Patch Visits the Summit Middle School Warming Station: How Residents Cope with Snow-tober

The American Red Cross has set up camp at Lawton C. Johnson Middle School, opening its doors to the residents of eight different surrounding towns that have been without power since this historic Nor’easter began.  Hundreds of residents came to the Warming Station to charge electronics and heat up before venturing back to cold, dark homes many of which have become city hazards due to downed power lines and fallen trees.

Julie Siciliano, the Disaster Chair for the Northern New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross was calm, friendly and eager to help anyone who entered the building. At 1 p.m. Siciliano informed Patch that 191 people had arrived at the Warming Station since 10 a.m.  Elisa Cordrey, who is currently serving as the American Red Cross Communications Director for this region explained the services available for residents.

“We are open 24 hours a day. If school does open and people are still without power, we will relocate to whatever area is available in Summit. We have coffee, beverages, and plenty of outlets for charging. We have also opened up the gym so that kids can play basketball,” Cordrey stated.

Clusters of families gathered around laptop computers checking email, downloading movies, and catching up on work. The storm has caused NJ Transit to shut down in this area and many who commute to work or school are without transportation.

Many of the families that poured into the school brought along young children; none of whom were in costume. Many were very disappointed that trick or treating had been postponed and that there were no Halloween parties or parades to look forward to.

Laurie Abkemeirer of Ashland Road was joined by her son Aaron, age 12 and her youngest daughter Katie. Abkemeirer, who works from home as a literary agent explained that the storm caused a “major disruption” to her work schedule and that she was happy that the Warming Station had free Wi-Fi.

Abkemeirer went on to explain that Katie was ready to go trick or treating as a lifeguard “power or no power.” She also noted that for her family, rescheduling the tradition for Friday is not ideal.

“My son’s birthday is Friday and so is the Brighton School Bingo Fundraiser. We were very disappointed that trick or treating was postponed,” Abkemeirer stated.

“Everyone waits for Halloween the whole year,” Katie explained, “I bet a lot of people were really mad. I’m really sad that I’m missing the Halloween party.”

Abkemeirer went on to describe the havoc the storm caused in their daily lives, noting that she feels that this storm was “a lot worse than Irene.”

“I was shocked that it was this bad. I didn’t think this storm could have caused this much damage. We didn’t lose power until 6 a.m. on Sunday, but our whole street is without power. We had to throw out everything in the fridge. On Saturday night, a tree fell from our neighbor’s yard and crashed into our fence.”

She went on to describe how a man who was visiting a neighbor on her street had been injured when he was hit by a fallen tree limb. “It is so dangerous out there. I don’t know what people are doing outside,” she stated.

Many parents were relieved that school had been cancelled, noting that it is not safe for their children to walk to school with tree limbs and power lines covering the streets.

Christine L., of Mountain Avenue expressed her frustration with the city of Summit as well as Union County for failing to clean up a tree that is blocking part of the county road.

“The most frustrating part about this storm is that we don’t know when our power will be back on. How can my son do his homework without power?  Where are the JCP&L trucks? I haven’t seen any. I tried to buy a generator but they were all sold out. We had to take our parakeets to our friend’s house because of the cold. I can’t even assess the damage to my house because of all the fallen trees. We are in much worse shape than were in Irene,” Christine stated.

Cacky Enman, of Summit Avenue was surprisingly pleasant and relaxed considering she has been without power or heat since Saturday afternoon.

As she sat with her son George who was busy doing homework on her Mac, Enman conveyed her “frustrated but flexible attitude” despite also stating that she believes that “utility wise, this storm is worse than Irene.”

“We are a healthy, active family so we can handle four or five more days without power if that is what it takes, but I worry about the seniors. How will they be able to handle being without heat?

Cathy, age 98 was quietly observing her neighbors as she stood secluded in a doorway down the hall. She explained that she spent the night at the Warming Station.

“I live just a couple of blocks away, but I came here last night because of the cold,” she said. “I think it is wonderful that they opened up this place for people to come and stay,” Cathy said.

Libo Sun and Yan Zhao faced physical challenges of their own in the aftermath of the storm. As parents of baby, facing days without power or heat is especially daunting.

“Our driveway is blocked by a live power wire.  Our impression is that New Jersey Transit and JCP&L are not efficient systems. They should be redesigned because every time the weather gets a little bad, the trains are delayed and the power goes off.” Sun explained.

With Summit Public Schools closed tomorrow, the Warming Station will continue to stay open. Volunteers from the Red Cross will be there throughout the night to help anyone and everyone who needs to stay warm.