PARKERSBURG -- Ruth Haan and Janet Johnson want to keep the memories of their town alive.

Memories fade -- even those of the May 25 tornado that destroyed some 200 homes and businesses in the southern third of Parkersburg. These two grandmothers want to document every detail.

They want to know what people saw as the tornado formed just west of town, what people prayed for as the tornado passed over the their homes, how volunteers helped Parkersburg in the tornado's aftermath.

"We gotta collect this stuff," said Haan, who lives one block from the tornado's path.

"I don't ever want this lost," said Johnson, whose home wasn't touched by the tornado. "Because we survived."

"We're just going to stick the stories together so 100 years from now, someone asks, 'What was that like?' " Haan said. "And they can read and learn their great-grandpa was in the tornado."

"It would be a shame not to preserve them," Johnson said. "Just a shame."

One month after the tornado, Haan, a 75-year-old retired middle school teacher, and Johnson, a 66-year-old retired nurse, set up shop at the Parkersburg library from 2 to 4 p.m. on Mondays.

They want everybody to share tornado stories -- from the person who lost everything to someone, such as Haan, who had only a flowerpot tipped over by the 200-mph winds of the twister.

The pair passed out fliers at churches, in nursing homes and at the temporary city hall, and they bought an ad in the Parkersburg Eclipse-News-Review.

So far, they've collected accounts from more than 40 people.

People write about watching the tornado come into town.

"The tornado looked like four to five pillars coming down -- each having tails appearing and disappearing out of them," wrote Kim and Ted Junker, who got gas at the Parkersburg Kwik Star, then headed west as the tornado was forming. "With dust swirling everywhere, (we) watched the tornado turn black and spread out. (We) could see it take utility poles down, leaving a trail of cornstalks and dirt."

People write about the harrowing moments when the tornado was over their heads.

"I heard Randy (her husband) say we were trapped and realized it was going to be worse than some broken windows," wrote Janelle Gorter, who lived with her husband along Iowa Highway 57 before the tornado destroyed their home. "Randy manage(d) to clear enough debris and break a hole in the sheetrock big enough for us to get through. ... I'll never forget him saying, 'It's gone.' I asked, 'What's gone?' And his answer was, 'Everything is gone.' "

People write about moments of charity after the tornado destroyed much of the town.

"There are so many good people in this world," wrote Judy and Charlie Hewitt, whose home east of Parkersburg was damaged. "We had a couple men drive in from Bristow and ask if they could cut up the six trees we lost. ... I told them that they were earning a jewel for their crown when they make it to heaven."

Haan and Johnson, along with their English teacher cohort, Nina Schmitz, are collecting stories through the end of the year.

They hope to compile the stories in a book and sell it throughout town. They want to be sure the book is affordable.

"I don't know how we can do it, because neither of us has much capital behind our big mouths," Haan said. "But I want it so every family can have one."