Before last week's tornado, not many people outside of the Mercer County area had heard of Clark. Not even my mom.

"Where's Clark?" she asked me when she saw the news report on KDKA in Pittsburgh. "How close is that to you?"

Well, I knew all about Clark, even before last Sunday. Before news crews from all over the area descended on the tiny borough on the shores of Shenango Lake, I was covering the council meetings. Things in Clark had been pretty quiet until Mother Nature decided to unleash her wrath.

It was a shock last week to see dozens of emergency vehicles, leveled houses and broken trees along the normally serene roads where I had driven dozens of times to the Clark borough building. I had covered this area, along with South Pymatuning Township, as part of my beat for the past two and a half years and it saddened me to see both the borough and parts of the township in this state.

By the middle of last week, we had covered pretty much every angle there was about the tornado. I had suggested a story about the Salvation Army and Red Cross volunteers and what they do. My editor suggested I go out and volunteer myself.

So I did.

I told Mark Tsantes of the Salvation Army to put me to work. He put me in a Salvation Army truck, and I passed out cheeseburgers with two other Salvation Army volunteers for about an hour and a half.

At first I was a little disappointed, because I expected a dirty, physical job like hauling debris, or something where I would work one-on-one with the residents. But when I saw how happy everyone was to take a break in their work to have a sandwich and a drink, I started to feel really good.

One person in particular who really stands out in my mind is a little boy in South Pymatuning Township who ran out to the truck, grinning, when we pulled up. He just smiled and smiled as we offered him a cheeseburger and some granola bars. His dad said the Salvation Army had pretty much been feeding them all week as they cleaned up the damage to their home.

My experience was very interesting, not only because I got to volunteer, but also because I got to see how both the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross function during a disaster. I also got to see how even the little things, like having a hot sandwich to eat at lunchtime, affected the residents as they were trying to get back on their feet.

In just a little over a week, the Salvation Army starts its annual kettle drive. So often the familiar bell-ringers outside stores and malls blend into the background of the whole holiday season, but perhaps this year, it will mean something more.

In Wednesday'sHerald, Clark resident George Priester, whose Nora Street home was damaged by the tornado, said he would never again pass one of the Salvation Army kettles without putting something in it. I hope this is something that everyone, not just the residents of Clark and South Pymatuning, will keep in mind. I know I will.