Letters to the Editor
We welcome your opinions and letters — with name and address. We will edit when necessary. Include your name, address and phone number for verification. Mail them to Bay Weekly, P.O. Box 358, Deale, MD 20751 • E-mail them to [email protected]. or submit your letters on line, click here
Hurricanes Revisited
Dear Bay Weekly:
August 23, 1933. Hampton, Virginia: The Hurricane, unnamed then, struck with a vengeance. The eye passed over my family home on Hampton Roads. Tidal surge, five feet.
My dad had motored the bugeye up Hampton Creek (now Hampton River) to a safe mooring. He had bought her in Crisfield, Maryland, in 1929, just before the crash. She had been named Maggie E. Smith, a 54-foot log-built oystering bugeye. Dad had transformed her into a pleasure boat and renamed her Gypsy.
Back home, we kids (I was 11 years old) swam in the front yard, dodging the sharp ends of fishermen’s pound poles as the east wind and waves washed them ashore.
Fast forward to September 18, 2003, Isabel: My wife and I evacuated our home on Carrs Creek at Deale Beach, Maryland, and drove to Massachusetts to visit our son and daughter. Our neighbor across the street, on slightly higher ground, began telephoning us, “Seven foot tidal wave surge. Nine inches of water in your garage; Three inches from the first floor. Please come home!” We finally did, to find a huge pile of debris in our driveway. Our good neighbor had worked hard to clean it up. Another neighbor had possibly saved us from an explosion. Our propane tank had broken loose. They rescued it, turned off the gas and tied it down.
Our son had built our home in 1995, above the 100-year flood line, but Isabel had exceeded that by a few inches.
Married 57 years, my wife (ex-Navy) and I (ex-Coast Guard) are still managing the storms of life as they come.
—John Hewins, Churchton
Needed: Moveable Home for Katrina Couple
Dear Bay Weekly:
My fiance Jeff and I are new residents to the town of North Beach, although we are both long-time Maryland residents.
Jeff’s parents are residents of St. Bernards Parish in New Orleans. They evacuated the city prior to Hurricane Katrina, and were indeed wise, because their home was virtually destroyed by the floods.
We were relieved to hear that they were well last weekend (our first contact) and extended an invitation for them to come stay with us until they can rebuild their home.
Jeff and I contacted our landlord and pitched the idea to convert a spacious two-car garage into a temporary apartment for his parents. They are elderly, and his father requires oxygen and IV therapy. To our amazement, our landlord rejected our request to create space and further told us that if Jeff’s parents do come to stay, our rent would be increased $250 per month.
At this point we are not sure what to do, but we know that our invitation to his parents is the right thing to do, regardless of our landlord. We are seeking to find a used mobile home or trailer for them to live in, in our driveway.
Are any readers interested and perhaps moved to lend a hand?
—Taryn Morgan, North Beach [email protected]; 410-286-2811
