What's Your "War Story" Now That the Storm is Over?
The "Powerless People" have survived. Primitive conditions conjure creativity and perseverance among Lehigh Valley residents.
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There's beauty behind the challenge of an October snow storm.
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Here we are facing yet another catastrophic event in the history of the Lehigh Valley. If it’s not earthquakes and hurricanes, it’s an unprecedented October snowfall cutting power to approximately 300,000 customers throughout the region for days.
The snow began to fall Saturday morning and continued through the night. As I watched it accumulating on our newly planted trees, I became distressed.
For two years we’ve nurtured those maples, cherries, oaks, sweet gums, blueberry and lilac bushes, and one silly storm wasn’t going to take them from me. My kids and husband thought I was losing my mind as I rushed out every couple of hours to "shake the trees." They laughed and teased me, but in the end they called me the “Tree Savior.” I’m happy to say we lost not one tree.
As I ventured outside on Saturday, snapping and cracking could be heard throughout the woods around our house with bigger explosions echoing from the top of South Mountain. Trees were breaking everywhere! All those years of growth, only for a freak storm to roll in and decimate the area.
By noon, word of power outages was spreading quickly on Facebook. My husband and I were fortunate to have lights, water and heat. We knew it was too good to be true.
By 8 p.m. there was a series of explosions and bright lights from town with the final "POP!" doing the trick to take us off the grid so we, too, could join the “Powerless People.”
We’ve all moaned and griped about how long it’s taking to get power back, how cold it is, how we’d love a hot shower, and how much food we’ve had to toss from our refrigerators.
Outside of all that, I’ve learned a few lessons from this historic storm.
- I now understand "fall." This is Mother Nature’s way of pruning. It’s a good thing fall comes before winter and the branches are stripped of their leaves. I never considered how a few flimsy pieces of plant material could have the power take down a massive tree. Thankfully, we don’t have October storms like this very often.
- There's beauty in distress. The sound of a generator can be heavenly. So can the smell of a wood fire. The sight of bold colored leaves resting against freshly fallen snow is more perfect than a painting. I couldn’t get enough of the golden-pink maple leaves scattered on the ground (as I desparately shook my trees back to life).
- No power = forced family time. Watching smoke drifting from homes and imagining families snuggling close together, perhaps playing games of UNO and drinking cocoa, made me feel an appreciation for what really matters. It’s times like these that make us realize the importance of family and friends.
- Trials bring out people's true colors. As with any challenge in life, we can either make the most of the situation or we can become miserable. It was very interesting to watch the way people handled this storm. I saw anger come out toward PPL for their "lack of response time," but I also saw people defending PPL for their efforts and commitment to getting everyone back on the grid. As easy as it was to blame PPL, I also couldn't imagine the difficulties they faced to resolve the situation in a timely manner. Kudos to them for doing what they could as quickly as they could. Who are we to judge?
- A smile can make all the difference. As I rushed around Trexlertown hoping to find an open gas pump and something for the kids to eat, I came face-to-face with the friendliest McDonald’s employee I’ve ever met. She opened the window at the drive-thru and flashed a pearly white smile. In all the hustle and bustle of the weekend, her kindness and positivity changed my perspective on the entire situation. I left feeling refreshed and light-hearted.
- Facebook is a valid resource. What did our forefathers ever do without the Facebook app to keep them informed of who had power and who didn’t? Seriously!
Jenae Holtzhafer
11:24 am on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I'd also like to sincerely and publicly thank everyone who opened their homes to those of us without power. It was moving to see FB comments flying back and forth with offers of hot showers, warm meals and safe havens. Thanks to my gram and pop - Lois and Albert Heller - who allowed us to take refuge in their home during this time.
Lisa Epting Underwood
11:38 am on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We were very lucky. We did not lose power, nor did we have any property danage during this storm. However, it was brought to our attention just how unprepared we would be to spend 72 hours without power! We'll be stocking up on candles, flashlights, nonperishable foods, etc now! We opened our home to family who were without power, and I can only hope someone would do the same for us if we were in that situation.
Mary Ellen Alu
12:27 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We were lucky too. Only six hours without power. I had already started dinner before the power went, so we were able to eat dinner by candlelight. And for my 6-year-old, it was just a thrill to step out into the snow and have this adventure.
Robert Sentner
1:25 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We are supposed to get our power back thursday 11:00 PM. going be a long week.
An interested bystander
1:28 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Robert, I assume you've driven around as much as I have. I don't believe Thursday for the entire township for a minute, too many trees down on power lines, including lines that aren't on roads.
An interested bystander
1:37 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Very strange, the number of homes in Upper Milford without power listed on PPL's website is going up, it's 300 higher now than this morning.
Jenae Holtzhafer
3:55 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We got power back at 8 p.m. Monday night. Around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning another transformer blew in the woods up on South Mountain near our house leaving 39 of us without power once again. So our ETA for power is now set for 1 p.m. Friday. What a tease!
