11 Comments
User's avatar
Roland Gubisch's avatar

What a moving description of the local impact of the 1938 hurricane. Well done!

Expand full comment
Jane Dietzel-Cairns's avatar

Thank you!

Expand full comment
Annette Laing's avatar

700 dead. That's sobering. When I lived near Savannah, GA, I saw the entire city evacuate in 1999, in advance of an anticipated Cat 5. The authorities came close to ordering us out, even though our town was an hour inland, and taking Savannah refugees. At least we have warnings now, but as we have seen (most notoriously during Katrina), acting on them can be painfully disorganized and slow.

Expand full comment
Karen Voss Gruzen's avatar

What passionate accounts of the town’s trees! Andover lost 330 friends that day. Great article, Jane. It’s been a decade since Sandy. Difficult to imagine the surprise and impact of a storm without modern warning systems.

Expand full comment
Jane Dietzel-Cairns's avatar

Thanks, Karen. Especially scary to think about on a rainy day.

Expand full comment
MaryRuth's avatar

Is Jane Noss’s tree still alive?

Expand full comment
Jane Dietzel-Cairns's avatar

Not sure. Several beautiful trees on the lot but none appear to be in the location described.

Expand full comment
Tom Zhang's avatar

Very insightful article. As a new local, I learned about Andover from your story. Well done.

Expand full comment
Jane Dietzel-Cairns's avatar

Wonderful! We love to hear from new residents. You teach us so much as well.

Expand full comment
Nancy Mulvey's avatar

Very interesting and well-done, Jane! A lot of information I didn't know. My late husband Don grew up in Shawsheen so he and his family remembered the '36 flood as well as the hurricane. I do have one question as the quotes about the Abbot homestead refer to the "oldest house in Andover". I thought it had been determined that the 88 Lowell St. home (that belonged to Pete and Ethel Wilson for many years) was actually the oldest? Only a small portion has been preserved but I thought it predated Abbot St.

Expand full comment
Jane Dietzel-Cairns's avatar

Thanks, Nancy! I think you are right but they didn’t know that in 1938 and I was using old quotes. The dendrochronology work (studying the tree-ring patterns in the old lumber) that established the ages of the houses was only done fairly recently.

Expand full comment