The flood, one year later -- a remembrance

     The relentless rains that turned the Harpeth River into a rampaging torrent, devastating much of the county, also opened floodgates of fellow feeling, generosity, heroism and self-sacrifice on the part of its citizens.

   While the waters ravaged and sometimes swept away whole houses, forced the closing of businesses, upended lives and claimed several, and touched just about every individual in the community in one way or another, the disaster shined a light on the very best in the human spirit.

   “On the Monday after the flood, Kingston Springs was an island,” said Amy Bruce, co-owner with her sister, Katie Conley, of Red Tree Coffee on Main Street. “We were open, and people were wandering in and out, stunned, looking for information and wanting to help out.

   “By Tuesday morning, we said ‘We have to do something.’”

   The sisters sent out an email blast and Facebook message telling everyone to come to Red Tree. “Within two hours we had over 100 people.” 

   Beginning that day, the café began fielding calls for help and sending out crews of volunteers, while dispatching other volunteers on assessment runs around the community.

   Across town, The Ark anchored at Harpeth Middle School, which became a makeshift shelter from the storm. A nonprofit that provides physical and spiritual support to South Cheatham County citizens, The Ark lived up to its name, helping people stay afloat with food, supplies and information, and identifying those in need of ongoing assistance.

   “We needed to be there,” said The Ark’s director, Missy Bolt. “People were taking refuge there, or coming in and asking what they could do.”
   The school’s teachers pitched in, and every day more volunteers showed up.

   “We had volunteers work until they couldn’t walk,” said HMS teacher/coach Jimmy Mitchell. “It’s made me proud to be part of this community.”
   “I’ve never seen anything like the effort,” said Adair Schippers, an Ark volunteer who spent most days helping take victims in and connecting them with resources. “The generosity was incredible. I’ll be on a high until I die.”

   The Ark worked closely with Red Tree, which commandeered the volunteer part of the operation.

   “Our gift is to take charge,” Amy Bruce said. “And we were raised to help people—to do the right thing.

   “This community has a big, deep heart, and a deep faith. It’s an active faith—we put our hands and our feet to work.”

   Bruce noted that there were people of all ages among the tireless volunteers, and that some didn’t miss a day.        

Kingston Springs was rebuilt,
one brick at a time

   Elsewhere, on every street, in every pocket of the community there were innumerable acts of kindness, small and large, reflecting the fervor to be of use. Neighbors helped neighbors—and strangers—dig out, clean up, begin to dry out, salvage what could be salvaged, and, above all, cope with the physical and emotional toll wrought by the flood.     

   The disaster may have done its utmost to put us under, but in the end it brought forth the qualities that lift us up.