“I definitely remember the summer of ‘93,” local developer Keith Winscott said, as he talked about the record-shattering 1993 Hartsburg flood. “It was a disaster just like the floods we’re seeing today.” Winscott said one of the things he remembered most was how long it took for Hartsburg to return to normal after the water receded. “Most people don’t understand how long it takes to clean up after a flood,” he said.
Kilgore pharmacists Molly Schooler and Ann Bromstedt.
As disastrous hurricanes struck Houston, the state of Florida, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and again this weekend in Louisiana, hundreds of people in Southern Boone County watching coverage understand the challenge ahead for flood victims. South County residents have lived through five major flood disasters since 1956, the worst, a three-month siege of Hartsburg in 1993.
Winscott is one of several sponsors who have joined a fundraising effort, SOBOCO CARES: Flood Bucket Challenge, a drive that will run through Saturday, Nov. 4, to help provide relief for disaster victims. Organized by Family of Christ Lutheran Church (FCLC), the goal of challenge is to collect and fill 100 Flood Buckets for distribution to victims of recent flood disasters.
Flood Buckets are clean-up kits packed into five-gallon buckets with lids. They are distributed by disaster relief programs operating on the national level, like the American Red Cross. Flood Buckets are handed out to home and business owners and volunteers as they clean up the mud and mold that follow flooding.
Claudia Kruckenburg, an Ashland resident and member of FCLC, and a former North Dakota resident, said she was given a Flood Bucket when the the Knife River flooded her North Dakota home. “I just remember the Red Cross coming in and handing out those kits to all of us and how nice it was to get some help,” she said.
Each bucket contains cleaning supplies most needed after flooding, including bleach for disinfecting, gloves and masks, along with a scrub-brush, sponges, and other cleaning items.
~ Find out how you can help in today’s Journal ~
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