Date: Fri 13-Mar-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-weather-Rocky-Glen

Full Text:

Ed Ink: Weathering Storms

Those of us awakened by rain on the roof early Monday morning took some

comfort in knowing that at least the downpour wasn't snow or ice. Our day

might be a little soggy, but at least we wouldn't be taking our life into our

hands by traveling on the roads. But as often happens with weather in New

England, just when you think you've got it all figured out, along comes a

surprise.

The surprise on Monday came along the Pootatuck River in Sandy Hook, which no

longer was its charming sylvan self. The river, charged with the torrential

consequences of a massive storm churning up the East Coast, began to impose

its burden of draining the broad basin of Sandy Hook upon the embankments of

Rocky Glen. One long-suffering retaining wall by one of the two reincarnated

mills off Glen Road collapsed. The bank behind it began to slide off into the

surging river at an alarming rate, and the employees of Shorewood Fine Arts

Reproductions in the nearby mill building could see that the shore would

surely come uncomfortably close to their office space if things weren't

stabilized soon. They were told to evacuate by Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill

Halstead. Not long after, workers in the offices and antiques galleries of the

Rocky Glen Mill farther downstream were also evacuated as a precaution.

So as it turned out, perhaps a snowstorm would have been less traumatic, at

least for the normally tranquil Rocky Glen. But when it comes to weather here

in Connecticut, we know there isn't much of a correlation between what we want

and what we get, especially in March. When it comes to weathering storms, we

must take our lead from the Pootatuck itself and just go with the flow.