Community Corner
St. Stephen's Still Recovering From Disaster
The Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society will join St. Stephen's Church in a Spring Tea and Tag Sale to raise money to support the church's repairs from Hurricane Irene flood.
When the Rahway River flooded much of Millburn during Tropical Storm Irene, Patch reported that St. Stephen’s Church “was one of the first hit as water rushed through, filling the pre-school with four to five feet of water...”
The rector’s assistant, Betty Innemee, was the first to arrive and the first to see the condition of the Rectory. “I heard water rushing into the living room,” she said. “I went in there and part of the ceiling came down right in front of me. After that, I really had to sit on the front steps for bit and gather myself. We had just finished the restoration.”
The Rev. Sheelagh Clarke would begin as rector of St. Stephen’s just two days after Irene. She had great difficulty getting to the church from her home because of debris-clogged closed roads. When Clarke finally arrived, the article noted: "... there were trucks out front and crews trying to pump the water and waste out of the basement, where the preschool had been.”
Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Rev. Clarke rolled up her sleeves and got to work, “getting to know her parishioners quickly as they worked side by side, removing contaminated rubber chips from the playground and throwing out every toy and piece of furniture in the preschool.”
Nothing in the preschool “could be salvaged because it was contaminated with the most disgusting, smelly water and muck,” she said. “It was heartbreaking. There was about $72,000 worth of equipment that looked fine but dirty and could never be used again.'"
Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What was particularly heartbreaking was the damage to the beautiful, historic rectory that the church just finished renovating. The article continued: “The historic old Rectory, where the interior had been lovingly restored, was also destroyed as flood waters forced their way into the radiator system and was sprayed out throughout the house, destroying floors and causing ceilings to give way. That’s the painful piece of it,” Clarke said. “The loss of all that work and love that went into keeping the historical aspect to this place. It’s all gone.”
Damage estimates were about $275,000 and the church had a $55,000 deductible, which St. Stephen's hoped to cover with fundraisers, rather than loans. The flooded nursery school was tended to first and the rectory is now being sensitively restored again.
An upcoming Spring Tea and Tag Sale is one more effort to augment the work going into keeping the historical aspect to St. Stephen’s.
On Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., the church and grounds will turn into a bustling and exciting treasure-filled tag sale, with tea and scones available and served on the beautiful, historic site of the rectory.
Please join church members, neighbors, friends of the church, the historical society, and town residents, for great fun, great bargains, and for a great cause.
Please consider, too, donating items from your collections. Donations can include books, sports equipment, holiday items, art, gently used and clean clothing, household and garden items, records, and jewelry. Regrettably the church cannot take: electronics, mattresses, textbooks, stuffed animals, upholstered furniture, and yearbooks. Donations can be dropped off at the church garage on:
- Sunday, May 13, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Monday-Friday, May 14-May 18, 9 a.m.-noon; and 6 p.m. -9 p.m.
Please join us in this effort to preserve an icon of Millburn's history.
