A date that changed the landscape of this beautiful region overnight.
We have been in business for eight years, starting right after Tropical Storm Hermine hit the area. We adapted to the world and made it through the pandemic. Last year, we took a hit from Hurricane Idalia and again refitted and retooled to keep going. Nothing could have prepared us for the month of September. We lost 90% of our apparel in the fire that hit Dock Street on September 19 and almost 40% of our racks and 90% of our magazine inventory a week later due to Helene. To top everything off, we lost many customers. Not so much customers, but friends. Friends who worked hard and supported us over the years – some from day one. Some of them had just rebuilt and/or reopened from Idalia and lost everything this time… everything.
The stories and images were heartbreaking. So much I could only take a few glimpses at a time online. Like the rest of the state, our home base of Lake City took a major hit. I’ve lived in Florida for over 50 years, and I have never experienced wind like we did the night of the storm. We woke up to devastation everywhere and 99.6% of the county with no power. It would stay that way for us the next six days followed by another 10 days to restore phone and internet service. We picked up, cleaned up and then went and did the same for family and friends over the next few days. Now, as we move into the holiday season, there is some normalcy coming back to OUR lives. But we still pray and think about The Hidden Coast region.
This is our first edition after the storm. And as many of you can tell, it’s a little smaller than usual. Quite honestly, we didn’t know when, or if, we would print another magazine. We turned to the internet and began sharing as much information daily. This came in handy, as we faced our third hurricane of the season. We will continue to do that indefinitely, but we also want to get our product back out on the streets. To let residents know we are here, and to let visitors know, “The Hidden Coast is open for business”. It may not be 100% but there has been much progress made. Debris is being cleaned up, businesses are opening and events are being planned.
As you gather for the Thanksgiving holiday this year, take a moment to look around the table and give thanks for what you have. No tomorrow is guaranteed for any of us, and the world in which we live continues to get faster and faster. It’s easy to overlook the things we take for granted. Our health, our family, our homes and our friendships. Count your blessings for all that we have been given and remember our friends on The Hidden Coast with a prayer or donation.