New Englanders Take Irene in Stride

When Irene left town in a huff of wind and rain, nobody really knew the extent of her damage.

As residents emerged into a soggy, tree-littered landscape something happened — that hearty New England resiliency emerged and with it bloomed resolve, resourcefulness and a kind of good cheer as families struggled to regain a sense of normalcy.

Gina Terkildsen of Monroe was at the Dunkin Donuts on Main Street in Trumbull with her children Kylie, 7, and Ryan, 5, in tow.

"I had to heat the bath water on the barbecue grill," Terkildsen said. "That was after the generator stopped. We plugged an inverter into my husband's truck for the hair dryer."

She was on her way to work and intended to drop the children off at her bother's house in Trumbull. Their street had been totally blocked off by trees, but her husband, Eric, and the neighbors worked together to clear the road.

At Stop & Shop on South Main Street in Newtown local resident Stephanie Fernandes was shopping for D-size batteries with her children Sara, 5, Kayla, 8, and Jake, 9.

"We've been reading a lot of Little House on the Prairie," said Fernandes. "We have no power and I can't find batteries anywhere." The most frustrating part about the situation, she confided, was not knowing when the children would go to school. "The buses can't get through," she said.

The breakfast crowd gathered at Panera Bread on Route 25 in Newtown. Nancy Rider, who had came down from Maine last Thursday to visit her daughter, Cory Mosunit, in Easton, was among them. Her family rode out the storm together.

“We have no power and no water,” said Cory as they munched on breakfast with Hartson, 4, and Keaton, 18 months. "They usually commute to daycare in New York with me," she said.

She doesn't know when she’ll be making that commute now. But she did fill a lot of buckets with water and the freezer with food.

"And there's always here," she said. 

In Bethel, droves of people found Starbucks open near the Newtown line. They sat at tables, on the sidewalks and on the curb. Most had computers on their laps or tables.

"I feel like Abe Lincoln," said Alison Cello of Newtown. "We've gone back to how it was when we grew up. We've been playing Jeopardy by lantern-light. I'm here with my laptop because it's Sales Tax day and we have no power."

Cello runs a furniture and restoration business with her husband. "We'll be penalized if we don't file on time," she said. 

Small businesses without power still must adhere to federal and state laws regarding the filing of sales taxes. They also face other problems. Many advertise electronically and now their customers, who are without power, can’t reach them.

"We do insurance estimates,” said Cello. "The only way our customers can reach us is by calling my cell phone (203)444-5344."

"That's true of me, too," said Jim Cordes from the next table. He does aerial photography out of Danbury. "If anyone needs misfortune documentation, call my cell (203) 733-7117."

Irene, after being down-graded to a tropical storm, seemed to hopscotch north instead of mowing a path straight from Long Island Sound to Canada. Pockets of barely-touched homes do exist.

At Bethel's Handyman Hardware on Route 6 local man Ray Schneider said, "I'm really lucky. I have power and water."

He was in the hardware store buying spray paint to help his brother with some "minor jobs." Just a few blocks from his home trees took out everything.

Owner Carolyn Dufner, who's been in the business 30 years, said she closed the hardware store on Sunday to protect her employees.

"Luckily we didn't lose power,” Dufner said. "It's really difficult to do business without it. Everything is electronic."

She explained that in the "old days" stores would use a machine to run the credit card through and then batch their receipts. These days cards are swiped electronically.

A Walgreens in Newtown is trying to conduct business from within a darkened store. With no power, it's "cash only" and two employees, Isaliz Mercado and Jennifer Bauer, sitting at a table in the doorway to take orders.

At the Dunkin Donuts on Main Street in Monroe — near Purdy Hill Road, Robert Auddino of Monroe had dropped into a business where a friend was charging his cell phone as a favor while he had a cup of coffee. He was hoping, after his cell phone was charged, to find an open laundermat somewhere.

“The worse part of this whole mess with no power and no water is not being able to take a shower or wash your clothes,”  he said.

At the Newtown Country Club on Route 25 a Sandy Hook foursome comprised of Ralph Haberstroh, Susan Frankel, Joe Huneston and Bethany Tangredi had one of the more fun solutions to no power and no water.

They met at the Newtown Country Club for a round of golf. "It's a beautiful day. Why not?" one of them said and prepared to tee off.  

Over at Edith Wheeler Library in Monroe every computer was taken with people trying to communicate with friends and family, attempting to do some work or pay their bills.

"I needed to pay the bills online and we have no power," said Suzanne Wright. "Yesterday a power company from Kentucky came by and removed the trees off downed lines. Today a company from Massachusetts came by to assess whether the pole will have to be replaced."

She sighed, adding, "He said we'll be lucky to have power by Saturday. I had to pay the bills somehow."

Up at Masuk High School on Route 111 in Monroe, the Masuk color guard was in full rehearsal with flags, mock rifles and bottles of water. 

Eleanor House of Newtown drove to three Dunkin Donuts locations before finding the one open on Main Street in Monroe, near Purdy Hill Road.

"With no power and trees down, you can really be isolated," she said. She's lived in the same home about five decades and had never seen such destruction.

"I think that Irene was a wake-up call," House said. "This time we're all alive and safe."

She smiled and hoisted the gallon of coffee and boxes of donuts to take home to her family. "I'm thankful for that," she said. 

Hurricane season officially runs until November 30.