•J 4 Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 9 October '85

( ape May's Madison Avenue Park Hi Blocks From the Ocean.

Luck ? Spared by Merciful God

To The Editor: We were not lucky'" I sjH\-ik lor thousands who were ureal ly offended hv the headlines and re|»orts atMHit Hurricane (doria not

doing greater damage to our area Believe me. it was not "luck." hut the hand of a merciful God that spared us With forecasts of "feeling the brunt" of the storm.

and the "full fury" of the hurricane, it was no accident that we didn't experience that The I.ord answered our prayers. Why was God left out of your reporting? It would not have been sectarian for your paper to acknowledge the truth that the I,ord Almighty was gracious to us. Humanism's fruit was clearly shown It's time for Christians to praise God from whom all blessings flow < including protection of life and property >

In the future, could we expect to follow newspapers of the past in "crediting" God for His providence? I. FT MK SAY THANKS to all who labored for us and risked their lives during the storm: the police, firemen, rescue squads, civil defense. Coast Guard. Atlantic Klectric workers, and bus drivers who took people to shelters It is ap palling to hear that people cursed the bus drives for (Page 15 Please)

We Are All Together

To The Editor 1 n c a s e o I h u r rieane what" Should one IhiIi down the hatches and stick it out. or abandon ship" The first thing to do is to remain calm, w hich I know is easier said than done. Next, fasten your seat twits as this w ill lie no joy ride The real quest ion. though, is what to actually do and where does one place his or her priorities" Should you risk your life to stand by what may he or may not In- there tumor row . or take the chance and hold down the fort" I per sonnah chose not to take that chance What pimple don't realize is that in such a crisis as this, we are all here

together, with the same emotions and the same (ears I HAVE BFKNa resident of South Jersey for 25 years and when the fire truck had made its third run down my street, ordering a man datory evacuation. I decided to surrender My daughter and I had been evacuated to the Green Creek First Hall which. I soon acquired in formation, had withstood the hurricanes in 1938 and of t%2 •\s the storm reached its peak many tears w ere shed anil people had tieconie very tense, then silent 1 Except. for the children' i Tin* children had Un-n the most uplifting to me. as they were having the time ol their lives \S Tl IF. STORM passed and people were being released to go to their homes, the smiles slowlyreturned. along with a sigh of release Hurricane Gloria had passed Thank God' Indeed the hurricane wasn't as devastating as had l>een expected, hut who's to say" Only Mother Nature knows for sure What will the next storm tiring to us" Yes. there will be others and. hopefully, we will Ik* able to make that right choice, hut I really think it hods down to this Will your boat float or can you swim" BONNIE POMYKACZ Town Bank

Junkers Profiting To The Editor While Hurricane Gloria is still fresh in our minds. I would like to speak4 out against the junkers who have moved through the streets of Frog Hollow and other areas of Cape May. pawing through people's water logged possessions at the curb It is an eerie feeling to have trucks m o v i n g through town, especially at night . to hear cars slowing down in front of homes where people have endured flood damage One man's trash is another's man's treasure, but the insensitivity of these ■ junkers jars the mind Many of these junkers leave debris all over the street and the sidewalk, knocking down neatly slacked piles of old family possessions A lot of these possessions an* going to land up in flea markets throughout South Jersey and elsewhere The junkers will he profiting from the traumas of flood ed residents Not much halm after the storm LIBBY DEMP FORREST Cape May

Relax, Bernie To The Editor This letter is being written while the events of the late Hurricane Gloria here in Lower Township are still fresh in my memory Because I am a ham radio operator I volunteered and was made part of the Emergency Management effort in our county The call came Thursday evening from Ber nard Huckhardt. our lamer Township EmergencyManagement Coordinator Bernie said. "111 need you all night and all dav tomorrow I knew he meant straight through until end of emergency Heading the newspaper reports about the hurricane we observe the damages and most of all how fortunate we were in that it could have been worse Many folks in our area were fortunate but all agree that the severity of Gloria was not a minor force as it affected us all EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT planning and action is what made the difference between a disaster and a major inconvenience Here is where we in Lower may give credit and many thanks to "Bernie" and his deputies for handl mg the situation That team has experience know how, and energy to carry on with managing and completing the job They do not hesitate to take appropriate action to preserve life and limb of people in the community Some may have found their decisions harsh, others had their personal comfort interrupted, none will question the capability of Ruckhardt's team when it comes to coping with emergency situations as they occur Emergency Management in Lower is "tops " We aren't forgetting the hundreds of volunteers, departments, groups, agencies, and individuals who worked through the emergency They all served us well The point of this letter is to call attention to the capable Emergency Management we have here and especially to Bernie Huckhardt our coordinator Relax and rest a bit. Bernie. you've earned it! KENNETH HORNING Ixiwer Township

