Quechee
posted
Aug 30, 2012
Catastrophic flooding of Vermont's rivers and streams from
Tropical Storm Irene caused Governor Peter Shumlin to declare a
State of Emergency one year ago. The flooding in Quechee was far
worse than the historic flooding in 1927 and caused record damage
to homes, businesses, roads and the iconic covered bridge.
Two teenagers who witnessed the flooding were moved by the
destruction and created a community service project called "Save
the Covered Bridge." Sarabeth Davis and Johnny Glidden, both
14, designed a t-shirt and approached local shop owners for
assistance in selling the shirts. Ten vendors eagerly stepped up to
help in the effort and unanimously felt that the project offered
hope to a suffering community.
"After seeing the churning brown floodwater hitting the bridge
with ocean-like waves, I'm surprised that the bridge is still
standing at all!" said Johnny Glidden, describing a photo he
took during the storm.
"Seeing the gaping hole in the road the next day with the bridge
detached, is what convinced me that we needed to help rebuild,"
said Sarabeth Davis.
To mark the one year anniversary, Glidden and Davis handed over
a check in the amount of $8,620 on Monday, August 27 to Hunter
Rieseberg, Hartford Town Manager at the Quechee Covered Bridge, now
in the process of being rebuilt. This ceremony was scheduled
to coincide with a visit to Quechee from Governor Shumlin who made
a four-day tour of many communities severely impacted by the
storm.
"When we designed the t-shirt, we put 'Rebuilding the Vermont
Way' on the back. With all the help and encouragement we got
from the store owners and the people who bought the shirts, I
believe in that motto now more than ever!" said Glidden.
For more information visit www.SavetheCoveredBridge.com
Tagged:
Hurricane Irene, Covered Bridges
