Brattleboro, the "city" closest to where we live - where we do our shopping, where we work - was deluged with water from a brook that runs through the downtown. One street flooded so badly it looked like a lake. Many stores on that street lost much of their inventory. Most of them did not have flood insurance.
Brattleboro is an artsy town. There are galleries, several good restaurants and cafes, a music school, several churches. It's a medium-sized town and a good place to raise a family, though the kids probably think that it's boring.
The town has been through a lot recently. In April, a fire nearly destroyed the main downtown building, the historic Brooks Hotel, home of several businesses and about 50 families. All were displaced. The owner is rebuilding, but it's going to take a long time.
In August, a disgruntled employee of the Brattleboro Co-op, another central business for this community, walked into work and gunned down his supervisor. This happened only a couple of weeks after a young woman from a nearby town had been murdered, so people in the area were reeling. Things like this just didn't happen here.
And then the hurricane came.
The Saturday Farmers' Market on Route 9 is another big part of this community. The hurricane nearly destroyed it when the local brook overflowed and cut a new channel through the site. The market's Board vowed to be open today at the usual time. When I saw the post-hurricane video online, I could see no way they would be able to accomplish that goal.
On Thursday, about 100 people descended on the site with racks, shovels, barrels and other implements of construction and went to work.
This morning, we got to the Farmers' Market just as it was opening. Things looked a little different. There were brand new picnic tables, a brand new sandbox with one little girl seriously digging, and hay everywhere protecting grass seed.
At the entrance, someone had hung a sign that read "Got Community?"
I'd say the answer is yes.
