IDA Letters

Letter from Mary Osbourn Reilly

Dear NECA Residents:

This message to you will be my last official letter as President of NECA. First and foremost I want to echo what Anne Jones has already said and the two words thank you just don’t seem big enough to express my gratitude for helping five families save their houses this past weekend. Over 11 dump trucks of sand were filled into bags which I am told is over 80 tons. The teenagers twittered their friends and kids of all ages came to help. Once the story hit the news, people who did not even belong to our community came with coffee, water and food and other just to help to bag sand.

Many thanks to a few key individuals including Marty Meyer who’s house was not only in danger but who also worked to coordinate the relief effort. Kirby Jean drove bags in his truck from the entrance way to take to the houses, Kenny Fraser drove the front end loader, Fred Bauer helped the loading of bags into the transport vehicles. Mike Matullo brought his heavy equipment in and had two of his workers helping as well. We even had Todd Ireland, from the Calvert County Sheriff’s office helping the folks out laying the sandbags along the shoreline and he doesn’t even live in our community! If I did not mention you by name don’t be offended but the list would go on so long that I would not be able to finish this letter. The five families most deeply affected have talked about a more formal thank you event which we hope to be able to do next summer, so please email me with your contact information if you were out there helping. (mosbourn@comcast.net)

I am sure you are all wondering what the next steps are. For those of you living full-time in the community, you should now see a sign at the top of Ridge Road, stating local residents only. This is to keep the curiosity seekers out. We had the State Roads Department down today and they have fenced off the beach between the affected house and the harbor. The land between the Gordon’s House and the Park’s house will be used by the county for emergency erosion control management. The NECA B.O.D. met by phone over the weekend and approved granting the county this resources in order to help us. I apologize if this in an inconvenience but the good news is that we are headed into the winter month’s so most of you won’t be walking the beach. If you do walk the beach and come up from the south end, we ask that you not go beyond Bill Park’s house. The area in front of the affected houses is very fragile.

Also, today, Marty Meyer, Bill Parks, Anne Jones and myself were at a meeting with the Calvert County Officials and Tri-County Council as well as officials from the Governor’s office, Senator’s Hoyer and Mikulski offices and Maryland Emergency Management. They have agreed to call upon DNR, MD Dept of the Environment and the Army Corps of Engineer to provide an assessment with in 48 hours of what is the best short term solution. We also asked to have our community to be declared a state disaster area so that federal relief efforts would become available. I have been asked to be the contact for Neeld Estate so if you have suggestions, concerns and questions, please feels free to contact me at 443-995-3182.

Thanksgiving is next week and I know that have much to be thankful for, especially the residents and friends of Neeld Estate who came out to help not only my family but the Jones, Meyer, Gordon and Park’s families. Lastly, I want to wish you all a wonderful upcoming holiday season and prosperity in the New Year. I hope to see you on the (rebuilt) beach next summer!

Mary Osbourn Reilly
11/17/09

Letter from Anne Jones

Dear Neeld Estate Family,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your tireless efforts that saved my cottage and my neighbors' cottages. What an unbelievable show of love, support and MUSCLE! You put your lives on hold to fill, carry, stack sand bags, drive vehicles, cook, bake, hand out food, call in support, give hugs, tell jokes, fill more sand bags.... the list goes on and on. There was no question in anyone's minds that this is where they needed to be. People left work, pulled kids out of school, walked away from their busy schedules to help, help, help. Two of you celebrated birthdays on Friday - Carol (the big 50!) and Timmy (the big 21!) as you shoveled and stacked sand bags! What a way to celebrate!

At one point Friday my brother told me to start moving things off the porch because one pier had been knocked away by the surf and the others could go at anytime. This was it. The porch was going! Once everything was off the porch it was back to sand bagging. I couldn't look at the cottage anymore. I just had to sand bag. The sand bagging team was in high gear cranking them out and the stacking team was battling the waves and cold to try and build a wall of sand bags. The wind and waves kept up even though the tide was supposed to be going out. I was trying not to think of what was happening on the beach front as we all just kept going. Finally I decided to look and what I saw brought tears to my eyes. Thousands of sand bags were up against the front of the cottages and the waves were hitting the wall of bags. It was working! I looked at the people between the cottages stacking the bags and the many people filling the bags and I just cried! One by one, person after person, bag after bag - we were making a difference! That was a turning point - there was hope!

This morning things look good as the sun is shining and the waves are lapping at about a foot of beach in front of the sand bags. I know I can speak for the Osborn, Meyer and Gordon/Clark families in saying thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This is just one more example of what a great community we live in. Thank you one and all!

Your very grateful neighbor,

Annie/Anne Jones
11/16/09

Letter from Marty Meyer

Hello and THANKS to so many from Marty Meyer!!

