Although we weren’t directly affected by the flood, we were affected by the incredible amount of rain we received in just a few short days. The rain either washed away or pounded flower seeds so deep into the ground, many flowers did not come up. The heavy rain also flooded out many annual beds, delaying their development.

Even though our personal loss was minor, we suffered for those who lost so much. After weeks of hell that our town has endured lately, we’re all starting to see some beauty in the terrible aftermath.

This is the berm under the new crab tree. For weeks it looked so stunted but it’s finally starting to leap to life in a huge way.

It’s nice to finally be able to sit on my front porch and have this lovely, calming view. It represents hope again….

It was a pleasant surprise to see that another vintage TV lamp sold. This item has to be nearing 60 years old, and given that age, it is in remarkable condition.

I hope the new owner enjoys it!

Visit Vintage Treasures today and get your own vintage TV lamp!

What a nice surprise to log on and see that I had made a sale. I really enjoyed this little clock by Sessions Clock Company because it reminded me so much of the one in my mother’s kitchen when I was growing up. The lady that bought it said pretty much the same thing and also said she couldn’t wait to show it to her mother. She also said the number 4 on the clock had special rememberance to her. I rather like it too!

See what else is for sale by visiting Vintage Treasures today!

The first picture is how our City Hall looked prior to the flood. The second (looking North) is pre-flood May Island, housing the Linn County Jail and Courthouse, Memorial Coliseum and City Hall. Visible in the picture (looking North) are the 3rd, 2nd and 1st Avenue bridges and I-380 with the 5-in-1 dam underneath. The third picture is what our May Island looked like even before the river had crested.

At the end of May we started experiencing extreme severe weather and heavy rains all over the state. We had just endured the tragedies of the loss of life and property from an EF5 tornado that hit Parkersburg and an EF3 in Little Sioux, Iowa. Then the massive rains from up north signaled that we would be bracing for a flood.

We expected a “100 Year Flood” and that would have been bad enough. What we got was a “500 Year Flood”, effecting more city blocks that we ever could have imagined. That number ranges from 500 and 1000, depending on which source you are relying on.

These pictures are two different neighborhoods on opposite sides of the river, and, sadly, is representative of what many neighborhoods look like.

Here are two views of downtown Cedar Rapids. This first is looking south on 2nd Street SE. The second picture is looking east on 1st Avenue, our city’s main thoroughfare.

Power was lost all over the city for several days. Then water was rationed to “drinking only” orders. And it continued to rain and rain and rain. Then creeks and streams started to flood all over Iowa, closing many roads to and from them. Not only could we not get across town, we couldn’t get out of it. It finally became a reality: You can’t get to there from here.

The Cedar River’s normal flood stage is 12 ft. It crested at 31.1 ft. on Friday, June 13.

The river cuts through the center of town and is spanned by many bridges. All of them were engulfed by the river and only the I-380 bridge remained open. The traffic was backed up for miles on major city streets all over town, trying to get to this one remaining link to the other side of town. A normal 10 minute trip was now taking several hours.

Below is our historic railroad bridge that collapsed. It had been weighted down with hopper cars filled with rocks, hoping to stabilize the bridge, but it collapsed anyway.

But the good news is, those weighted cars probably kept it in place and for a very good reason:

It caught all of the houseboats floating down from Ellis Marina.

The devastation was incredible and heartbreaking. And the toll is enormous. Twenty-four thousand people were displaced and many of those will not have a home to return to. They also lost anything they couldn’t carry with them when the mandatory evacuation was called for. Many businesses will not reopen. Pets were lost or died in the homes they couldn’t get out of.

Our city and county services were almost wiped out because they are all in the flood plain: Linn County Sheriff, CR Police Station, Linn County Courthouse and Jail, City Hall, Memorial Coliseum, CR Main Post Office, CR Main Fire Station, Federal Building, and Public Library to name a few. They’ve ether had to close or set up temporary offices elsewhere. We lost two ethnic museums and many family businesses that had been operating for over 100 years.

Thank God for the Iowa National Guard, Cedar Rapids Police and Fire Department personnel and the countless volunteers. They all worked around the clock unselfishly to assist the flood victims.

After a few days the power came back on and water restriction was changed to odd/even house numbers to alternate days of moderate water usage. That meant showers, some laundry, toilet flushing and hand washing could resume.

Now the waters are receding and the bridges are slowly opening. We got our first look at the city last night. Street after street is lined with gigantic plies of flood ravaged belongings that used to be someone’s life. Furniture, appliances, toys, clothing in filthy, stinking piles. Bone-weary people in obvious shock carrying out armfuls of pitiful former belongings for the garbage trucks.

Windowless businesses (that exploded from the force of the water) teemed with tired, grimy workers determined to start the cleanup.

City streets and parks were strewn with every kind of debris that the river could carry down. And the stink is incredible.

From a personal standpoint, our house is safe, although the floodwater’s edge got within two blocks of us. We only lost the refrigerator’s contents due to the power outage.

It makes me feel terrible to say that we were only mildly inconvenienced by the power outage and water restrictions, and that we lost about $100 worth of food, when there are so many people who lost everything. Our hearts are breaking for them and our town.

Ironically, the City Council, for years, has been trying to refurbish the downtown riverfront to be an attractive place where people would want to gather. They named 2008, “The Year of the River.” Well, it certainly turned out to be just that….

Here’s my entries:

Sometimes the challenge comes with instructions for use, but in this case, it didn’t. so I got to use my artistic license. When are you going to join us for the fun?

We had the shed custom built a few years ago and had never done anything to it other than paint it to match the house. Last summer I got busy and added some details to it.

I painted the hardware black and added some solar lanterns. I made a swag for the front doors out of wire and an artificial berry garland. I removed some old birdfeeders and added a “Grandma’s Forget-Me-Not” garden in their place. I planted some chives and honeysuckle on the side.

We were having a hard rain the day I took the “after” picture. Beautiful….