P.O. Box 632 Findlay, Ohio 45839 Phone: 419-420-9327

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Triumph out of Tragedy: An unlikely opportunity to move forward in life
By Steve Froelich
Jun 29, 2008, 22:45

A flood like the one Findlay suffered through last August can do more than damage and destroy buildings, homes, and property.  It can do the same to people.  It can also make people stronger and happier in the end.

The latter is what happened to Frank and Alma Chambers of Findlay.

On the day of the flood August 21, like many people, the Chambers were not aware of any pending calamity. That morning they were on their way to Columbus Grove to take part in a combined birthday celebration for Frank and a brother-in-law. Because there were so many trucks on the road, Alma, who was driving, turned on the radio and they learned that Bluffton was threatened with high water.

They continued on, and though somewhat late, took part in the festivities and then began the return trip to Findlay. That became an ordeal that lasted over three hours.  Both were concerned at how much the water had risen since that morning. Their concern became real worry when they got back to town and had to take a roundabout way to get near the back of their home at 625 E. Main Cross.

When they went in, they found that water was coming in the garage at a steady rate.  Within an hour, it had reached 16 inches and was swirling. They decided they had better get out—now.  Alma called daughter Linda  who dissuaded them from going to a motel in favor of coming to her house on the edge of Findlay.

Alma went into the bedroom to pack a suitcase.
“I know now I wasn’t thinking clearly, but at the time all I could think was ‘I can’t leave that’, ‘I can’t leave that or that or that’,” Alma says now, laughing at herself. She tossed all those things onto the bed and then packed them into the suitcase, leaving only room for a change of clean underwear for her and Frank in addition.

When they went to leave, they found the ground from their home to their two vehicles covered with water.  They decided to go for it since they both had high boots on.   A neighbor, Chad Wallen, saw them and called, telling them it was too dangerous to try to get to their vehicles that way and that he had a small dinghy and would come get them.

Shortly, he arrived and they got into his boat, but before they could pull away, Frank nudged Alma and said, “Honey, I don’t want to sound negative but I think it would be a good idea to bring the flood insurance with us.”

Alma hurried back inside and opened their safe.

She immediately realized they would need all their important papers, so she grabbed a tote and dumped everything from the safe into it. Once in their vehicles, they decided to head east with Alma in the lead and Frank following. 
Slowly and painstakingly, they made their way through deep water on County Road 180 to Route 37 then to Linda’s home and safety.

Two days later, after waiting for the waters to recede, they went back to East Main Cross. “I knew by how high the water marks were on the outside of the house that it was gone,” Alma says, and added that she broke down at the sight.

She had known that what she would find would be bad, but this was worse, “so much worse” than she had ever expected.  She pondered what she and Frank would do, what could be saved, and what rebuilding would mean.

Frank came to her and said, “Why don’t we see this as an opportunity to move on with our lives, to begin something new.”

She agreed because she knew that, even if they could salvage the house and live there again, she would never feel safe and secure there again. She had been through two other floods as well, in 1981 and 1995 and remembered what she went through then.

She and Frank would learn later that the adjuster who had been there when they were at the house that day had told Linda that the house structurally damaged and unlivable.

At Linda’s, Alma and Frank talked all night and made their decisions. They decided that, not only would they leave the house on East Main Cross, they would tear it down so no one else would ever have to go through a flood ordeal as they had. They also decided to rent and to find a place far, far away from where the water could reach them.

The next morning they informed Linda of their decisions and set out to look for a new place, after Linda cautioned them about renting the first place they saw.
And so, they ventured forth and rented the first place they saw at Primrose Retirement Community because, not only was it not near the Blanchard River or any of the many creeks that feed into it, but it was brand new, “beautiful, and offered us everything we were looking for,” Alma says.

They had been able to save very little, an antique table and stool. Or , so they thought. Though Frank and Alma never went back into the house, their kids did and were able to salvage a number  of items, mostly clothing including Frank’s Lieutenant Colonel’s uniform and ribbons, which Superior Cleaners not only cleaned but did not charge for it as a way of honoring Frank for his service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

Frank and Alma also learned that many things we hang onto so hard, “old stuff which we think we cannot do without; we discover we can,” she adds.

They both believe they have healed much quicker and much better than they thought they would. And, they are both healthier.
Still, there are moments.

On the morning of our interview, Alma was in the kitchen when it occurred to her that she was going to need two bricks for some yard work she wanted to do. So, she headed to the door which leads into  the garage, opened it, took a step, and thought ‘wrong garage.’
She went back into the kitchen and sat down. “When the flood first happened, if that would have happened, I would have cried my eyes out,” Alma says. “Now, I laugh.”

That is healing.