Published Friday, November 29, 2002
families
give thanks
holiday together
Herald Staff Writer
Jim Scott sat at the Thanksgiving dinner table eating apple crumb pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
He and his wife Jan said they had plenty to be thankful for this year.
The Scotts were one of many families displaced from their homes after a high F2 tornado touched down in parts of Mercer County, leaving them temporarily homeless.
It was the first Thanksgiving he and his wife have spent at the home of their niece and nephew, Brad and Viki Davis of Hermitage.
"This is different for us. Normally we go to Joyce, my sister-in-law's, for Thanksgiving, and we have Christmas at our house. But this year everything changes," Scott said.
Relatives seemed gratified to have another day of celebration with the couple.
"We're so thankful this Thanksgiving to have them," said Joyce Davis, Jan's sister.
The Scotts lived on Nora Street in Clark for 25 years. After the tornado destroyed their home, they found residence on Euclid Avenue in Sharon.
Scott, a supervisor at WCI Steel in Warren, Ohio, and his wife, a fulltime homemaker, spent last week moving into their new home. Today they'll celebrate Jan's birthday. She turns 59.
The new house is fine, they said, but it's not home.
"It's still confusing," Mrs. Scott said. "The house is so small, but we're doing fine."
"We haven't been there long enough," Scott added.
Much of their property was ruined by the tornado, including many antiques in their garage. Their 1956 Thunderbird was totaled. However, their 1937 Plymouth street rod was salvageable and is getting fixed at a body shop.
Scott plans to grow out his beard until the family builds their new home. They're hoping to build a two-story Cape Cod-style farmhouse at their Nora Street lot.
"We're definitely rebuilding. We've been there too long," Scott said.
He returns to work Monday after three weeks off.
"My wife wants rid of me," he laughed. He said he's almost 60 and doesn't need another mortgage.
"I'm going to have to work another five or six years," he said. "Just when you think life is set, just remember it can always happen to you."
In Sharon, Trish, 35, and Matt Mueller, 38, spent Thanksgiving with relatives at Trish's parents along with their two children, 3-year-old Hanna and 4-year-old Christopher.
"Things are going good. We're taking things day by day, though sometimes it seems we take two steps forward and one back," Mueller said.
The Muellers had hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their home for the last two years and were already prepared for this year's dinner. A buffet table was set up and dishes were put out -- but the tornado ruined everything.
"The children have proven to be more resilient than the adults," said Matt Mueller, referring to his two kids.
For the first couple of days after the tornado, all the two children wanted to do was return home and play in their bedrooms. Now, they're waiting for the new house to be built.
"Christopher said, 'Dad are we going to fix the house? Well, you'd better not start without me,'" Matt Mueller said.
Marian Gulla, Trish's mother, said it was second nature for their close-knit family to come together.
"We have a lot to be thankful for. The worst time is behind us and we're looking forward to a good Christmas," Mrs. Gulla said.
In Sharpsville, Tim Reeher and fiancee Rebecca Campbell spent Thanksgiving at the home of Reeher's sister Debbie, 30, who cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.
Tim, Rebecca and their sons, 15-year-old Alex and 23-year-old Nick, were also displaced from their home by the tornado. The family is staying on Winner Road in Hermitage as they wait to replace their home.
The family normally had relatives over at their home for Thanksgiving dinner. But they were away from home on Thursday and sat with relatives after dinner watching old family videos.
Alex said he was thankful to be with his family.
"Thanksgiving is awesome," he said. "Just being around everybody. They're all in a happy mood. I'm glad to be here and see everybody."
Tim Reeher's mother, Mary Jean Seelbaugh, said she, too, was grateful to see the family together.
"I'm just thankful we're all here together today and nobody was hurt in the tornado. The most important thing is that we're all here and safe," she said.