In devastating storm's aftermath, warm company makes misery bearable
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SOUTHAMPTON - When the cold got to be too much Monday night, Carrie Malo and Dennis Cady packed up Malo's 9-year-old daughter, Camille, and went to stay with friend Tracey Malanson and her family on Lead Mine Road.
They weren't alone. Ten people camped out in the three-bedroom home that night.
Malanson offered her home when Malo described the family's situation.
"Carrie texted me and said, 'I can see my breath and I'm indoors,'" Malanson said. "I said 'come on over.' "
The Malo-Cady crew moved in with the Malansons and her husband Craig, their three daughters, Tracey Malanson's brother John Ducharme Jr. and, until Tuesday, her father, John Ducharme Sr. When he received word his house in Easthampton had power restored he returned home.
The sudden growth of households is a common story this week as people in the region remain without power Wednesday. As of Wednesday night, 1,636 of Western Massachusetts Electric Co.'s 2463 customers, or 66 percent, were still in the dark. WMECO estimates service should be fully restored in the town by noon Thursday.
Falling limbs took down the power line supplying Malo and Cady's house on Rattle Hill Road Saturday.
Camille said the only way she could keep warm after the power went out was to stay covered up. "I had six blankets on my bed," she said. Cady said he would occasionally run out to the car to use its heater to warm up.
Caught by surprise
Malanson said she neglected to stock up on emergency supplies.
"We have never lost power here for more than a few hours. I could not conceive of losing power for more than 24 hours," she said. "When I woke up the next morning and saw all the limbs and branches down, that's when I started to get nervous."
Luckily, the Malansons had much of what they needed in place years before Saturday's storm. The dusted off and fired up an old wood furnace in the basement that hadn't been used in nearly 10 years. That provided plenty of heat. A long electrical extension cord, running more than 100 feet to Craig Malanson's mom's house next door, provides a small amount of power from her generator.
"We have enough electricity to run the radio, use the coffee maker and charge our cellphones," she said, "but not all at once."
It's enough for two families and a total of nine people and two dogs to be comfortable.
Showers are impossible. Without electrical service the pump in the private well won't work.
"We didn't shower for three days. Then a friend up in Huntington offered to let us use theirs. We all went out and took a shower yesterday," Malanson said.
The families rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking, fill a bucket from an above-ground pool to flush toilets. It just takes a little improvisation, Malanson said.
"We use the gas grill to cook everything outside," Malanson said. "It's funny. You can figure out how to cook just about anything. Last night we had spaghetti I cooked on the grill."
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Sarah Malanson said the kids in the house are faring well without electricity. The Hampshire Regional High School 10th grader said she and her sisters spend their time playing games and hanging out with friends.
"It really helps having friends here to pass the time," she said.
Good neighbors
Up the street, Linda and Raymond Lafontaine also took in a neighbor.
Wednesday afternoon, Linda Lafontaine was in her yard cleaning up debris left by the storm. With temperatures in the upper 50s, she said the warmest place to be was in the front yard.
Nighttime temperatures have not been so accommodating. Most nights since the snowstorm, overnight lows have fallen into the teens or low 20s.
"When both the houses got down to 48 degrees we invited Jean to come and stay with us," Linda Lafontaine said. She said they had just gotten a generator from her father.
"We were the third house to get his generator. As each one got power he would move it," she said. "We stayed with friends in Goshen who had their own generator until he brought his over."
With the gasoline-powered generator rumbling outside, Tuesday evening was pretty close to normal for the Lafonatines.
"We were warm, we had lights and we made dinner," Linda Lafontaine said. "When I got up in the morning we had oatmeal and coffee."
Normal ended Wednesday morning when the generator could not keep up with demands from the house. "The generator quit. It has been a bummer."
But they have two fireplaces in the house and the prospect of electricity coming back soon. Also, as her new house mate pointed out, 48 degrees is the perfect temperature for wine.
"We will be camping out tonight," Lafontaine said cheerily.
Across town on Gunn Road Extension, Betsy Bergeron said she is taking all the inconvenience in stride. She grew up with less, she said.
"I will be a lot happier when we have power," she said, "but when I grew up in Westhampton, we had no water, no electricity and a three holer (outhose) in the backyard."
Now she and her husband enjoy electricity twice a day when her sons come in and run a generator.
"It powers the oil furnace and the house stays warm all day," she said.
"If I time it right, I can plug in an electric fry pan and cook with that. Otherwise, I use the propane grill. You learn to pack your food in the snow to keep it cold. It just takes a little common sense."
