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Flood UpdateDecember 26, 2007
Dear Members and Friends, Greetings from the center of recovery at Boistfort Valley Farm! | |
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We have rented a (dry) home further out the valley for the coming months of reconstruction. Our phone and internet service have been restored, so you may contact us directly with any questions. If you would like to help, we are coordinating work crews at our farm. We anticipate general work and clean up will continue on the weekends -- please call if you would like to arrange a work crew during the week. Much of the mud hauling and washing has been completed; we are now beginning to rebuild and repair. If you have any skills and would like to contribute, please contact us! We will need help with carpentry, plumbing, electrical. . . just about everything. For more information:
(360) 245-3796 We are also gratefully accepting donations to help us replace our lost farm equipment, supplies and inventory. We anticipate a full recovery, and We WILL offer a 2008 CSA Program as usual.
Our next order of business is preparing for spring. Our greenhouses need to be repaired and our heating system and benches replaced. We will begin ordering seeds, soil, seed flats and supplies in early January. As we start back to work, we really notice the things that are missing -- so many things that we accumulated over the years. It's like we're starting all over again. We continue to be amazed by our community -- neighbors and friends who have spent their time and energy to help us and other valley residents. Our local volunteer headquarters, the Baw Faw Grange, has been filled with people, cleaning supplies and clothing, and hot food daily. 1% of donations we receive will go to the Boistfort Valley Community Foundation, a local non-profit founded to aid flood victims in our area. Thank you to all of you who have donated money, time, supplies, energy, everything! We feel so blessed to be part of such a community of people. Your farmers, Heidi (& Mike) Peroni Boistfort Valley Farm
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 ...the day after...
  Volunteers at the farm the Saturday after the flood. In the red coat is Hannah, our kick butt volunteer coordinator.
 John, helping to cut back the drywall
above the waterline. |
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Click the button above to make a donation using PayPal.
If you do not wish to use PayPal, you may mail your donation to: Boistfort Valley Farm 426 Boistfort Road Curtis, WA 98538 | |
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We also have accounts at the following stores, and are able to take donations through them as well. Please reference Mike Peroni/Boistfort Valley Farm as the account name.
the Farm Store in Chehalis (360) 748-3368
Palmer Lumber in Chehalis (360) 748-8848 Barnett Implement in Chehalis (our local tractor parts supplier) (360) 748-9944 Auto Motive, Inc. in Chehalis (360) 748-8666 Cenex Harvest States (our fuel supplier) (360) 748-4655 & our seed suppliers: Osborne Seed Company in Mt. Vernon (800) 845-9113, (360) 424-7333 Johnny's Selected Seeds in Albion, Maine (877) 564-6697 One percent of cash donations to our farm will in turn be donated to the Boistfort Valley Community Fund, a non-profit organization which distributes 100% of its proceeds to our community members.
Thank you!
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p.s. Thank you to all of you who have written us to express your concern & to offer your help (over 400 emails!). We do have a reliable internet connection again, & we will get back to you as quickly as we can. | |
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Flood Updates | |
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December 21, 2007
Thank you for your generosity and your prayers. This last two weeks has been difficult, to say the least. We finally have a new home base for the time being, and have our phone and computer up and running. We have already accomplished quite a bit of clean up at the farm, thanks to many hands wearing gloves and wielding shovels. Our garage, shop, barn, and greenhouses have been cleared of mud and debris, and we are beginning to clean the contents that remain. The strong river current carried many things away, and we drive past them, caught in fencelines and dumped into ditches, on our way out the valley. It has become rather a sad joke for me, "Is that ours? Is that?" The farm looks a little better each day, though, and we're thrilled to have so many volunteers. Our home has seen better days, but it is approaching the turning point. The walls have been cut back, the floor has been pulled up to try to save it, and today arrives a crew of folks to clear the mud from the crawl space under the house. This is not a job for the timid. Every day brings a bit of hope and despair. But we are determined to continue, and feel so blessed that so many people have moved to help us, physically, financially, spiritually. It is overwhelming. I apologize if you have emailed and I have not yet responded. We have received over 400 emails in the last two weeks. We have a volunteer coordinator here at the farm, and will try to update the website as frequently as possible to keep you informed. Thank you for your continued support. We would not be able to do this without you! Heidi
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Kerry Hines (left) of Chehalis and Hannah Johnson of Pe Ell, move crates of vegetables from the mud-filled barn at the Boistfort Valley Farm on Friday, December 7, 2007. photo © Tony Overman/The Olympian 
Mud fills the yard at Mike Peroni's home on Friday, December 7, 2007. photo © Tony Overman/The Olympian |
December 8, 2007
We awoke on Monday morning to some flooding, but nothing serious. It floods at least once each winter, but does not usually come near our cultivated ground, just in the low spots in the field. The water rose at an alarming pace, though, and was up to the base of the house by late morning. Mike and my father began moving our vehicles and tractors to higher ground at that point. Water rushed over the driveway, and we ran into our greenhouses and garage to stack our winter squash, shallots, and onions on pallets. We felt confident that the water would stay well below the house, as it had never even reached the base of the foundation before. We rushed into the office (behind the house) and began stacking everything onto folding tables. My mother and I then went back into the house with the baby, as the current was becoming strong. We piled things on top of the furniture, just in case. By the time we realized that the water would enter the house, it was too late to evacuate by car. We stood by and watched our garage, our office, our greenhouses fill with water. Then our vehicles, our box trucks, our tractors were flooded. We waited in the living room, front door open, water pouring over the toes of our shoes. Our dogs tiptoed back and forth in the living room, pacing in the muddy water. When they came to pick us up, it was by boat, at 2:30 in the afternoon. We had awoken at 7. |
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I never understood, when faced with catastrophic flooding, why people stayed. I assumed that in a situation like that, we would just pack up and leave immediately. But you don't realize how devastating it will be until you are in the midst of it. You think it's just like the last flood, or the one before it. People said that never in the last 100 years has it flooded like this. No one in the valley could remember such a flood, or remember talk of such a flood, ever in the valley. The water receded as quickly as it rose, and by Tuesday afternoon we were able to return to the farm. I am not ready to put into words what we saw when we went home. I will say that the water rose over two feet inside our home before it crested and began to fall. All our storage crops, along with much of our other possessions and equipment, have been flooded or washed away. We are staying with friends until we are able to secure a semi-permanent living space for the coming months. And slowly, we are cleaning up the farm, to begin again. I will update with information, progress, and ways that people can help in the coming days. Thank you,
Heidi | |
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