Greensburg couple to move into home left standing by tornado

GREENSBURG, Kan. -- Randy and Kathy Kelley walked through the carpeted rooms of their "new" house, listening to workers explain issues with roofing, Sheetrock and siding.

They stepped around boards of carpet samples to inspect brand new windows that sparkled in the sunlight.

They chatted in the kitchen, leaning against the counter where a framed passage from 1 John sat. It read, "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."

It was one of the few items the Kelleys salvaged after the tornado and was among the first of their remaining possessions to be moved to their new home.

While most Greensburg residents who will rebuild are a few months away from starting their projects and those who opted to buy ready-built homes are on waiting lists reaching into next spring, the Kelleys expect to move into their new home in less than a month.

The couple is among a few Greensburg residents able to buy a standing home and repair it, rather than rebuild from the ground up or bring in a ready-built home.

"We looked at a lot of modulars and although they are very nice, we wanted something site built," Randy Kelley said. "But we didn't want to go through the process of finding an architect and builder. We felt we could get in the house quicker that way."

The handful of habitable homes in Greensburg lasted only a few hours on the market before they were snatched up. For the most part, older residents who wanted to move closer to their children owned the homes.

The previous owners of the Kelleys' new home had planned before the May 4 tornado to sell and move closer to family. After the tornado, they didn't even have a chance to put a "for sale" sign in the yard before they had an offer from the Kelleys.

After hearing the owners were planning to sell, the Kelleys wrote their name and number on a notice proclaiming the home "habitable."

"We talked to the owners and it was kind of a handshake deal," Randy Kelley said.

The Kelleys said buying a habitable, albeit damaged, home was the best way to get what they wanted: a permanent Greensburg address -- a dream they easily could have abandoned as neither are Greensburg natives.

Randy Kelley, who is Greensburg's postmaster, has lived in the town since 2001. Kathy moved there in 2004.

"This is home," Randy said. "I didn't know it until the tornado, but it is."

The Kelleys hope their pledge to stay in town will drive others to do the same.

"Once people start rebuilding and doing projects and others can see that the town is going to come back, it will help motivate them," Randy said.

The Kelleys, who are staying in a camper in Haviland, are eager to move into their new home. But every step toward a new "normal" brings some pain of letting the old normal go.

"I think moving will be hard because we lost so many of our things that make a house a home," Kathy Kelley said. "As I'm putting together our bedroom or the kitchen, I will remember the things we had that are gone now."

Still, there are things to look forward to: a new yard for Kathy to landscape with flowers and a better view than they had before.

"We had the perfect house, but it was on a highway," Kathy said. "Now we have one of the best views in Greensburg."

But the idea of jockeying for a better Greensburg address isn't reserved only for those buying houses.

Quite a bit of lot swapping has taken place in these weeks before rebuilding really gets under way, either buying adjoining lots to make bigger yards or lots in different parts of town.

Mayor John Janssen said he's excited to have a better view.

"I was east of Main, and we bought lots from friends on the west side of town," Janssen said. "From there you can look out over open country." Staci Derstein, Greensburg's grade school principal, said her family bought a new lot that was bigger and in a better location.

"We really liked our neighborhood, but the one drawback was that we had a convenience store in our backyard," she said.