But I bet that's what's going on with those numbers in Upper Milford. We live across the street from the line between Emmaus/Upper Milford so I imagine our neighbors fall into that 300 #. Patience is key in this situation. I'm learning it doesn't help to complain about it. Just trying to make the most. And think of the memories our kids are making!
Jeff Nagy
2:19 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Alright way to go PPL now out for 73 hours in SWT, no power, no heat, no hot water, AND NOT A REPAIR TRUCK TO BE SEEN FOR three days! Although several developments around our development have no power outage.
Was out three times during the hurricane and thought PPL would have fixed the issues properly at that time. No such luck! Hopefully the guys from Kentucky know what they are doing and fix the problem correctly instead of PPL's patches.
I would like to commend Verizon, and SECTV for their quick response. Verizon less than a day and SECTV within 1 1/2 days.
Pamela
2:23 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
You need to relax.. So we dont have power for a few days or for some maybe a week.. How about those people in china, Haitti, Japan, who have lost everything from earthquakes, tsuenamis.. and when I say lost everything I mean multiple family members. People in Emmaus are spoiled brats and only think of themselves! Ive lived in Emmaus my whole 38 years of life and never have I seen such ignorant people! I havent had power since Sat. 2pm and still dont, also had $8,000.00 in damage to our property but you know what Im alive, have a job and car, and and am thankful to be alive
Robert Sentner
3:08 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
AIB we can only hope, Thursday at 11 pm for power, have been all over our township, its a mess but everyone from township employees, to property owners have done an outstanding job so far. trying to make the roads passable, have alot of respect for all involved in the cleanup. can't wait to take a long hot shower tho !!!
An interested bystander
3:22 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Agreed on the responses from everyone! Actual civility occurred which was impressive.
Diana
7:03 am on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
We still don't have power! I think it is going to be a long winter!
Diana
7:44 am on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Called Ppl and actually talked to a live person. She said they don't know when the power will be on for most people, they are just giving time frames so people will stop calling. I'm not feeling good about this, this is the 5th we won't have power.
Jeff Nagy
9:06 am on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
So much for the Calvary in Southwhitehall! Now out for 92 hours! Over 200 homes in this small area(I counted them last night) less than a mile from where they are doing their planning on Hausman Rd. PPL site says about 1300 remain out in SWT with 18000 restored. NO TRUCKS TO BE SEEN! Thanks again PPL!
Kathryn Crist
10:19 am on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
I now have a new appreciation for our ancestors and what they had to endure. NO electricity in Fox Meadow Estates (Upper Milford) for 4 days. Wow...fireplace was going constantly providing heat for my parents and grandchildren stuck at our house for the weekend. What great stories were told by all! We actually sat around and talked. We finally got power last night. No cable, no phone service, just electric...we'll take it, thanks!
Jenae Holtzhafer
4:52 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
It's so nice to hear your positivity, Kathryn! When we're stuck in times like these, all you can really do is try to make the best of it. We still don't have power as of 4:45pm Wednesday, lost everything in the fridge/freezer, lost most of our pet fish and have been inconvenienced, but it really does give you a whole new appreciation for the amenities we are so blessed to have. I bet many of us will have a different feeling when we flick that switch from now on!
And Pam - what you said is so true. After facing this basic power loss, it's even more difficult to imagine what those in Japan/Haiti/Turkey have suffered. My heart breaks for them. Now THAT is a tragedy. What we've dealt with is a minor inconvenience. We can deal with it.
KitKat
9:42 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Still sitting in the dark it is now Wed, Nov 2nd, been in the dark since 2:00 p.m. Saturday...getting tired of it now! Can't wait to do some wash, run the vacuum cleaner, run the dishwasher. Heard we may get power by Nov 3rd 11 p.m. and if not Thursday definitely by Monday, Nov 7th, lucky us. So our war story is still on-going.....
Jenae Holtzhafer
9:51 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Sorry to hear that, KitKat. I'm with ya. We're still out too. We were supposed to be back by 11 tonight, so time will tell. I sure miss my fish!
KitKat
10:48 pm on Thursday, November 3, 2011
We are finally back in business. My home is lit up like a Christmas tree:) I realize PPL had alot of work to do do to get thousands of people back up and running. They are truely appreciated for the work they did. It was a bit frustrating at times, but we survived, we all did! I did learn some things with not having the luxury of electricity and conserving what you have, thanks to the history channel. Note to self - next time a snowstorm is coming our way....get ALL the wash done and run that dishwasher:) Enjoy All! Happy days are here again....YAHOO-WHOOPEE!
KitKat
10:53 pm on Thursday, November 3, 2011
Jenae forgot to mention... I was so sorry to hear about your fish. They are a true beauty to watch.