it out after they lost power. They slept in the car in the garage and tried to make do.
"It would still be so cold that we could hardly stand it," Oldham said.The next day, he said he decided to pack up and get to a shelter. He went back home a few days later to retrieve some medicine and got a good look at the devastation around his home in Graham.
"It looked like 10 tornadoes had come through," Oldham said. "This is the roughest thing we've ever been through in all our lives. Our town doesn't even look like a town.
"And at the worst of times, somehow the best in people has shone through. At Second Baptist Church's shelter, nobody complains, nobody grumbles. There are smiles, laughter.
"It restored your faith in mankind at a time you thought everybody was cold and calloused," Willis said.
Faith has been a powerful anchor through it all, turning divisions into unity and making for a peaceful, cooperative experience, some said.
"I've seen some tough times in this county," said Richard Knight, 57, of Luzerne. "It (faith in God) has brought us together like one big family.
"The Rev. Ray England, a pastor at Second Baptist, said God has not left them wanting for anything. A shower trailer came from Danville. A replacement part for the trailer's heater was found and donated.
State Rep. Brent Yonts was at the church Sunday, and Oldham said Yonts promised some help for those who need generators but may not be able to afford them.The local Red Cross brought 30 cots and the National Guard brought another 200. Volunteers have worked 12 and 14 hours a day, if not more. Food has come in large supply.
"People in Muhlenberg County have big hearts, and some of them have big freezers, because they brought in a lot of stuff," England said. "It's fascinating how God provides. It's exciting the way it happens. It's mind-boggling, faith-strengthening. It leaves me in awe.
"Those two nights of ice and calamity may have sundered power lines, snapped utility poles and stilled water in chilly pipes, but they also did something else.
"They pulled the community together," Willis said. "This has bonded us. The storm affected everybody. There was no poor or rich. Everybody dropped their stereotypes and it did not matter. We're just blessed. Through it all, we're still blessed."
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