The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
FLATS STILL HOME TO MANY
Flood of 2013: Despite damage from historic flood, several residents chose not to abandon their homes
ONEIDA, N.Y. » After the historic Flood of 2013 forever changed the face of the Flats, some Oneida residents elected to stay rather than leave their homes behind.
Some residents got off easy when the waters started to rise. Sherry and William Barker of Devereaux Street are longtime residents of Oneida, with William living in the city for 59 years.
“We got lucky when the flood hit. The first night, they brought me down on a boat to get some things from my house,” William said. “I looked down in the basement and the water was as high as it was going to get and that was a half an inch from the bottom of our floor joist. We didn’t have the damage other people got. I feel bad for the people that lost everything. We were extremely fortunate.”
William said there were people in the Flats who couldn’t salvage anything and didn’t have the funds at the time to repair. Or by the time they did get the money, mold and rot had set in and there was no reason to fix; it’d cost more than the house was worth.
“While damage wasn’t that bad, we proba-
“We didn’t have the damage other people got. I feel bad for the people that lost everything. We were extremely fortunate.”
— William Barker of Devereaux Street
bly could have taken the FEMA buyout offer if we wanted,” Sherry said. “But in our eyes, we hadmade so many improvements on the house that by the time they offered, I didn’t think we would have recovered what we put in the house. I did do some research about properties around Oneida and I couldn’t find anything comparable to what we had.”
Several families were not as lucky as the Barkers.
Ronnie and Lena Presley have lived in Oneida for around 20 and 50 years respectively and when the f lood hit their home on Sconondoa Street, they didn’t have much time to save anything.
“We got the word we had to leave because the water was rising and it took us 10 minutes to get out of the house,” Ronnie said. “By the timewedid andgot the cars on the road, wewere driving on the sidewalk in front of Vineall Ambulance because the waterwas so deep in the middle of the road.”
When the water cleared and residents were allowed toreturn, theyhadtoput together whatwas left of their lives.
“All we had was a shell of a house,” Lena said. “The ceiling was all we had left.”
“Everything had to be torn up. The water was just over the windowsills, so about three feet,” Ronnie said. “We were one of the first recipients of the allotted money from the FEMA disaster relief fund and used that to fix the house.”
But when the offer came around, Ronnie and Lena said they didn’t take the FEMA buyout because of their age.
“Where could we go and maintain the freedom of living we have? We take the buyout, rent or buy a home and our income is gonna go down,” Ronnie said. “On a fixed income, it’s hard to start over.”
Ronnie and Lena have owned their home since 2003 and decorated with
everything from ily. it ture took “They Sowhen and their more fixedwhat appliances. friends thewater they than hold just and damage came, furni- fam- dear they thing,” albums. could, Ronnie Gone. butwe Family said. lost “Photo bibles. everyGone. Gone. Things It’s emotional.” fromfunerals.
“It got to the point where you can’t take anymore and don’t want to look at what you’ve lost. You can’t bear to see what’s gone,” Lena said. “You just tell them to take it to the curb. And it still affects us. I walk around the house, looking for something and then it hits me I lost it in the flood.”
Ronnie and Lena had the entire house redone and said to them, it’s almost like living in a new home.
“We were back in our house by Aug. 23. Friends came in and tore it up, William Nye donated his back hoe and my brother-in-law drove it and took the rubble to the curb,” Ronnie said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”
But for thosewho couldn’t rebuild, they had tomove on and look for greener pastures. Lena said her best friend’s house is gone and Ronnie knew several people in Oneida who took the buyout and no longer live in the area, leaving behind a sad sight.
Local businesses suffered with the flood as well. Bill Vineall, owner of Vineall Ambulance Services and mayor of the city of Sherrill, was greatly impacted by the flood.
“It’s no great big secret, but I had $1.8 million in loses and I recovered $278,000,” Vineall said. “There were a couple different reasons why we got so little. No insurance covers the contents of a building, apparently. My insurance carrier informedme of that after the f lood. The loss is not so much the building itself, but all the equipment, furniture and more. That just adds up quick.” The day of the flood, Vineall Ambulance Services got the warning they had an hour to get everything out. Vineall said they got all the ambulances and vehicles out, but almost all the office equipment, from the computers to the telephone answering service, were lost in the flood.
But the one thing the flood couldn’t wash away is life-long resident Helen Hatch of Mott Street.
“I’m 82. I’ve lived across the street on the corner, but moved here around 49 years ago,” Hatch said. “I’ve raised six children. William, Karl, Rhonda, Melissa, Kristopher and Kraig. Three of them were born in the Flats.”
When asked what about the Flats was so special to her, Hatch laughed.
“The people. A lot of uptown people would say the Flats were no good, but the people are good. There are a lot of goodpeoplewho came out of the Flats. County Treasurer Harold Landers and Mayor Don Hudson to name a few,” she said, referencing the former elected officials. “And I have one nephew who works for the City of Oneida Police and I have another nephew who’s a deputy for Madison County.
“The people here in the Flats are willing to help each other. We didn’t have that much, butwe all helped each other,” Hatch said.
Hatch remembered a flood when she was 10 years old, standing on the front porch with her family and looking at the water in the streets. But this flood was different.
“Back then, we didn’t get it as bad. Back then, we didn’t have to get out of our house or tear it apart after. We just picked up and went on as always,” Hatch said. “But it got so high, it took over the first floor of the house. I’ve been out of this house once and that’s because they made me. The city shut off the gas and power because they were afraid the water would get in and wouldn’t let me stay.”
Hatch said things have changed over the years and lamented the state of the Flats. Her home used to be the go-to spot back in the day for children to hang out and play wiffleball.
“Every kid in the neighborhood used to come over to play ball. I have a lot of memories of these young kids. Well, they’re not so young anymore,” Hatch said. “The Williams boys, Trevor and Jimmy. Jimmy passed on. The Garlocks used to live down here too. The Clarks, they used to live in the beehive, across the road. Thatwas before Route 365 even came through.”
Like Ronnie and Lena, Hatch had to have the entire house torn apart, from the basement up.
“I didn’t take the buyout offer because I’m too old,” Hatch said. “The kids were all born here, my father and mother lived here, my brother lived right next door and right now my daughter lives one house away. My son, Kraig, he lives down the street, but hemovedout. He has four girls to think about.”
The residents and businesses of the Flats all have their own reason for staying when so many others packed up and left.
The biggest reason why Hatch hasn’t moved is because to her children and her 17 grandchildren, it’s home to them.
“People ask why we stay or whywe didn’t sellout. It’s my grandkids. They don’t want me to move,” Hatch said with a laugh. “It’s not like going home to them. They don’t want to go by this house and see somebody else living here. Because it’s always going to be home to them, even after I’m gone.”