The area between the South Tionesta Avenue-Pine Street intersection and the middle school was full of trees before the storm. This is what the area looked like the next day. The Erdman family bought a house there for privacy provided by the trees, but all the trees were knocked down.

Special to Kane Republican. Last in series of picture-stories on the tornado anniversary.

By Richard Cileman

Remembrances as the anniversry of the killer tornado that devastated the Kane area on Friday night May 31, 1985 draws near:

The storm entered Pennsylvania, from Ohio, from the Youngstown, O. area, and there was no warning for Kane area residents that they were to be hit by a tornado about 8:15 P.M.

The roof and front corner of the brick Houston Electronics building on Whiterock Avenue in Kane were torn off by the storm. Jack Launtz Jr., a Houston executive, said he doubted that the building could be repaired and used for manufacturing again. He was right. Production was moved to the nearby Houston one-story building and the brick building was torn down.

Mae Hadfield Miller of Lamont was working at the Quick Stop Market in Kane, where she still works. Someone said a tornado had hit Lamont, but phones were out and she could not reach Lamont people. After work, using a patchwork of roads, she reached Lamont after midnight and was thrilled to see candles flockering in her families’ windows.

Her family was safe.

Farmer Orville Johnson, who lived near East Kane, watched the storm head for his farm after hitting East Kane. He suffered dairy barn damage.

Linda Carlson, administrator of the Lutheran Home at Kane and the Kane Area Residential Care Center on Edgar Street in Kane, will always remember that night. Utilities at both buildings were knocked out by the storm. “We got freezer trucks, since we were without power,” she said. “We hauled water from a well at JoJo so we could flush toilets. We got permission to do our laundry at Sena-Kean Manor at Smethport at night.

“We learned a lot on how to update our disaster plan.

“We cooked a lot of meals on outside grills until power and gas service were restored.”

National Guard troops were a big help for Kane area residents and Mayor Edgar James was a tireless leader of the recovery effort, almost living at the Kane Firehall, his wife, Shirley James, recalls.

The William (Bill) Ryding and Karl Albaugh families were two of many Kane area families hard hit by the storm.

They live in the Sleepy Hollow area near East Kane. The roof of the Ryding house was torn off, plus a lot of internal damage to the house. All plastering was ruined and wood floors were rauined by rainwater.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryding decided to convert the remains of the building into an outbuilding and what had been the kitchen became an art studio for Mrs. Ryding. They built a new house.

The storm blew away the Albaugh house, destroyed their barn and injured one of their three horses so badly it had to be killed the next day.

Bill Ryding contacted Pastor Andrew Carlsson of Tabor Lutheran Church of Kane and he arranged to have people from the Punxsutawney area come to the Albaugh house.

The Punxsy people had carpenters and farmers willing to help.

Men, women and children from the Mt. Zion and Trade City churches came to help. They visited the Ryding and Albaugh houses Tuesday to see what needed to be done.

They returned Saturday with a total of 26 men, women annd children and told the two families they would work from 8 a.m. until dark and the two families did not have to feed them or provide refreshments.

Arrangements were made to provide lunch at Tabor Church and supper at First United Church (Presbyterian) in Kane.

The visitors had rented an auger to dig holes for fence posts.

They brought 100 fence posts, plus wire for the fences, with them and made it plain they would not accept any money for their labor. While the men did the heavy work their women and children pulled nails and carried things needed by the men.

The Rev. John Wood from the Smicksburg church was asked why his people came to Sleepy Hollow.

He said, “It’s kind of like what St. Paul said in the Bible that our spiritual needs can be met by helping provide the physical needs of others.”