Greetings from the Fitting’s!
It has been three months since the historic and in many ways, horrific evening of August 19, 2007. It was a night we will never forget. Five feet of water went through The Haven Restaurant and caused such massive destruction to the campers and campground sites surrounding the building, pool and shelter. Many Moto Guzzi bikers and other campers had a night they will never forget as well. We still feel the pain of what they went through and what they lost, and we remember the heart-breaking sight of our beloved Money Creek Haven campground, once we were able to get there. The subtle beauty of the ponds, pool, and quaint terrain were strewn with garbage, debris, tents, clothing, pieces of stairs, decks, coolers, motorcyles, and personal items. To see picnic tables, tents, and sleeping bags in trees, and motorcyles in the creek bottoms, lodged in the fence and under downed trees and rubble, it made us realize the immense power of water. The fact that a picnic table could float to the roof and lodge there, and a motorcycle trailer containing 3 bikes could be forced completely vertical and lodge in a tree were mind-boggling! Those were pictures that spread all over the internet. The water overflowing from the pool and the water coming down the hill and through the shelter converged in the parking lot where the Guzzi semi trailer sat. The water mark on the trailer was approximately 10 feet high! It was a sight to behold, and one that brought tears!
We could not get there that evening. We had lost our driveway and the highway below us had endured mudslides on both sides of us, so we were stranded. As the phones began and continued to ring, the calls from the fire department, campers, and family were causing much anxiety and frustration for us, knowing there was nothing we could do. Attempts had been made by emergency responders to vacate the bikers and campers in the low-lying areas, but unfortunately most chose to stay. In all 45 years of the Haven's existence, flash flooding has occurred, but it was always pretty minor. No one knew the severity of what was would happen that night. We realized all we could do was pray. We prayed for the rain to stop. Obviously, the rain would not stop so we prayed for the strength, courage, and safety of all who would succumb to the torrential flooding which was occurring, and that no one would lose their life. Thankfully and miraculously, no one did. For that we are so grateful.
As we look back on the devastation and we look forward to a fresh start, we are overwhelmed with all the help we have received physically, spiritually, and monetarily. We are so humbled by the outpouring by so many wonderful people! Thank you to our incredibly giving families for being there! Thank you for the prayers, the moral support, the love, and all the help you provided when we needed some extra hands and strong able bodies in the clean-up efforts. Those were not pleasant conditions to be working in! Also, thank you for all your time and work in making the benefit so successful! We are forever grateful! We love you all so very, very much!!
Thank you to the guys who helped us with the mess in our backyard and on the driveway, not to mention the tree on our roof! Thank you also to the crew who was quick to get to us and make our driveway passable so that the neighbors and we could get in and out!
Thank you to our wonderful campers for loving that campground as much as we do. We have our own special little family within the campground and we consider that such a blessing! Thank you for your emails, calls, cards and letters, words of encouragement, and for your help in any way. Many of you helpers, both family and friends, took time away from work and family to help out. Thank you!
Special thanks to the organizers and workers at both the Root Relief fundraiser in South St. Paul, which is benefiting many in this immediate area, and to those who organized, planned, attended, and worked at the Money Creek Haven benefit in La Crescent. Your efforts are so appreciated! Thank you for your time and talents! Thank you to the extensive list of businesses and people who so generously donated items for the auction, the food, the music, the venue, and who donated funds! Thank you also, to the auctioneer who donated his time! We can never repay you for all you have done! Our hearts swell with gratitude!
Thank you to all the community members, church people, neighbors and friends who called, showed up with food, coffee, gloves, masks, shovels, equipment, and other supplies, or who came to help out!! You all know who you are! Thank you to several motorcycle groups for your incredible support! We appreciate it so much and we look forward to hosting your groups again! Thank you to the out-of-town and out-of-state volunteer groups who selflessly gave of your time. Many hands make work light and we do appreciate it.
Special thanks to a special group of individuals, namely the Houston Hurricane football team and coaches! You traded in your pads for wings that day! You are all fine young men for whom many are grateful! We heard of your sandbagging efforts in the Houston community which largely impacted many businesses, and the help you gave to homeowners with basement cleanup, etc. For us, you showed up, rolled up your sleeves and went into a very muddy, smelly environment and assisted immensely, by carrying out all tables, chairs, etc. That task would have taken a few of us a long time to complete. Thank you! After putting football aside and helping out with post-flood efforts, you went on to provide the community with the wonderful excitement and positive distraction of a very successful season! It was something fun and energizing to look forward to each week and it was truly a nice distraction from the overwhelming work involved, following the flood. It was like a gift and we enjoyed it more than you know! We count you in along with everyone else who's helped us, as some of our "special angels".
We would also like to thank our local legislators for going to bat for all in this region who suffered losses. We appreciate your time and efforts! Thank you to those who worked to help bring volunteers our way and kept us posted on the happenings elsewhere as well as keeping us in the loop on all the pertinent information we needed to have, to help in recovery efforts. Thank you sincerely to FEMA, the Red Cross, the National Guard, and the Civil Air Patrol for all that was done to help so many in a time of need, in a beautiful area of the world that was so ravaged by this natural disaster! Sincere thanks also to SMIF and the generous corporate sponsors who make those funds possible for the rebuilding efforts of businesses effected greatly by the flood.
In closing, we want to say that we are still waiting to see what we can or cannot do with our building, based on the land survey that was recently completed. We await those results. We do want to assure you that we are looking forward to spring and the reopening of the campground. We have much to be thankful for! All the support we've received gives us much hope and we look forward to a successful camping season in 2008! Please come stay with us!
May God richly bless each and every one of you for all you have done for Money Creek Haven and for us!! We will pay it forward! We love you all!
With affectionate regards and heartfelt gratitude,
Money Creek Haven, Inc.
Wayne, Carla, Brooke, and Mackenzie Fitting
Bud and Janice Fitting