Gunga-Hurricane Irene hits my old town

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This is another sad story of a beautiful little village. Last week Hurricane Irene decimated Shelburne Falls (pop. 1,800)where I lived for 6 years and many of the other small towns in that area including Colrain (pop 1,500) where I lived for 42 years. Roads, houses, and bridges were damaged, washed away, or suffered structural damage rendering them unsafe. One little town, Hawley (pop. 500 + or -) is completely isolated because of washed out roads. Supplies are being helicopted in to them but since the roads have washed out it is almost impossible to even get to the supplies. There are no stores, gas stations, or ways to get anything. The National Guard is set up at the local high school( 20+ miles away) and using military vehicles to navigate the forests and streams.

The saddest thing was watching videos of water ravaging Shelburne Falls actually sweeping over the famous Bridge of Flowers. This is a little town that pretty much survives on tourists coming to walk over the Bridge, view the equally famous glacial potholes( now under water), visit quaint shops and eat in local restaurants. Well, the iron bridge that links the towns of Buckland and Shelburne(which actually makes up the village of Shelburne Falls) together is stilled closed until it can be declared safe for vehicles. Only the weekend before (on Aug. 21) the town had hosted the famous 'Bridge Dinner'- a fund raiser for local organizations- where tables for 400 guests are lined up across the bridge and a wonderful meal is served with food provided by all the restaurants in town (except for Buckland Pizza which never supports any civic causes). All of the shops on the Buckland side along the river were flooded with 8-10 feet of water in their basements. Ann Brauer's quilt shop (on the Buckland side) was washed off its foundation and floated down the street. A book shop (on the Shelburne side) had 4 feet of water seeping into it.

It is a bit strange and disconnerting that this small corner of western Massachusetts has received no mention in the national media. Vermont is getting a lot of attention as is upstate NY and NJ. Um, look at a map. Most of the towns mentioned and showed on TV (Brattleboro, Wilmington, Wardsboro) have rivers that pour right into Colrain, Shelburne Falls, or Greenfield, MA. It is like the 'Whos in Whoville" who haven't been heard. Of course, New Englanders are pretty self-sufficient and not used to waiting around for someone else to 'bail' them out- so to speak or even asking for help. An example of this is that the Shelburne Falls Business Assoc. spearheaded a collection drive, organized workers, and re- graveled the walking path on the Bridge of Flowers thus opening it once again for visitors. This was a great spiritual lift as it is a huge part of the psyche of the town. The Supt. of Schools is loading his car and delivering needed supplies to towns in the 9 town Mohawk School District. You can go to www.recorder.com ( Sat. edition) which has a story on how and where to donate funds.

To see videos go to You tube and type in 'Hurricane Irene' and the names of any of the following towns: Shelburne Falls, Colrain, Leyden. Oh, and while you are at it type in Denville, NJ to see the town where my son lives. The main streets were turned into a pond. I especially like the one of a water ski mobile (I don't know the formal name for them) zipping down the Main St. into the parking lot of the beautiful Chinese restaurant that I go to (with my family) each time I visit. Someone comments "must be going for a take- out order". He was without power for several days. His house sits on a little knoll on his street but all around him houses were submerged. It's been quite a week!

Carolyn/ Gunga

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Comments

[anonymous]

Inside Passage
Hi Carolyn and I just realised I don't think I got back to you after your advice on doing the inside passage in Alaska. Thanks very much for the info and is locked away in the vault. Sorry but I've also lost your email so I had to respond via travelblog. Safe travels Gary