I apologize for the delay in sending this letter, I have been adding to it all week.
First and foremost, how do even start to say Thank You to so many??

For those who do not know, on Thursday, a handful of people were able to secure all items from the beach front. After that, a group of about 15 Thursday night were able to put out over 300 bags in front of the Meyer cottage in the pouring rain and pounding surf, not stopping until every sand bag was used, finishing close to Midnight. That effort alone saved the Meyer cottage Thursday night.

On Friday at day break, I awoke to see that a corner of our cottage unprotected was washing out at the footers. As I walked past Anne Jones' kitchen window, she opened it and in tears said "I am all alone, I need help"! Indeed she did, her cottage foundation was also washing away. 4 people started filling sand bags and I alone, because I had the strength, carried those bags and placed them in front of her cottage. This was the process for an hour or more that morning. It was very scary since each time I put a bag down and went back to get another, the first one would wash away and more foundation would be undermined. We just didn't stop working and did what we could!

Eventually as the day went on, more and more and more people came to help!!! Most of you know the story from there.

Because of EVERYONE'S efforts that day, the cottages were saved! It took every person who showed up to make that happen!!! I cannot even begin to name them in person, but EVERY person was IMPORTANT!!

So Please believe that I am writing from my heart.
I would like very much to express my sincere Thanks to all of you:
I want to Thank Every Federal, State and County official who took phone calls over the weekend and changed their agendas to meet at 10am Monday morning;
I Thank those same people, who right now, are in meetings, taking action and sincerely helping as they said they would;

I want to Thank all the Commissioners and staff who showed up on sight, who made phone calls for help, carried sand bags and stood side by side with neighbors all on a Friday night after a long work week;
I want to Thank the Fire Departments personal who carried sand bags and provided the light;
I Thank the EMS who made sure all were well;
I Thank the Police who carried sand bags and secured the area;
I want to Thank all the businesses, home chefs and individuals who provided food, equipment and fuel all at their own cost;
I want to Thank the 'wiser' folks who knew their physical limits and helped where ever they could calling for help and holding open sand bags to be filled;
I want to Thank the persons who had the muscle to carry heavy loads;
I want to Thank those who gave up their personal plans or traveled so far to be there;
I want to Thank the great neighbors, community and people I don't even know who put in long hard hours;
I want to Thank the tweens/teens who twittered friends to come help; and
I want to Thank the mom and dads who brought their toddlers with little plastic shovels who helped fill sand bags.

I will tell you, it literally took EVERY person that came and helped to save those homes from falling into the Chesapeake Bay that day! It was their efforts that made ALL the difference.

I am truly humbled that so many people helped so few who were in need. I wish I could name them all, they all deserve recognition.

On a personal note, I do need to identify two people who helped me so very much. Many of you know I have a big white fluffy cool cat who walks the beach and rides jet skies named 'Jake'. Jake developed an ulcer on his green eye several days before. My good friend Peggy Clark came down Thursday night to look at it and said Jake will need medical help. On Friday, Peggy was willing to make calls to the vet to discuss the problem who told her Jake needed immediate emergency medical help asap or he would loose his eye. Peggy made additional calls to set up the appointment. Peggy then contacted her friend Marianne Frankhauser. Since Peggy was working, Marianne, whom I don't even know, volunteered almost her entire day, to drive down to Plum Point, pick up Jake, drive all the way to Annapolis to the vet hospital, stayed with Jake for the visit, called me several times about the status, picked up all the medicines, pay up front for the visit, drove Jake all the way back to Plum Point and gave me all the important papers, instructions and medicine....all so I could stay at Plum Point to focus on the efforts to save our homes! Because of Peggy and Marianne's efforts, Jake is now doing better and will keep his eye.

I feel so very humbled and thankful that a stranger did that for me.

Once again, I Thank You for the time many of you have put in and the well wishes from many others. I have gotten calls from people I have not heard from for many years expressing their concern. I am truly blessed and fortunate to have such wonderful neighbors, friends and family. Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning for us this year!

This year, our family will be having Thanksgiving Diner on our porch only because YOU saved it!! If anyone who came to help and will be alone on Thanksgiving Day, Please let me know and come join us for diner.

I can't say it enough, I still find it awe inspiring that SO many people helped in SO many capacities. Like I mentioned, it literally TOOK THAT MANY PEOPLE to save our homes. It was a race against mother nature and we have won so far!!

Sincerely and Warmly, Thank you all!!! Marty Meyer, Jake and the Meyer Family

(Please forward this message to everyone deserving who may not see it on the web site. I am still hearing about sacrifices people made that day for us.)

BlueyedCaptain@aol.com 202 288 8778 (Marty's email and cell)

11/20/09