Basement Redo Awarded to Fort Pair

Published by: Daily Union (5/3/09)
By Chris Welch
Union staff writer

The "prize patrol" showed up at Bob and Joanne Smith's house Tuesday, bearing smiles, balloons and congratulations for the winners of a post-flood basement revamp.

The Fort Atkinson residents were announced as the winners of Badger Basement Systems' Fort Flood Relief Basement Renovation Contest on Tuesday.

Chrissy Allard of Badger Basement said that the Fort Atkinson company accepted nominations of people who suffered basement water damage during last summer's record flooding.

The Smiths - Bob is a retired business owner and Joanne, a retired St. Joseph's Catholic School teacher - received the most nominations. The Smiths were surprised Tuesday by Badger Basement personnel who arrived at their Sherman Avenue home with balloons and a "check" for a free basement renovation.

"We would like to thank Badger Basement, and everyone who nominated us for the contest," Bob said. "We truly appreciate it."

Some of the nominators recalled what happened to the Smith's home of 40 years during last year's high water.

"During the spring 2008 flood, their basement was completely flooded," neighbor Kathy Dudzek wrote in her nomination. "They tried to use pumps, but eventually the water was coming through the walls faster than the pumps could keep up. They had to let the basement flood to equalize the pressure of the walls or they might have had a cave-in."

Another neighbor, Kathy Albrecht, wrote, "I will never forget the sick feeling that washed over me as we persisted in our mission to save our properties and heard that the Smiths had lost their fight."

Allard said that the renovations will take place in July.

The Smiths recalled the events of last summer, when the water entered their basement.

"Thanks to all our neighbors, who brought sump pumps in, we were able to keep the water down at first," Joanne noted. "But it started coming in so badly that we called in an inspector. Our house was built in the 1890s and the basement walls are stone and concrete. Our problem was not so much rising water from the Rock River, like most of our neighbors, but seepage from the saturated ground was coming through the walls.

"The inspector told us we had to stop pumping or the wall would collapse, and at 11 p.m. on Sunday, we lost electricity," she added. "In a few hours we had 42 inches of water in the basement."

The couple had to leave their home at that point.
"We lost everything in the basement," Joanne said. "Stuff you would normally put in a basement."

Among the "stuff" lost was Joanne's wedding dress.

To add insult to injury, the night they had to leave their home was just five days after their 50th wedding anniversary. They had planned to be away for a week with family to celebrate the benchmark, but wound up staying at the Holiday Inn Express for about another two weeks during the record-setting flood. Ironically, their vacation plans were at a waterpark.

"Most of the people at the Holiday Inn were people displaced by the flood," Joanne said.

"We came back to the house and lived here without electricity for a while," Joanne continued. "Our neighbors next door ran a cord from their house to ours so we could run our refrigerator and television. Our neighbors also let us take showers at their houses."

"Our friends brought us meals and offered us places to stay," Bob said.

"This is one heck of community; it truly is," Joanne said. "It makes us feel so grateful."

In return, the Smiths helped other neighbors whenever they could.

"They welcomed neighbors to their front porch to take a break from flood duties as we all waited the day we could begin cleanup efforts," Albrecht wrote in her nomination letter.

Allard contacted the Smiths to let them know they had been nominated for the contest. However, they did not know they had won until Allard and fellow employee Patrick Hack knocked on their door holding the balloons and the "check."

"They told us they were going to come over to give the basement on final lookover," Bob said. "That, obviously, was to make sure we would be home when they arrived. But we had no idea."

Coincidentally, last summer, Badger Basement lent the Smiths and other neighbors dehumidifiers to help alleviate the revenant moisture from the floods.

"They let us use that for about a month free of charge," Bob said.

"This is a community that pulls together," Joanne remarked. "I mean, we just saw in the paper that there was over $300,000 in local scholarships. I taught at St. Joe's for 35 years. The people here just make this a great community."

In her letter, Dudzek cited the Smiths' volunteer work as another reason for their nomination.

"As an important part of the community, it would be great to see them get something in return," she wrote.

Likewise, Albrecht noted, "They are strong and faithful members of the Fort Atkinson community. As neighbors, we share a strong foundation of friendship and faith. Please add strength and security to the foundation of their home."


Article originally published here: http://dailyunion.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=110&ArticleID=2497
Press for: Badger Basement Systems
Dealer web site: http://www.badgerbasementsystems.com/
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