Fab U>s and Foibles Giant Rummage Sale Left Behind by Gloria

By JACK SMYTIt September is always a kind of transition month between summer and fall Most social calendars are just being arranged, and the TV networks in most instances haven't launched their fall shows yet. In many ways, the month can he kind of a drag. But Hurricane Gloria

changed all that Gloria blew in and suddenly there i was a sense of excitement i A feeling of life renewing itself And I'm not talking about the sense of relief I that Gloria had not been the mean-tempered. I devastating bitch that all i the gloom mongers were i predicting, either. I'm talking about all the stuff that people in places

like Cape May put out on the sidewalk after the storm — all of the crazythings that people put out ostensibly as stormdamaged rubble, and howother people reacted to them TO BORROW A PHRASE from a member of City Council who shall remain unidentified, the ci- ( Page 15 Please)

GLORIA To All Who Worked

To The Editor: Would you please convey to all who worked so long and hard to see to our com fort and safety during the storm, greater love hath no man than to give his time and abilities for his brother And it really was a great show of strength. Also to those who served us food at St John of God's hall. We all were taken

care of. Yes. you all were your brother's keeper. FLORENCE TRUEMAN Town Bank To The Editor: 1 On behalf of the Board of Freeholders of the County of Cape May. I would like to commend all the residents of Cape May County for their understanding and support and responsible attitude during the Hurricane Gloria crisis. Special recognition goes to all the state, county, municipal, school, church, utility, and news media officials and their employes for a maximum effort and their professionalism during this crisis. The hundreds of volunteers should also be commended To everyone who gave their time and effort to protect the lives and welfare of the citizens of Cape May County, a heartfelt "well done " GERALD M THORNTON Director Board of Chosen Freeholders Cape May Court House To The Editor: A sincere thank you to the folks at St. John of God Church and all the many and to me. unknown, people who served so well as we gathered there during the Thursday night storm In addition, thanks to you and your staff for a firstclass newspaper ROBERT B. DOAN Town Bank To The Citizens of Wildwood: We are a very fortunate community I say this because not only were we spared the force of Hur ricane Gloria, hut also because we had the full cooperation of all the men and women who make up our public safety services, who were called upon to give their all last week Though none of us asked for the threat of Gloria, we were all called upon to take action to prevent the loss of life and property We im posed upon our neighbors, not only in Middle Township, but throughout the county and region, as many of us left to visit friends and relatives, and others were evacuated to the hospitality of strangers, who quickly became friends For some, it was not a comfortable experience This is unfortunate, but also unavoidable It will surely be unforgettable We all owe a dept of gratitude to the multitude of city employes and officials. and the volunteers who gave their time and energy performing a wide variety of needed tasks, and also to our neighbors who opened their hearts and doors to us during our time of need. To all of those who helped us. "thank vou." VICTOR DI SYLVESTER Mayor / City of Wildwood To The Residents and Officials of Middle Township: It has been said that adversity brings out the best in people. The events created by the threat of Hurricane Gloria are testament to that.

The hospitality provided to the citizens of Wildwood by your community through your public and private institutions, private homes, houses of worship, volunteer fire departments and township facilities proved that the spirit of community service and aid to neighbors is alive and well in Middle Township. We are in your debt for the sharing of your hearts that you provided us in our time of need. I am especial ly indebted to Mayor Mike Voll. the rest of the Township Committee, the Police Department, and the various volunteer fire companies that provided housing and assistance to our own public safety services I hope that some day we may be able to repay the service you have provided us. VICTOR DI SYLVESTER Mayor City of Wildwood To The Editor: As a first-time evacuee. I was greatly impressed by the smoothnes of the operation which was accomplished in the early hours of Friday morning. Sept 27 Members of Civil Defense successfullytransferred the tenants of Victorian Towers to designated places of safety from the fury of Hurricane Gloria Considering the disabilities of some of the tenants, this was a con siderable task On behalf of all the tenants of Victorian Towers. 1 should like to publicly express our ap^ preciation to all who participated in the evacuation Not wishing to slight anyone by a possible omission of a volunteer's name. I shall just offer our general and sincere "Thank you and may (Tod bless each of you " MARIE E MAYO SecretaryVictorian Towers Tenants' Assn Cape May To The Editor: Cape Local Union 1963. I B PAT. AFL CIO. through their Business Agent Joseph Tracy, and President Ferd Decollewaert. wish to extend their thank you to all those employes of the union and to those employes of the police, fire, and resque squads, the Red Cross, and all the many other agencies who worked together dur ing the recent Hurricane Gloria It is times like this that the efforts of all those County. City and Township employes along with hundreds of volunteers who worked through the storm and gave that special extra effort, can best be appreciated Because of them and others, thousands of lives were made more comfortable and our way of life restored We should all be thank full for their efforts JOSEPH TRACY Business Agent Cape Local 1963