When Sunday’s windstorm tore through eastern Lawrence, it took part of the roof off an elegant two-story house that has stood for nearly 140 years.

“The old girl lost its hat,” owner Bob Bloom recalled saying to his wife, as they checked on the house at 946 R.I. Sunday morning.

Bloom, owner of Rock Chalk Exteriors, has rented out the house since he bought it and refurbished it in 1982.

The house, built sometime between 1865 and 1869, had been vacant for 10 years when Bloom took possession.

“The house, I don’t know, it just said something to me,” Bloom said. “My wife (Norma) saw it, and she said she didn’t think I could make it look like anything. I said, ‘Yep, I could.'”

Bloom and his wife, who live in west Lawrence, didn’t know how serious Sunday’s storm was until they drove into town to check on the refurbished house. The two women who currently rent the house, both in their early 20s, were unhurt.

Sam Yoder, Tonganoxie, left, and Jack Cronemeyer, rural Lawrence, remove a section of roof from a house at 946 R.I. after Sunday's storm sheared off a large part of the roof. The two-story house has stood for about 140 years, and owner Bob Bloom, who refurbished the house in 1982, finds himself rebuilding again. Cronemeyer, a friend of Bloom's, was working on the roof Tuesday.

“We pulled up alongside the house and she looked great until I looked up and saw the roof had caved in,” Bloom said. “The north side of the roof was totally gone and the other side had sagged.”

Bloom was just one eastern Lawrence property owner continuing cleanup Tuesday. Trees and branches were piled along the street curbs to be picked up by city crews.

Early in the afternoon a city truck moved slowly down the 900 block of Rhode Island as workers picked up some of that debris. But repairs to damaged houses remain to be completed.

At 932 1/2 R.I., part of a tree trunk could still be seen sticking out of the front wall of a house.

Jack Cronemeyer looks over the damaged roof of the home at 946 R.I.

Debris removal should begin Thursday in South Park, city spokeswoman Lisa Patterson said. Tree and brush debris can be dropped off at 1901 Wakarusa Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Sunday.

In the meantime, Bloom is working to fix up his old house – one more time.

“The roof will be roughed in by Friday and then it will be covered by tarp until the roofers can finish it,” Bloom said.

“The old girl’s getting a new hat,” Bloom said. “I think she’ll be set for a few more years.”