| By Bob Weaver
It's been 21 years (2003) since a monumental ice storm struck Calhoun County, a memorable event it was.
Here in the Village of Hur, we recalled those memories.
Having heard the weather warnings, I had gone to the front yard about midnight to photograph a ice covered plum tree, which glistened in the camera's flash.
After settling in for a winter's night, Dianne jumped from the bed asking, "What was that?"
"That" was the cracking of tree limbs and trunks in the nearby woods. We got dressed to go to the deck, the sound ever increasing.
It is difficult to describe, but many readers will recall it, small blasts and large blasts of shattering trees. The intensity increasing, sometimes twenty-five trees a minutes, the sound echoing across the mountains for miles around.
Dianne, at one time, acknowledged it was pretty freaky.
Just before dawn, it had subsided, and we returned to bed to awaken in a few hours to realize the extensive damage to the Calhoun forest, electric and phone service out (for some two weeks), roadways blocked and roofs crushed.
There was no moving, like a simple drive to town.
We did manage to keep the Hur Herald updated, powered by a gasoline generator.
It was also a time to reconnect with the neighbors, most who came out to lend a helping hand.
Calhoun's responders rose to the cause, clearing roadways, delivering food, doing safety checks and giving assistance to the Department of Highways.
Today, I walked over the hill behind out house to revisit the woodlands.
Most of the small hollows are still difficult to traverse, littered with tree trunks. There were dozens of giant trees wasting on the ground, slowing returning to nature.
I wondered how many years will it take.
I remembered an old quote, which went somewhat like this:
"The power of nature will always make fun of the power of men."
Maybe a small lesson to be heeded.
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