The hard-hit community, where many depend on electric-powered wells, clears branches and flips its switches.
By DAN DeWITT
Published September 12, 2004
MASARYKTOWN - Marie Aguele did a little jig Thursday afternoon when she flipped a light switch in her living room and found, for the first time in four days, that it worked.
"Do-dee, do-dee, do," she hummed, while she shuffled her feet. "Hallelujah. We can watch the stupid boob tube tonight."
Aguele, 80, and her husband, Frank, were typical of residents of Masaryktown, which the county's emergency operations center identified as one of the areas hardest hit by Frances.
But if the damage, especially the loss of power, was concentrated here, it was also typical of what happened in the rest of Hernando County. The storm filled yards in Masaryktown with fallen limbs and flooded its streets. For most of the week, it left nearly all of the community's 1,000 residents without power.
These were inconveniences rather than tragedies, residents realized. But by the end of the week, they were tired and frustrated, especially because they depend on electric-powered wells for their water.
So when electricity was restored to parts of Masaryktown on Thursday, folks were ready to celebrate.
"Yee-ha. We got power here now," said Bill Garland, who was distributing water and military rations at the Masaryktown Community Center on Thursday afternoon.
Garland, who is president of the community center and unofficial mayor of Masaryktown, knew the unincorporated community's plight as well as anyone.
On Wednesday, he assembled a branch-clearing crew that included his son, a football player at Central High School.
"We had three or four chain saws and three or four football players," said Garland, who owns a lawn care business. "I cut, and they dragged."
On Thursday, he loaded water and military-issue Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs, to residents, who formed a steady line of idling cars in front of the community center. Sweat beaded on his face and soaked his blue T-shirt.
"This old mayor has earned his money," said Delores Mills. "But he always does. Whenever the community center needs something, he's very available."
When he sat down occasionally and lit a cigarette, Garland invariably was called back to action by someone looking for supplies or information.
"Any MREs left?" one driver shouted from Wilson Avenue, in front of the community center.
"No, sir," Garland replied. "I've got water, but I'm out of food and out of ice. The government's supposed to be bringing some before 5 o'clock."
In fact, two trucks loaded with pallets of bottled water and MREs arrived at 3:15 p.m., just about the time power was restored. The community center was one of several distribution points for water, ice and MREs, and, on Friday and Saturday, hot meals served by the American Red Cross.
It was chosen because "we got a lot of calls from there early in the week, saying they had a need," said Brenda Frazier, the county's community relations coordinator. "And we responded to that."
The need was not desperate, but the help was welcome, said Robert Holland, 63, who suffers from chronic acute mononucleosis. The illness suppresses his immune system, which is why he wore a surgical mask, latex gloves and goggles when he stopped by to pick up two cases of water.
Keeping clean has been difficult without a functioning well, he said.
"I'm getting low on water. I've got plenty of drinking water, but I'm low on water for washing and dishes," he said.
Carol Austin had no power Thursday and wasn't expecting to see it restored for several days.
"We live way out in the country," she said.
Life was made bearable by a generator, which the family used to power a fan, their refrigerator and a freezer.
"And some TV," Austin's daughter, Abigail, 9, called out from inside the car.
Renne Vanderveer said she had been without power since Sept. 4, as soon as the winds picked up in advance of the storm.
"This is Masaryktown. If you breathe hard, the power goes out," said Vanderveer, who lives with her 15-year-old son.
She lost two freezers full of food, she said, and spent the week eating a lot of canned soup heated on a charcoal grill.
"It's been pretty bad," she said.
But she and most other residents realized it could have been much worse.
Some looked ahead to the possibility of getting hit by Ivan. Others, including Sidney Romine, looked back.
Romine, 69, was staying on her parents' farm in Masaryktown in 1960 when Hurricane Donna caused flooding so devastating that it inspired the creation of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
"We had 5 feet of water in the house. We had to throw everything in the attic and get out by boat," she said.
All of her family's 8,000 chickens perished, she said. "My parents lost their livelihood."
Frank Aguele said the sweaty nights and the shortage of wash water reminded him of fighting on the Pacific islands during World War II.
"We went through the same stuff," he said. "This is the reality of life, that these things happen. I think someone should take advantage of the situation and use it to show the young people that life is not always a bed of roses."
