By Kevin Foster
We are extremely blessed to live in the small town communities of the Santa Cruz mountains of the San Lorenzo Valley, during times of emergencies, disasters, and extreme weather events. This community has come together in remarkable ways and during our recent rain event, our community again proved to be like no other. From individual community members to our local businesses, several have let their light shine bright.
I witnessed one remarkable story when a couple of our roads washed out. Community members constructed a zip line to be able to get supplies across a bridge that was no longer there. Members throughout the mountains were offering deliveries through social media. They would take requests via messenger and meet those on the other side of the closure with groceries, cans of gas for generators and other much needed supplies. The remarkable part is they are not friends or acquaintances, they are human blessings from our slice of paradise up here in the Santa Cruz mountains. These individuals saw someone needing some help and stepped up to be the light, others needed during these trying times.
Additionally, I witnessed parents rally together to help get kids to school at another road closure. It would add an extra hour commute time to get their kids to school, so they would drive their kids to the closure, walk the kids across where foot traffic was allowed but vehicles were not, and other parents waiting on the other side, would then transport the kids to school. These are the things that create cooperative blessings in small rural towns across the country in times of crisis.
Some of the brightest lights I saw shining during our recent storms were some of our local businesses. It says a great deal about a business who helps people through what their profession can offer, and do it because it is what is in their heart, not to make money off of people in distress. One such business was James Steel Engineering. James Saul’s residence on Brookside Drive in Felton had a mudslide and they were in a bad spot, he loaded up his excavator, drove over, cleared the mud, and helped residents unclog drains to try to mitigate any further damage. In Boulder Creek, Irwin way was impassable due to a downed tree blocking the road, so he pulled out his chainsaws and cleared the road for residents.
Another local resident and business owner, Jason Vincent Arbor Works was getting calls for several downed trees blocking driveways, roads and one log jam. The culvert that runs under highway 9 at Two Bar Road was clogged with limbs and logs. Jason got down in the river and put his chainsaw to work knowing that if this particular section of Highway 9 was compromised it would shut off residences north of Two Bar. Another resident off China Grade had their vehicle slide to the edge of a cliff in the extremely muddy conditions. Foster Construction and Vincent Arbor Works teamed up and headed there with Jason’s tractor, safely moving the vehicle to a stable location.
Some other local individuals I’d like to acknowledge are Justin Acton, owner of Boulder Creek Pizza and Jenny Wu, owner of the Red Pear Chinese Food. They were both amazing as they partnered up with an organization to feed the community free of charge; some people who had been without power or trapped for up to nine days. What really stands out for me is these businesses spend money on fuel, volunteer many hours and do it because they feel morally it is the right thing to do with the resources they can offer. Not asking for anything in return, they feel their reward is seeing a tear or a big smile and sigh of relief on those individuals needing help. If you know this feeling, it is something money just cannot buy. Mr. Rogers always said, “look for the helpers”. To add to this, look for the givers not the takers, especially during troubled trying times. We all know there are those who use these types of events to make money off of others, but then there are those who go help others and the monetary value is paid by the warm feeling in their heart when they helped to make a difference for the better.
I want to recognize all those not mentioned; there were so many people who pulled together to help get done what was needed during our recent storm. In addition, kudos and many thanks to our first responders, so many who work far beyond their job descriptions. Y’all are what makes this mountain such a wonderful blessing and what I like to call “a slice of paradise”.
