A Community Recovers

By Jodi Harris – Chris will never forget her 40^th birthday, because it turned out to be completely different than she had thought her milestone birthday would be.  On that Friday, exactly one week after the devastating flood of 2008, she and her husband, Glen, were allowed to re-enter their home, for the first time, to assess the damage.  Their house, located in the Time Check neighborhood, was damaged, far beyond repair.  As they recalled the days before the flood, emotion crossed their faces as they told their story.

Chris had purchased the home for herself and her boys in 2002, before she and Glen were married.  Tyler, 18, graduated from Prairie High School, in May; and Trevor, 15, still attends classes there.  The boys are very athletically talented and both have won honors in wrestling and other sports.  Glen and Chris were married in May of 2003.

Glen is an upbeat guy, who always has a mischievous smile and a humorous comment to share with his friends and coworkers.  He never fails to make me laugh with his unique views of life’s everyday happenings.  Chris, a soft spoken, quieter person, has a kind, warm-hearted smile.  She works hard and is a supportive mother.  Both are strong supporters of the boys’ activities and never miss their sports events.

Their home was a modest two story, with a garage in the back of the property.  Glen enjoyed his garage and often detailed vehicles for friends and family as a hobby.  With the boys getting older, the couple planned to sell their home and find something a bit larger.  They had it for sale for a few months before the flood, but took it off the market in August.  They decided to do some remodeling before they relisted it.  Chris said they invested a few thousand dollars to remodel the bathroom, put a new floor in their kitchen, and recarpet the home.  They also repainted the kitchen cabinets, finishing the work, just before the flood.

The week of the flood, they watched the news anxiously, unsure what to expect.  On Wednesday, June 11^th, as river crest predictions reached nineteen feet, they knew they had to get their basement emptied, as soon as possible.  Both called work to say they would not be in, and began moving the contents of the basement to the first and second floors of their home.  A handful of friends took time off work to help that day.  By Wednesday afternoon, their employer sent a large moving truck and six men to move their washer and dryer and heavier items out to a storage space.  Glen, who has a pair of shoes to match every outfit, moved about fifty pairs from the basement up to the kitchen floor, just to be safe.

As predictions became more serious, they strongly considered moving their furniture from first floor to their second floor, but neighbors, who had lived on the street much longer had been through previous floods, said the water would never get that high.  Their house, sat slightly higher than most on their street, so they decided to leave everything on the first floor, and was running out of time, anyway.  At the last minute, Chris asked Glen to grab their wedding album and move it to the second floor.  He ran to the top of the steps and laid it on the second floor landing.

Cedar Rapids Police knocked on their door around 6:00 pm on Wednesday night, and told them they had to leave immediately.  Grabbing enough clothing for just a few days, they had to leave with whatever they could carry.  They were told to leave a white tee shirt on their front door as they left, to signify the property had been evacuated.  Chris said the water was bubbling up through the manholes in their street as they drove away.

She figured they would be back in a day or two, after the threat of high water had passed.  The family went to Chris’ parents’ home, near Westdale Mall, and moved their things into their finished basement.  Her parents, Dee and Larry, are on the Board of Directors of The Salvation Army, and both are retired.  Dee had been volunteering at the Red Cross most of the week, and Larry was helping at the Salvation Army doing whatever needed to be done, including driving the canteen truck after the flood.

They watched flood reports, on television, seeing clips of their neighborhood, hoping they would see their house, to get some idea of what to expect.  Anxiously, everyday they headed to the checkpoint nearest to their home, to find out if they would be allowed to go see their house that day.  By Sunday, Chris washed the few clothes they brought, realizing it may be much longer than they originally anticipated, before they could go back home.  They felt fortunate to have a place to go, as they heard of hotels being filled to capacity in the area.

