More Reader Stories From Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was — and continues to be — tragic for many. But some people are finding ways to positively go through it.

Hurricane Cocktail Hours in Newtown Square

From an anonymous resident:

Monday night we gathered a bunch of neighbors together at a house with a generator and feasted and drank our nervousness away. That night at 11:00 pm, just as we were tucking our kids in for the stormy night, the power went out, as we expected.  The first night without power was fun although it was late and we were more concerned about the blowing trees around us. The second night was fun, we told stories and sat by the fire huddled together, reconnecting with our teenagers. However by Wednesday morning our house temp dipped down to 57 degrees so we were quickly hotel bound. Way too cold!

Each night was fun though, our generous neighbors with generators took us all in and we celebrated hurricane happy hour each night. It really connected us as a tighter community. I think now we should host a post hurricane happy hour to celebrate!

Last night we stayed at the Wayne Hotel and they were very accommodating.

In the long run we are so thankful to still have our house intact with minimal tree damage. We have been closely watching the Facebook posts from Seven Mile Times. They have been incredible in posting news and pictures of the damage and status of Avalon and Stone Harbor.

Having the township postpone Halloween was confusing because many neighborhoods never lost power and the kids don't understand the safety concerns. I told my kids we would be trick or treating here on Sunday, but then all their friends were going to another neighborhood where they were still going forward with it. Just try to tell your kids they can't go trick or treating while everyone else is, that's a guaranteed cry-fest. So off we went to another neighborhood that was teeming with kids and parents chasing then with flashlights. A memorable night for sure, although now what to do about Sunday. Since we were all without power on our street, I think my husband will still take our kids around here so I can answer the door to the spirited "Trick Or Treat!"

Thank Your PECO Workers

From an anonymous Radnor fire fighter:

PECO is doing an exceptional job as they always do. Those guys have gone days without real sleep or seeing their family's. Not just PECO either. There are crews from around the country working in DE, PA, NJ and NY. I was reading stories of power crews from Alabama in central jersey and the air force flying in power crews and trucks from California and Washington. People in my profession often get lauded as heros but right now it's these guys. Urge your readers to thank the workers when they see them and maybe even buy them a cup of coffee. They need it.

Good Will

From a Strafford Village resident:

Half of our neighborhood still doesn't have power while the other half does! There have been a ton of neighborhood emails offering frig/freezer space or just to stop over and charge electronics. A lot of good will going on here while half the neighborhood remains without power and no peco crews to be seen!!

With a little help from your friends

From a South Wayne resident:

I'm trying to be positive so my kids don't really see how frustrated I feel, you know? Peco's online outage report says we will be back up on 11/3 at 23:00. If they're using military time, I wish they'd ask for military reinforcements to make it come on sooner!

It's just odd... I haven't seen a peco truck in our neighborhood at all, so it appears they're not working out here, but we just don't know anything, which is frustrating. 

We're getting by with a little help from our friends. We have taken them up in offers of freezer space, meals and showers, and for the first time tonight, a warm place to sleep. It's just so cold in the morning that its hard to rouse the kids for school.