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. j~ I' , ~' :it I t Jt: L ~::'" -, "." ." .; :\t:.',\ " " ,"'....\ ~ ".,,,.. . ....L -;.~ ,~ .... 1/ '. " " .... .ifli - ~".'.;. -- .,.... .p.. ~ ". '- . - ....-- -- - " " ~ "'~ ~... ~ , " ~ =-~ ,. , \ ...... -- . \ . .. ~ ~- . - 'A true act of Christianity' . By IlARBARA AUllRANDT Of the Cblora.doe.n "people wUl give money. or they'll volunteer to help the victimS-hut how many people wUl give of themselves to clean up such incredible dirt?" Trudl Saxtorph, who \Vith her husband Henrlk had been at Glen Haven on July 31, spoke of a moving experience of quite another kind thf' couple had when they returned to their cabin. The night of the flood, the Saxtorphs' cabin was surrounded, but not taken, by the water. \\-'hen they returned to It recently-via a four.wheel drive vehicle- they found It surrounded and penneated by debris and dirt, as was everyttllng else that had been in the water's path. 'J'No plrlf>rlv ('OlJDJ.. had feared Ult'rt' mJght be looters or "c1almjumpers" at their weekend home-instead, they found six young m~n working hard to cl~an It up. The mess. said Mrs. Saxtorph, was "truly terrible." Raw sewage had been running In the open and flies were thJckly In residence. Working to clean up "that kind of filth," said Mrs. Saxtorph, was "a true act of Christianity. " The men are. Indeed, ChrIstians, members of the Mennonite Church. Volunteers who provide their own food and lodging, they compose a disaSter service that does the speclflc and distasteful job of cleaning up att~r nature goes amuk. The Mennonite Disaster Service go~s all over the country. in the wake of natural or manmade catastrophe, performing this service. It Is a national organ17.ation, part of the internationally established de- nomination. The volunteers, said Mrs. Saxtorph, were doing "what they could. And," she added, "they seemed very knowledgeable. about things like plumbing and such." The young men refi.lsed to take any money for their work. They had gone, first, to the pas! olUce wilen arriving at Glen Haven, they ~ld the Saxtorphs. Then they went from home to home, cleaning. The two who talked with the Saxtorphs were from South Dakota and Kansas. "They told us they will go anywhere they are needed." said :Mrs. Saxtorph. "They really are living their faith." '- -. - , - { ~... Tough tos ks The volunteer work goes on aJ the temporary morgue in the old Loveland hospital. In photo abo...e. Nancy Boxleitner 01 loveland, 0 volunteer who mokes out the death certificotes, woits while Of. Michoel Charney of Fort (olllM writes on 0 form. In photo at left, steadfast volunteer Dorothy Abbey of Fori Collins consults with 0 phy. sician in the m.dK.1 (:4Immand center. In phOIO below, Bernadine Zimmerman (left) and Malilynn A5pegren. both of Fort (oWns, check the files while Ann O,,-is ot Loveland hondles 0 phone call :- . August 1976 Fort Collins Coloradoan 9 The legions of volunteers gave freely of their time ':':.:.:':.:.:.:.:':.:':.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.;.;.:.:-:,:.:.:.:.:.:.:.; 1 EDrroR'S N<YI'E; The volunteer efforts that went on alter victims were brought out from the Btg ThomplOn Canyon flood were overwhelming. It 18 1mpoeslble to mention or give credit to all the indtvlduals and group' who volunteered their help alter the tragedy. Th1s story tocuIes on only lIOmI! of the volunteer activities 1n an effort to expre81 what the people of Loveland and iUITOUJIdIng com- mwrltlet did in an hour ot great need. :.;.;.;.;.;,:.:,:.:.:.:~::;::~:::~::::;;;;;:;:;;;;;:;:;;,.;.:.;,;.;.;.;.:.:.:.:.:.:.: By KA'IHERINE KENISTON Of the Coloradoan The rains that came that Saturday night to the Big Thompson Canyon brought In their aftermath a deluge of another kind. . It was a deluge of goodwill, as volunteers from all around rallied to help the victims. Whether opening their homes to flood survivors or offering rides. cook.lng hot meals or comforting a shaken victim, citizens of Loveland and surrounding communities have given generously of themselves. "It's been a fantastic situation. Loveland truly has lived up to Its name. Its people have shawn other people that they care," declared Georgia Tomson, director of the House of Neighborly Servtce in Loveland. Even at the temporary morgue 1n the old Loveland hospital, where volunteers carry on their often unhappy tasks, the spirtt of sharing abides. "Everyone has been so tremen- dous- volunteers as well 8..!l the families of victims-so grateful. The whole experience can only restore or reinforce one's faith In humanity," said Bemardlne Zimmerman of Fort Collins, coordinator of the medical command post at the hospital. Old rellables like the Red Cross and Salvation Army as well as clubs, churthes, businesses, school per. sonnel, doctors, dentists, housewives and even chlldren were among the legions who responded to the tragedy. Capt. Thomas World was one ot them-and one who was amazed by the aura of generosity. Whlle he and other Salvation Army volunteers were mann:lng the canteen at the rescue command post. a couple w1th two small children drove up and dropped off a box of fresh apples and some wann homemade cookies. "Before we could even say thank you, they were gone." During- the search and reSCue f!'J ,'.lr.4. 7"':: \ ~. "f.' , - =- , .., . -\} I'~ . . ~" \,.1 ~.. 