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A wind and rain storm earlier this week caught much of Maine off guard. Homes and businesses were plunged into darkness when high winds and fallen trees downed power lines. Many people experienced cold nights without heat.
Heavy rain swelled rivers and streams, with many overflowing their banks, flooding homes, downtowns and roadways. Four people died as a result of the storm. Cars were washed away in Waterville and other cities. In many cities, businesses were badly damaged and some will miss the lucrative holiday season.
Crews from distant states have come to Maine to help restore power and clean up after the storm. More than 134,000 Mainers remained without power on Thursday morning. Many of them are in Lewiston, a city that has already endured so much heartbreak this year, with a mass shooting that killed 18 and injured 13 in October.
Earlier this week, evacuations were ordered in part of Lewiston and Auburn as the Androscoggin River was expected to crest early Wednesday at record levels. Jeffery Reynolds and his wife were among those who were displaced in Lewiston. He was concerned about their cat and Christmas presents that were left behind. Wednesday morning, he was relieved that the ordeal was largely over.
“We’re going to be able to have Christmas at home,” Reynolds told TV station WMTW.
Still, others, some who remain without power, some whose property was damaged or destroyed during the storm and its aftermath, face a bleak Christmas. Government help is sure to be needed in the massive recovery effort, but community help can also do a great deal to lighten the dark days for those struggling.
We don’t in any way intend to minimize the suffering and loss of life from the storm. But, during this holiday season, we are uplifted by the stories of kindness, goodwill and hope that often come with moments of adversity like this.
Like that of 101-year-old Ethelyn Travis and her 82-year-old daughter Caroline Tully. The temperature plummeted in their Bangor home after power was knocked out Monday.
The women wore layers and curled up under blankets. Tully has rheumatoid arthritis, which makes spending time in the cold even more painful.
Travis’ caretaker, Emma Fitzgerald, 18, told her mom she was worried about the women and their cold house. Her mom asked for help on a Facebook page for Penobscot County residents. Within 30 minutes, Fitzgerald’s phone was blowing up with people offering to help, BDN reporter Marie Weidmayer wrote.
People paid for a hotel room for Travis and Tully. Others paid for and brought food to the women.
“It’s amazing how quick this community came together,” Fitzgerald said. “We don’t know them. They don’t know us.”
Not to overplay it, but that is the Christmas spirit — giving without any expectation of getting something in return.
And, as Gov. Janet Mills said this week, this is also the spirit of Maine.
“I am reminded of our strength in the acts of kindness, of bravery, of compassion that I have seen — the first responders risking their own lives to rescue a stranded motorist; the community centers keeping their doors open so families can charge their phones and get warm; the linemen pushing past their own tiredness to bring the lights back on tonight — the unshakeable spirit and unbreakable strength of Maine people, the very best of our state,” the governor said on Wednesday. “We have challenging days ahead, but we will get through this.”
For many Mainers, challenging days will continue to lie ahead. Support from friends, neighbors, family, and even strangers, can help shrink those challenges, now and every day.
