MAYFIELD, Ky. — The sound of the sewing machine humming means Sharla Payne is creating something new. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sharla Payne, A Mayfield candle factory worker is making and selling keychains to buy a car

  • Payne’s car was totaled out when the storm hit while she was at work

  • Keychains can be purchased on Facebook Marketplace

  • Payne was trapped inside of the factory and was rescued by her son

 

“I make a lot of baby gowns personalized baby gowns with names on it, baby quilts. I have some of those I can put names and things on,” says Payne. 

Payne has spent many days in her craft room since the tornado ripped through Mayfield and Mayfield Consumer Products, the candle factory where she was working that night. 

“I'm sorry, I get real emotional. Some people lost their homes. They lost everything they owned and their cars and some people lost their lives. All I lost was my car and what was in my car,” says Payne. 

Sharla Payne’s 2011 Avalon was destroyed when the Mayfield tornado hit the candle factory where she rode the storm out. (Sharla Payne)

To replace the car she loved and worked hard to get, Payne is making and selling #MayfieldStrong and #MCPStrong keychains on Facebook Marketplace.

“It's hard for me to take anything because I feel like I might be taking something that someone who needs worse than me could have and I've always worked for everything that I've got in I just felt that this might be a way to help supplement trying to get a new car,” says Payne. 

Payne was headed to the back of the factory to grab first aid kits moments before things got scary.

“Of course, we never dreamed it would hit like it did. We thought maybe we might have some wind damage, some cuts you know, things like that,” says Payne.

Before she could make it back, the tornado ripped through the building, leaving her trapped. 

“I called my fiance, I called my son, I called my daughter and I told them when it was safe for them to leave me to come and find me. I wasn’t with everybody else so my son, my son found me,” says Payne. 

Her family has committed to being there from rescue to recovery.

“This past week has been the hardest. I think the first two weeks I was in shock and I don't think anything seemed real, and now it's really started settling in.” says Payne. “Going through a car wash made me have a panic attack. It's been hard.

The same way she makes keychains is the same way she’s handling recovering, stitch by stitch. 

To purchase a #MayfieldStrong or MCPStrong keychain click here. 

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