Above: A view of the Boiceville business district on Route 28, taken on Sunday, August 28, 2011. From Jan Ryan and Ann Davies.
Like 9/11 or the assassination of JFK, people in the Catskills will also remember the details of the hurricane and flood. Everyone has a story to tell our neighbors and our future grandchildren about the weekend Irene visited the Catskills. Just like a death or a divorce, a disaster has its stages. First we were numb with loss, next we assessed the damages and grieved, then we did what we could and contacted insurance and governmental agencies.
We in Olive are limping back to the next stage, which is putting back the pieces and trying to help those who suffered loss. Now, we need to heal and recover in an emotional sense. It is time to leave the adrenaline-fueled panic of disaster and return to the quotidian of life -- get up, take our vitamins, have breakfast, and get on with the work that gives us the sanity to look ahead to tomorrow.
This is the stage when we assess our good fortune to have survived, and look to our neighbors’ losses. It is time to rebuild and replenish. To help out, an emergency fund was established here in Olive. There will be a fundraiser on Sunday, September 25 at the Boiceville Inn, Route 28 in Boiceville, from 3 until 7 p.m. There will be music by the Ben Rounds Band, Chris Walsh and others. Buffet included. Cash bar. A donation envelope will be provided at the door, and we are asking you to give what you can to help those affected by Hurricanes Irene and Lee.
Requests for financial assistance can be submitted at the door at the same time. A fund with five trustees will distribute all funds to requests. We will be offering relief for non-insurance or FEMA covered requests.
Olive's business district was underwater. The firehouse, supermarket, florist, liquor store, motel, drugstore, factories, business complex and health center were flooded. Also, residents on Watson Hollow and Haver Road lost roads and bridges. Many individuals sustained great losses. Over a thousand downed trees stillclog the Bushkill Stream.
Another way to heal is to get back into a routine. Fall is the time to start the new school year, to replace television’s summer re-runs with new fall shows, and to take new offerings classes. George and Sherry Thomas (657-8854) are starting beginners’ and couples’ Dance Classes on Wednesdays from September 21 to November 9. The cost of the 8 lessons is $50. a person. Classes will be held at the Olivebridge Fire House from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Another chicken barbecue will be held at the Olivebridge Methodist Church on Saturday, September 24.
The Onteora Varsity Football players are having a fundraiser breakfast on September 25 at the Reservoir Methodist Church in Shokan starting at 8:30 a.m. These are the guys who volunteered to help clean out the Boiceville Market under the direction of their number one fan, Christina Nash Burns.
Senior art class had its first session, and Kate McGloughlin was our guest instructor. The class meets from 10-12 on Monday mornings. Judith Boggess is our regular facilitator.
Senior yoga meets on Wednesdays with Kathy Carey. From 9 to 9:30 the exercise group concentrates on weights and balance. Then from 9:30 to 10:30 it is gentle yoga. There is now a second session starting on Thursdays nights from 7 to 8 p.m. Both classes are in the Olive Free Library.
Roxy Newberry has a Kripala Yoga class each Thursday from 10-11:30 at the Reservoir Methodist Church in Shokan. Just show up and get fit.
As we breathe a sigh of relief, we face the future just a bit more cautious, a bit more experienced, and a bit more apprehensive for the fall and winter that Mother Nature has planned for us.
Olive resident and former Onteora English teacher Carol LaMonda was the author of a long-running column in the Olive Press, "A Jar Of Olives," before the paper closed down in 2010. We're delighted to feature her writing on the Watershed Post and its Olive town news page.
Below: A Fickr slideshow of photos tagged "Boiceville" taken after August 28, 2011.
