In his mind’s eye, Jim Maule still sees her — a young mother balancing a toddler on her hip and waiting for food.
A newly trained volunteer with the Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross, Maule, 61, had flown to Dallas shortly after Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast of Texas in mid-September.
He worked in an emergency kitchen in Baytown, about 30 miles northeast of storm-ravaged Galveston. “That area was just devastated,” the Everett man said. “When we showed up, the power was pretty much out and the water was gone.”
It was during a two-day journey in an emergency response vehicle that Maule encountered the mother in need.
“We stopped into this community that was pretty upside-down. Trees were down, power lines were down. We stopped, and people started lining up to get meals,” he said. “I noticed this one young lady about my daughter’s age in line with a child on her hip, a little 2-year-old.”
When she reached the front of the line, Maule said, the woman asked for just one meal for her child. “She had this blank, deer-in-the headlights look,” he said. When he told her she needed a meal, too, “she started crying,” Maule said. “That one encounter made the whole trip worthwhile.”
At a public program Thursday afternoon, Maule and other American Red Cross volunteers will share their experiences after helping with relief efforts in the wake of hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike this fall. The free program will start at 5 p.m. Thursday, following refreshments at 4:30 p.m., at the American Red Cross office in Everett.
About 50 Red Cross volunteers from this area went to Texas and neighboring areas after the storms, said Kris Krischano, a spokesman for the agency’s Snohomish County chapter. Thursday’s presentation is something new for the agency, Krischano said Friday. “When these folks come back, they need to vent their emotions. It’s good for them, and good for the public,” he said.
Krischano said the Red Cross has an ongoing need for volunteers. “It could happen here at home,” he said.
Retired Everett firefighter Jack Robinson, 61, made two recent trips to help. He was first deployed Aug. 26 to work with people displaced by Hurricane Gustav. He was in Marshall, Texas, east of Dallas, where hundreds of people had come to get out of the danger zone. Gustav hit to the east of where forecasters expected major damage, so Robinson was sent to help in Baton Rouge, La.
“Then along came Ike,” said Robinson, who was home in Everett just four days before returning to the South, this time to Texas. He’s been home in Everett one week today.
“All of Galveston was affected by the storm surge. It was all under water, 3 to 10 feet,” Robinson said. “By the time I arrived in Galveston, everything from the first floors — furniture, refrigerators, stoves — it was all sitting out on the edge of streets. Huge piles of debris were everywhere.”
Water, sewer and electricity were out for weeks, Robinson said. “We stayed in shelters that were essentially a grandiose tent city. We used the porta-potties same as everybody else.”
Robinson coordinated emergency response vehicle kitchens, took food to shelters, and helped with cleanup.
“People were very appreciative,” he said. “Initially they were kind of stunned. But the majority had been in Galveston all their life, and are going to stay in Galveston. There was quite a strong spirit there.”
Reporter Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Hurricane helpers will share stories
American Red Cross volunteers who traveled to the Gulf Coast this fall in the aftermath of hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike will share their experiences at a free program at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2530 Lombard Ave., Everett. The event is open to the public and refreshments will be served starting at 4:30 p.m. To reserve a space, call Ann Anderst at 425-740-2354 or e-mail: andersta@snohomishcounty.redcross.org.
By the numbers
American Red Cross relief services after hurricanes Gustav and Ike:
21,077Volunteers on-site
200-plusVolunteers from Washington state
50-plusVolunteers from Snohomish County chapter
824Shelters and evacuation centers opened
5,889,878Meals served
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