1- " , operations, said Capt. World, volunteers v.'OU.Id seek out tolling policemen "way out in the middle ot nowhere" just to give them a cup of coffee, a sandwich and a friendly hello. For several days the heartbeat (Jf all the heartfelt giving was the relief center at Loveland High SchooL There, volunteers manned the ceaselessly jangling phones, provided food and clothing for flood victims, alTIUlged transportation anq lodging, tallJedllsts of missing persons, and offered a sympathetic ear and a comforting hand to those who had survived the ordeal. "Everybody was ready to pitch in," sald Jack Wilson, assistant prtnclpal at Loveland Htgh School, who helped set up the relief center. So many were ready to pitch in, in fact, that at one point 200 volunteers had to be moved out of the way into the gymnasium. Food appeared like manna. People brought canned goods, homemade food and garden produce. One church group that had planned an Ice cream social donated all Its homemade pie and Ice cream to the shelter. Restaurants served up ham- burgers, pizzas, spaghetti; grocery stores cheerfully depleted their stock for the cause. A school cook voJunteered her services for three days. An Elks Club provided a huge lunch, complete w1th Its own cooks to ptepare 11. After the appeal for lodging went out, said Wilson, the reS}X)RSe was so great that "we figure we turned down easily 2,000 beds." Just as impressive was the community's reply to the need for transportation. A Fort Collins car salesman stoppeQ by and volun- teered to "take anyone within a thousand mlles." A Loveland auto dealer made three of his cars avaUabie to anyone who needed them. One man provided five trtps to Denver. The mountains of donated clothing grew so formidable that finally a radio station was asked to announce that volunteers were needed to move clothJng to another location. Within half an hour, 20 pickup trucks were lined up outside the school. ready for action. "It was an inspirational com. munity atfa,lr," said Wilson. Even children showed their concern. A group of neighborhood youngsters decided the proceeds from a play they were presenting would go to the flood relief fund. Every organization or club she knows of has been involved in the volunteer efforts, said Mrs. Tomson, whether collecting clothing and turruture or contrtbuting money for rellef. The Ftre Sirens. wives of Loveland volunteer firemen, were among the first to answer the alarm. They showed up early at the high school rellef center with blankets, pl1lows, coffee, cocoa and an eagerness to help. The Red Cross, of course. lived up to Its reputation as a bulwark in Ume of need, taking charge of the volunteer activities at the high .moo!. Elsewhere, one of the many groups extending a helping hand was the Seventh.day Adventists. Their contributions Included distributing food and clothing at their dm\'ntown Community Ser. vices Center. Exclaimed one grateful survivor, "You're heaven's angels!" A business that "should get a medal" for its volunteer efforts. according to one observer, Is Hewlett-Packard. The company turned Its computers to the task of compiling lists of found and missing persons. and provided the tern. porary morgue w1th equipment and even a bunch of scratch pads. :Many of them employes ot Hewlett.Packard, the Loveland Pollce Reserve Officers were others who went beyond their call of duty. In addition to all their search and rescue work, the men labored long hours at the morgue, handling bodles and maintaining security. One grocer closed his store early and devoted himself to the solemn task of ca.rrylng bodies until late that night. At the temporary morgue in the old hospital, the volunteer work goes on, sometimes silently anCl salDy. The volunteers and families find a respite at "the old refreshment stand," a worn table sagging under the weight of sand\\1ches, fresh fruit. homemade pickles and beverages donated by individuals, groups and stores. Hospital auxiliary volunteers serve the food. "There are an awful lot of people who put In an awful lot of time and did some pretty disagreeable work," said John Irwin. who Is on the T .." .. ,/ A WOfIWI. w&ill for help at aid ...- district board of Loveland Memorial Hospital and who helped set up the temporary morgue. The volunteers working there he calls "a bunch of hardy souls." Donating endless hours without pay are Dr. Patrick Allen, pathologist from Loveland's McKee Medical Center, and Dr. Michael Charney of Fort Collins. A team of Loveland dentists, headed by experts from Denver. volunteer their know.how to the grtm task of Identifying victims with dental charts. All the Loveland m1nJsters have been on call to comfort families. Other volunteers (including some from the Retired Senior Volunteer Progam) help with examinations, greet famUies, phone relatives, maintain tiles. fill out death cer- tificates and perform other duties. One of them Is Dorothy Abbey of Fort Collins, who has bl!en a steadfast volunteer since that first confused Sunday after the flood. Because "I care about people and like to help people It I'm needed." Mrs. Abbey went to the high school and assisted Red Cross volunteers with sandwich making and signed up to provide housing and tran. sportation. She finally took charge of the missing persons' table, filling out reports. "We got very close to people. because some of the relatives stayed at the high school tlll we closed up on Thursday." she said. "We've met some really nice people under bad circumstances." At the morgue, Mrs. Abbey works in the medical command post where families come in to Identify victims' belongings and where doctors speak with the famUles. She keeps a small suitcase of jewelry pieces that serve as clue~ to body Identification, and has done "detective work" to determine Identities. She did take one day off from- her duties-to celebrate a birthday in the family. Said Ann Davis, who works in the data department downstairs in the morgue, "Everybody who's been working has really been terrlfi<'. You just can't help but like them." The caring and shartng go on. Out at the Cloverleaf Dog Track, volunteers work like dogs to sort and stockpile food, furniture, bedding and other donated Items for flood victims. One woman had lost her whole family in the disaster-but bought some supplies and brought them to the dog track center to help someone else. The Big Thompson Inter-Faith '!'ask Force, a coalition ot many church members In Loveland and Estes Park. has formed to meet the "physical, spiritual and emotional ~' <:i~rv\cUma. "It's been one big family. They've 'ill; really worked together," !>um- mar1zed volunteer Helen Schmidt of the community's contributions. But as the lists of missing persons dwindle and the rebuilding efforts mount, the task of volunteers In the Big Thompson tragedy is hardly over. Said one .....,orker. "The spectacular is done. Now, down to the real nitty-gritty." more we're -- - -- ,