By Paul Holmes
posted
Aug 22, 2012
At about 8 a.m. on the morning of August 28, I went to the Sunup
Bakery for a coffee as I often do. It was raining lightly and
conversation with some friends speculated that maybe approaching
Irene might not produce much rain. By 9 a.m. or so it was raining
harder as I left the Bakery. As the morning gave way to early
afternoon there was no doubt it was raining hard, but my impression
was that it had rained hard before in Killington, what's the big
deal. The stream by my house was raging, but I had seen that before
during sudden spring melts after a good snow year.
At around two in the afternoon I was answering some e-mails. As
I sat in my office/TV room which overlooks the stream, there was no
doubt, the stream had never been this full.
At one point I heard thunder, and moments later I heard it
again, then again. I checked the weather radar, and the customary
yellow, orange and red that accompanies thunderstorms was absent
from the map. There sure was plenty of dark green, however. I was
curious, so I went outside and heard more thunder.
I approached the stream and solved the mystery. The thunder was
coming from the stream-bed. Although there was not a rock or
boulder to be seen under the raging whitewater, it was clear the
stream-bed was changing as rocks continued moving downstream.
At this point I grabbed my camera and traveled around town to see
what was going on. I quickly realized that much more serious
thunder without lightening was occurring around town. When the
water finally receded days later, it was clear that the stream was
completely reconfigured, as were so many old and peaceful
streams.
I WANTED TO HELP
For years I have owned a Kobota tractor, a pretty powerful and
maneuverable workhorse with a loader. Over the years I have come to
be pretty skilled with my tractor, and keeping within its
limitations I can accomplish a lot of work, a bit like The Little
Engine That Could.
As I drove around town on August 28 and the days immediately
following the storm it was clear to me that there was a role for my
Kubota to play in helping with the recovery. So, I registered
my name on a list of volunteers at the firehouse and waited for a
call, and waited and waited. There was no doubt the folks
coordinating needs, resources and volunteers were dealing with an
explosion of information.
I recall seeing Seth Webb at the Sunup Bakery on August 30. I
assured him that I was available to help and told him of my
tractor. He thanked me for the offer, asked me to be patient and
then said, "If you see something that needs repair and you can do
it, just do it, no invitation necessary." It became clear very fast
that many folks like Craig Mosher, Ken Hurley, and so many others
here in Killington and around the state, 'Just did it'. They
did not wait for an invitation. That is why and how Vermont
recovered as fast as we did.
FOLKS I WOULD HAVE NEVER MET
With Seth's blessing to 'fix it if it needs fixing', I began to do
so. Over the next few days I had an opportunity to meet some folks
I would have never met. For example:
While scraping sand off the intersection of Dean Hill Road and
Roaring Brook Road, Red Glaze asked if I could help Dan Lewis and
the guys at the treatment plant clear silt away from several
walkways and doors to the facility. My Kubota was the right
size to fit in the confined spaces that needed clearing. While
checking on the condition of a home on the hill near the 'old'
Northeast Passage lodge, I met two fellows trying to dig out a
small car that was buried nose down in the parking lot. I went home
to get my Kubota and helped to unearth the vehicle. Removing it was
somewhat of a hollow victory since the vehicles engine and interior
were destroyed by mud.
The day after the storm, quite by accident, I had the pleasure
to meet Larry Reilly the new president of CVPS. He was trying to
make his way to Rutland to go to work, but his vehicle was trapped
at Sunrise Village due to road damage and a fallen tree. It was a
pleasure to give him a ride as far as possible on Rt. 4 and then
walk with him along the washed out portions of the road to meet his
ride on the other side of the damaged roadway in Mendon.
I had an opportunity to meet Brian Halligan who lost his home in
Pittsfield. It was my pleasure to donate one of my photos to a
fundraiser at Liquid Art to help him get back on his feet.
The list could go on.
There is no doubt that Irene brought people together whose paths
might never have crossed.
FUTURE EQUIPMENT OPERATORS
I had an opportunity to regrade Archie Baker Road which sustained
some damage when the Ottauquechee flowed across that road. Ben and
Liam McKenna came to help with their dad, Andrew. It was quite
obvious that the boys wanted a turn at operating the Kubota. So,
for a period of time both Ben and Liam took turns and sat on my
lap. They steered the tractor and operated the loader. I am not
sure how much of Irene they will remember, but I am certain that
driving the tractor is something they are likely to remember. And,
the fact is, they quickly learned how to operate the loader and did
a great job!
Tagged:
hurricane irene, Reflections