Glen, keeping his sense of humor, told me a funny thing that happened to him while staying with his in-laws.  Up early one weekday morning, getting ready for work he was trying to be quiet, and was looking for the toothpaste in the bathroom.  After searching everywhere, he finally located the tube, and hurriedly started to brush.  The toothpaste stuck to his teeth like glue, and tasted terrible.  As he took a closer look at the tube, he realized he had grabbed a tube of Desitin diaper rash ointment, which his mother-in-law kept, for use in her daycare business.  He said it took quite awhile to get the ointment out of his mouth, and even after brushing with real toothpaste several times, could not get rid of the horrid taste. Chris laughed as she recalled the painful look on his face as he came out of the bathroom that morning.  She was surprised he had told anyone about the incident.

On June 20^th, Chris’ birthday, they received permission from the National Guard to enter the house.  The damage was much worse than they expected, with water filling the home’s first floor, and rising almost half a foot on the second floor.  The doors and windows had swelled shut from the river water, making them impossible to open.  Glen had to break the windows on the first floor, to gain entry and allow the heat to escape, making it bearable for them to enter the house.  There was no electricity so many areas of the house were dark. Chris recalled entering her home, seeing the furniture strewn throughout the rooms on the first flood.  Nothing was in the same place as when they left.  The refrigerator was tipped over, and the floor covered with slippery mud.  It felt like an oven inside the house.

Glen, a group of family and friends, immediately started moving the heavy, mud-soaked furniture from the first floor outside.  Chris, her mom, and friend, Julie, went upstairs to see what they could save.  Their wedding album was gone, all the box springs were wet, and everything on the floor was lost.  All their dressers, two computers and three televisions were also lost to the water.  The clothes hanging in the closets were completely dry, so they took garbage bags, and stuffed them full of the clothing.  Trevor, got a ladder, and climbed up to the second floor window.  He took the bags and dropped them to others on the ground, who quickly filled their cars and vans with the clothing.  Tyler was too upset to come to see the house that day.

Several hours later, Chris and Glen stood sadly in their front yard near of a mountainous pile of their belongings.  The flood had changed the path of their lives, and they wondered what to do next.

The next couple of weeks were consumed with standing in lines and filling out forms for flood relief funds.  They felt fortunate to have had flood insurance, but filing a claim also entailed extensive paperwork.  They told me they were very thankful for all the help they received from the many organizations and friends and family.

Since the loss of their home, they have worked hard to rebuild their lives.  They saved and cleaned all their boys’ wrestling awards and medals.  They expressed gratitude to Prairie High School, for replacing Tyler’s diploma and his many certificates and awards which they were unable to save.  Tyler’s graduation party was held at his grandparent’s home, and fortunately, all his pictures and graduation gifts were still there.  The couple agreed they felt the greatest loss for their pictures and many irreplaceable items such as the clock they received as a wedding gift with their last name carved on it and their wedding pictures.

By July 3^rd, Chris, Glen and Trevor, moved to a small apartment on the southwest side of town, near Prairie High School.  Tyler stayed with his grandparents, until they find a new house, with more space.  They are extremely grateful they were able to find an apartment, considering so many people needed to relocate after the flood.  Once they knew they had a place to move to, their co-workers asked the couple to register at the Target wedding registry.  They threw them a “Flood” shower to help them get what they needed to start over.  Personally, I thought this was a fabulous idea.

Chris described their anxiety and frustration relating to the lack of communication from the City of Cedar Rapids, regarding whether their home would be included in the buyout.  Just recently, when they applied for Iowa Jumpstart funds, they receive an answer.  She said the City never communicated this information to them, but that the Jumpstart representative confirmed they would be included in the City buyout.

Now, several months post flood, they are looking toward the future.  Iowa Jumpstart is working with Horizons Family Services, and have scheduled an appointment for the couple to meet with a financial counselor to determine if they can qualify for down payment funds for their new home. They don’t plan to move until after the first of the year, probably in the spring.  They feel like they just got settled into the apartment, but will look forward to a new start in 2009.  Glen says he can’t wait to get a garage again, and he will need to get some new shoes to put in his new basement.  Chris looks forward to future birthdays to celebrate in a new home with a brighter future for herself and her family.