My Monday travels next took me to Riverfront Circle. I don’t know all the families there, but tried to drop salsa off to who was home. Not many were because their houses were cleaned out and were drying.
Juli Wiest could have been home when I stopped, but the fans were so loud in her house that you couldn’t hear anything but the humming. Sheetrock was cut about 1-2 feet up from the bottom of the wall and the house was bare. Her kitchen was still in tact sans flooring, so I stuck the salsa in her fridge and the chips on her counter, then gave her a call to let her know. She told me that she has many stories and miracles. As soon as I get them from her, I’ll put them up. =)
Tyler & Mary Dawn Gubler–Mary Dawn was home when I stopped by. Their basement, yard and pool had been filled with mud. I remember going by on Saturday and seeing Tyler’s sisters and their sister in law there spraying things off and cleaning up furniture. My heart was touched because Tyler’s older sister was the YW President when I was a laurel. How I LOVED her and admired her. And here she was, still doing the same great service that she had done for me. It really brought tears to my eyes. I’ve had a deep love and appreciation for her all these years!
This picture says so much. Here it is the night of the flood and sweet Maddie is still smiling in spite of her basement and pool being buried in mud!
Ernie & LeAnn Hafen- No one was home at their house Monday morning. The walls were stripped to about 4 feet. And the house smelled. Really almost every home I went into that day smelled, and so did the yards. The mud, water, and days of sitting wet had just brought about the worse stench ever. It smelled like horse manure everywhere. It really broke my heart to see Ernie and LeAnn’s. They really lost everything. I visited with one of their daughters and she said that the one tender mercy and really the only thing that was saved was that a computer guy was able to pull off the data from her computer so the last few years of digital photos were saved. LeAnn is one of those great scrapbookers and had actually put all their scrapbooks in one of their gun safes. Well, it turns out that the safes are fireproof, but they are not waterproof. All of her scrapbooks were destroyed. That and a few other meaningful treasures are the greatest losses. Couches, towels, furniture are just things and can be replaced, but there are a few treasures that are not irreplaceable. Those are the hard ones. And Ernie & LeAnn lost it all– all material possessions, everything in the home, gone. Just plain old heart breaking!
Here’s their kitchen and their living room:
Brad & Tode Hafen–Ran into Brad on Wednesday dropping off salsa again. His back yard was hit except the pool which is weird. They had a little bit come into their house, but mostly had damage to their playhouses, and waterfall/pond area. He definitely had some yard work to do, but when I gave him a hug and said, ‘How are you doing?” He said, “We’re GREAT! Life is GREAT!” Yes, these people are just amazing!
Dan & Pat Frei– Along with Brad and Tode, Dan & Pat got away with minimal damage. Some in their yard and a little in their house, but don’t for a minute think that they are unscathed. With their neighbors, friends and ward members hit so hard, this has taken an emotional toll on them, too. Pat always has a great, positive outlook, inspite of all the struggles they have been through lately, I believe that their house being somewhat preserved from the damage was a real tender mercy for them.
Kerry & Barb Johnson– I didn’t catch them home either, in my travels. Left salsa in their fridge. There were a lot of people working in their yard trying to clean it up and get it back to running. I do know that Barb’s birthday was in the midst of this whole mess. There are better ways to spend a birthday! Hoping that she can celebrate in finer fashion next year!
The friends and families in Riverfront Circle have been incredible. In spite of the damage, loss, and difficulty, they are rising above with positive attitudes.
Here is a video of Riverfront Circle. It is being filmed from the roof of Brad & Tode’s house. It starts looking into Ernie & LeAnn’s yard, you will see Johnson’s garage being hammered. When they turn around, you can see the water in Tode & Brad’s back yard as it goes through their playhouses and their water feature. The water that came through Ernie & LeAnn’s yard came from Smith’s and Dunkley’s. So you can see the volume of water that came quite a distance and damaged so many!