By Kim Gasuras
Several former Bucyrus residents now reside in Florida or have homes there and were ready when Hurricane Irma made her appearance last weekend.
Tammy Collene Blamer, a 1985 graduate of Colonel Crawford High School, said on Thursday morning that she still is waiting for her electric to be restored at her home in Bartow, Florida.
“We prayed a lot during the storm. Our biggest fears were our oak trees falling on us and of course the safety of family and friends. Recovery is slow with no electric, gas is scarce, cell service is spotty and ice is a commodity but we are all safe,” said Blamer.
Sarah Jenney lived in Bucyrus for 54 years, but now has two homes: one in Huron, Ohio, and one in Fort Meyers, Florida. Her Fort Meyers home suffered significant damage from the wrath of Irma.
“I am a snowbird but was here in Ohio when the hurricane hit,” said Jenney. “The roof of my home in Fort Meyers needs replaced along with the lanai.”
Jenney said her home is located on the Caloosahatchee River.
“We were told there may be storm surge up to 10 feet so I was worried about losing my home to that but instead it was the wind,” Jenney said.
Jenney said she is thankful to God that she was not in Florida at the time of the hurricane but is praying for her friends, neighbors, and everyone in Florida as they work to recover from such a devastating storm.
“There is no power at my house yet but I will be going down to Florida soon. I would like to be there when the new roof is installed,” Jenney said.
Michelle Clifton, a Bucyrus High School graduate, now makes her home in Apopka, Florida, and is no stranger to hurricanes.
“I went through Charlie and three other hurricanes in 2004. I knew how to prepare, so I thought,” Clifton said after spending the morning on Tuesday beginning the clean-up process on her property after surviving Hurricane Irma.
Clifton said that while people have some sort of notice about an impending hurricane, unlike a tornado, the exact track of a hurricane cannot be predicted.
“The eye was just west of me and arrived in the middle of night when you can only hear the hurricane force winds. You could hear trees snapping and the wind whipping around. I have to admit, I was worried,” said Clifton.
Clifton said she is thankful that she and her family made it through the worst and that Central Floridians are all, working together to help one another.
“That makes all if the worry and being scared, worth it,” Clifton said.
Tony Lipscomb, a former Bucyrus School District board member and teacher, recently moved to Fort Lauderdale, and was glued to the TV to watch news reporters of the weather before he lost power.
“There was a two-hour time period where there were three different tornado warnings that could be a direct hit to the house. One of the tornados was moving at 90 mph and the other 55 mph. So I knew action needed to be quick. All of these systems were coming directly off the ocean,” said Lipscomb.
Lipscomb said he was able to keep up-to-date on his cell phone after the power went off at his house.
“The house was dark from having to be boarded up and you couldn’t see much by candle light. I took the opportunity for short naps knowing I probably wouldn’t sleep much that night,” Lipscomb said.
One of the greatest fears for Lipscomb during the hurricane was the fear for property and losing everything. He also feared that the power would be out for weeks or even months.
“I also had a fear of not having enough food and water and my greatest fear was of not keeping loved ones back in Ohio updated as to what was going on,” said Lipscomb.
Lipscomb is happy to report that the recovery process is going fine.
“There was little damage to the house, just a lot of debris to clean up. The process of cutting plywood and fitting it to the windows was taxing, but taking everything down and storing it will be another. As far as electric, it was restored Monday night but there are thousands that are still without power – including several of our neighbors,” Lipscomb said. “In driving around town, a few businesses have generators to keep open, but the majority are closed. All in all, we were very fortunate that it wasn’t a direct hit with a CAT 5 like they predicted. I’ve gone through one hurricane (which was on my bucket list), and I don’t need to go through another.”
Mary Katherine Wendelken, also a graduate of Colonel Crawford, heard that Hurricane Irma may hit Tampa late last Tuesday night.
“Which in the burbs in Tampa, means good luck finding normal things like water in gallon jugs, gasoline, flashlights and batteries on Wednesday morning. The grocery store was like the mall on Christmas Eve, only without the joy. People stood in the grocery store, quarreling about “who grabbed the last bottle of sparkling water first”. Storms don’t seem to bring out the best in people, sometimes,” said Wendelken.
Wendelken said her family’s experience with Hurricane Irma was uneventful in the extreme.
“After gathering all the essential items and traveling an absurd distance to find gas to fill the car, we huddled up, ready for anything: if we lost power, water, gas, we had backups of some sort. Our menagerie of animals: dog, cats and birds were taken care of. Thursday and Friday, the schools were closed, as was the University. Saturday went by, without event,” said Wendelken.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday night, Wendelken began to hear wind and rain.
“Nothing like many storms I’ve dealt with in Tampa, storms without names or forecasts, just a loud, heavy tropical storm. It was not enough to keep us awake and by morning, it was clear, bright and fresh outside,” Wendelken said. “We did not experience flooding, but we are on high ground. Nevertheless, schools were cancelled for the entire week, Monday through Friday. People in flood-prone areas and near Tampa Bay had more damage and many had flooding and are still without power. We were blessed- it was a category 2 hurricane when it hit Tampa head on and somehow, all was well.”
Alison Powers Spence moved to Inverness, Florida, from Bucyrus several years ago with her family and has spent the last few days cleaning up their property from the hurricane.
“It was hard work cleaning up all that wet moss and limbs and leaves. Monday morning I looked out the bathroom window and a Blue Jay jumped up into the bushes and he had mud caked on him. I said…we made it little dude,” said Spence. “Irma was a tropical storm by the time she got to us. I am so thankful and sad at the same time. Irma was not kind to most.”