The annual mission of charity taking place along the country roads and in the tiny towns in Preston County officially kicked off this week.

Most of the folks living in places like Kingwood, Albright, Tunnelton, Independence and Rowlesburg have grown accustomed to the annual summer work program organized through the Catholic Church of Preston County.

Hundreds of volunteers from New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania spend much of their summer repairing dozens of homes in almost every community in the county.

And it all began back in 1985 just after the horrible floods.

Known by many as the 1985 Election Day Flood, it hit West Virginia the hardest. More than 13,000 homes and businesses in the state were damaged or destroyed. Damage was estimated at nearly $700 million, making it West Virginias costliest flood. There were 38 deaths.

As most of the livable land in West Virginia is in a floodplain, the flooding caused heavy damage, wrecking many small towns and washing out miles of roadways.

Flooding was worst along the Cheat River. At Rowlesburg, the river crested at 36.9 feet, which remains the highest on record. The river destroyed 110 of the 132 houses in Albright and washed away a trailer park in Rowlesburg.

The flooding downed thousands of trees, which were carried into houses and recreation areas, causing additional damage. Agriculture losses were heavy as the floodwaters washed away the topsoil and left behind miles of debris.

A few hundred miles away, two 16-year-old New Jersey girls, Lynda Monk and Christine Grobert, watched a national television news report about the flooding. They were moved to lend a hand. But they didnt want to collect money; they wanted to physically help. So they gathered a group of seven others and traveled to Rowlesburg in June 1986 with their Catholic priest and two chaperones.

Soon, parishioners of Catholic churches from Pennsylvania and Maryland started visiting.

The program has since evolved into home repairs for low-income residents across the county through much of the summer. Work has included the installation, repair or replacement of roofs, floors, walls, porches, stairs, ramps, windows, doors, bathrooms, plumbing, siding and underpinning. Painting is also a big part of the work.

Each visiting parish raises its own funds for travel, food and lodging, as well as materials for the projects.

Preston County residents in need who own and live in their own homes apply for the program through the Catholic Church.

What makes this effort so special isnt so much how and why it all began. Its the fact that nearly 32 years after those horrible floods ravaged the Mountain State, the volunteers keep coming. They continue to find inspiration and spiritual enlightenment in helping needy families in Preston County.

All of us with the Preston County News & Journal would like to thank the Catholic Church of Preston County, the volunteers and especially Lynda Monk and Christine Grobert two incredible, selfless women who started it all.

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Annual summer work program continues its amazing mission of charity - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)