Siouxland Magazine - Volume 1 Issue 4

I knew of her and I talked to her a few times; she came
down and worked everyday to help clean stuff up for
people. The guys from the co-op took time off their
job. You know, if someone wasn’t affected by the flood,
they came in and helped where they could.”
For some residents, even if there wasn’t a lot of water
in their home there were other obstacles. Like getting
back to their homes could prove to be very difficult.
“My son lives about a half a mile north of town and had
only one inch of water in his basement, but they were
surrounded by water. He would take a boat out to his
house to keep the generator going so he could keep
the refrigerator running.”
How to find a new normal during the chaos can be a
mental challenge. Trying to juggle taking care of your
home, family and friends, can weigh on you. One of
the things Loretta appreciated most was all the helping
hands from so many places.
“We’re working on two floors of our home and trying
to get everything situated back up again. I cannot say
enough thank you for everybody that help. We had
about eight Siouxland Christian High School juniors
and seniors come out and they worked their tails off
carrying sheetrock and all kinds of stuff. They were
just fabulous.” She also wanted to thank the Salvation
Army. “They were awesome. We cannot say enough
good about them. They were here from the first day
we could get into our house and fixed three meals a
day for the first week and then 2 a day for 2 weeks.
Awesome people and food!”
Throughout this experience, Loretta learned a lot about
herself. “I learned patience. It takes a lot of patience
to get stuff done and to accept help from others. You
can’t depend on everybody all the time. You know that
you can get it done, but you have to get back to your
life, go back to work and stuff doesn’t just stop. It takes
a lot of patience and it’s just hard. My husband was off
for three weeks and he’s a self-employed truck driver
and of course the co-op couldn’t even do anything
because of the blocked roads.”
It took a lot to clean up their basement. Everything
including Loretta’s sewing room and craft supplies had
to be taken out, sorted and dried. Once the basement
had been cleared out, it was time to rebuild. “We were
out of our house for only a week. We took our camper
and stayed at our son’s. We ran out of propane after
three nights so we decided to go back to our house.
However, for the three more nights we didn’t have heat
because our furnace was ruined in the flood.” Mind you
this was in March. And yes it was still cold. After the
furnace was replaced, they stayed in their home while
they started the remodel of the basement.
The community has always been a close-knit bunch,
but after experiencing an event such as this, one might
think they could be even closer. “ If anybody ever has any
kind of a problem it seems the community would always be
right there to help. It was just like when we would build our
house they would hear that we’re going to pour concrete
and I swear that concrete was just like a magnet. People
showed up who you didn’t even expect to help.”
You may be asking yourself how does one stay positive
during a hardship like this? Loretta’s answer was spot on,
she stays positive by looking at the good in the situation.
She has her house and her health.
“I can say I still have my house, other people don’t. I can
still live in my house where other people can’t. I keep my
positive attitude because I can still be in my house. I have
my health and my house.”
Even with their own to-do list to complete, Loretta and her
husband found time to help their neighbors.
“We did help where we could. We were busy trying to
get our own stuff done, but we tried to help others. Our
neighbor next door isn’t in real good health so I guess we
just kind of watch over him a little bit. I’ve always mowed
his lawn and stuff for him because he can’t do it, and he
might buy us supper or something.”
It’s crazy how in a time of uncertainty, an unlikely surprise
can make you feel like home again.
“My mom and dad had this radio forever, I mean, it’s been
since I was a child. After the flood hit, I went downstairs and
there it was, coming all apart so I carried it upstairs and just
put it in the bin for electronics.”
After a few days, I got some very unexpected news. A
council member, Dale and his son had found the radio and
put it back together and were going to put it on Facebook.
We were having lunch provided by the Salvation Army and
Dale mentioned the radio to my husband Jake. He said,
“That’s my wife’s radio.” That’s when Dale said, “You’ve got
to come with me.” We walked me down to the fire station
and handed me an envelope. They found $1,000 in the
radio. All I could say was, ‘Dad you’re still watching me.’ In
his own way; it was just unbelievable.”
Resilience has many meanings, but being positive in a time
of turmoil is a big one. “You just have to see the good in
every situation and be positive. It was hard. It’s not easy, but
it’s all about being positive and knowing everything will be
okay.”
Becca Feauto, co-owner of Siouxland Magazine and owner of
Pulse Marketing.
Photo offered by Loretta Prichard.
Siouxland Magazine | Resilience / 19