Powerless residents waiting for help, return to homes

The Daily Oklahoman

12/30/2000 By Ron Jackson and Don Diehl Staff Writers

McALESTER — John Sam, 91, sat in a Red Cross shelter Friday comforted by a blanket, his loving wife and his knowledge of history.

The recent ice storm that left he and his wife, Beatrice, temporarily homeless is “real bad,” but not the worst he has ever seen.

“Back in 1936 in Muskogee,” Sam recalled softly. “Seems like that one lasted a month.”

Sam, who was 27 at the time, survived the aftermath of that ice storm with his family in two log cabins three miles from town. Back then, he and family members huddled next to the fireplace and prayed for sun.

This time around, age has robbed him of his youthful endurance and health. Still, he and his wife consider themselves blessed this holiday season.

Sam survived a heart attack in October and a stroke a week before Christmas. Why fret over ice?

“The doctors said we lost him twice,” Beatrice, 70, said, “but he came back on his own. Yes, it was a miracle. The Lord has kept us safe through it all.”

Like thousands of others sprinkled throughout southeastern Oklahoma, the Sams found themselves without power and water Christmas Day. They lived off Christmas leftovers, then peanut butter sandwiches.

The cold eventually became too much for the McAlester couple to endure.

“We have central heat and air, which runs on electricity,” Beatrice said, “but it all went out. We had no water, either. We toughed it out until yesterday (Thursday), but I began to get worried about him. Finally, my daughter said, ‘You’re going to the shelter, Mother.’ So we packed up and came over.”

Bill Cathey, executive director of the American Red Cross southeastern chapter, said shelter occupants have mostly been the elderly. Their stories have been heart-wrenching.

“You just hate to see it, elders displaced from their comfort zones,” said Dennis Elrod, a Red Cross volunteer. “You know they’re scared. You can see it in their eyes.”

Oklahoma first lady Cathy Keating saw the fear first-hand Friday. She asked people statewide to donate whatever resources they could spare to organizations such as Red Cross, the Salvation Army or local food banks.

“The holiday season is a stressful time for a lot of people. Now they’re worried about having food to eat and a place to sleep. Their worries have been increased,” she said. “Our challenge is now a little bit greater. We need to deal with this disaster long-term, and hopefully people can stretch their hearts a little further this season.”

Meanwhile, while federal and state help was ongoing Friday in McAlester, Eufaula residents were still fending for themselves after being without power and water.

“We’re a pretty tough bunch down here,” Mayor Bill Day said as he praised workers’ efforts to get power restored Friday. “It looks like a war zone around here.”

Trees and power lines were still down Friday, although some power was back on, Day said.

The city gets electrical power from Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., Canadian Valley Electric and East Central Cooperative. All had downed lines.

The city serves 3,500 water customers. Fortunately, many of the town’s residents have natural gas heat and got by with candles and kerosene lanterns, Day said.

The First Baptist Church and a rural fire station north of town became emergency shelters for those without heat.

“That’s been my main concern, that everyone has heat,” Day said. “We haven’t had any deaths, praise God. Everyone in the community has really come together. The storm has brought a real cohesiveness.”

A local chapter of Oklahoma Emergency Services set up shop at the First Baptist Church. For light, the group connected a small generator to strings of Christmas lights hung from the ceiling.

The National Guard sent over a bigger generator Friday morning.

Amateur radio operator Terry Cohn set up his unit — the only connection to the outside world at times since the church phones were computer driven.

Michael O’Neal was supervising the shelter Friday. He said as people began arriving Christmas night, he drafted them as volunteers. More than 100 people used the shelter at some point through the week.

Volunteers from the Oklahoma Baptist Convention came to help Friday. The Feed the Children charity was sending some food, but that was about the only outside help offered. The Red Cross was contacted but had not reached Eufaula as of Friday.

“I’m really surprised someone from state government hasn’t been up here to assess the situation,” said the Rev. Jack Perkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Eufaula. “I know we’re a small community, but 7,000 people live within a six-mile radius, many of them are poor.”

The local hospital directed at least one family to the shelter. Kitty Ritz said her family had endured the weather Monday night without power, but became concerned they could not get enough alternative heat in the home for her first grandchild.

Ryan Nathaniel Ritz was born by Caesarean section Dec. 20.

Convenience stores were doing the most business Friday as power was being restored, but most of the frozen sandwich shelves were bare. Once the power was back on, water from jugs off the shelves was poured through coffee makers.

Barriers, signs and clerks told customers the unwelcome news that restrooms were “out of order.”

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), December 30, 2000