Back in the Groove (or Trying to Get There)

Our home winemaking and home brew supplies store was virtually closed from May 25 until June 7 as we tried to reassemble the bits and pieces of my son and daughter-in-law's life. The photo at above is of what remained of their home after Parkersburg, Iowa was struck by an F5 tornado at 4:55 p.m. on May 25, 2008. Actually, although it is hard to image from the photo, they were lucky. Lucky on several counts: First, they were out of town on a camping trip so they were never in danger from the storm; second, their home was at least somewhat intact so that some of their possessions could be recovered; and third, the house was declared a total loss. Rebuilding a home from the shattered remains of their home would have been a nightmare.

We closed our store for about ten days and relied on only the internet to continue sales of our WinExpert and Cellar Craft wine kits plus our inventory of home brewing supplies and items for making wine. I was at the store for only one day (June 6) before we left for a week of fishing in Wisconsin. We had made reservations long ago and although we really wanted to stay home and continue the clean-up we decided that everyone needed some time away from Parkersburg. So, my wife and I, Nick (our son) and his wife (Andrea) and Andrea's parents who also lost their home to the storm all headed north for a week of fishing. Ha! Following the tornado Iowa was deluged with a week of heavy rains (and the subsequent flooding). That rainfall continued through the week of June 7 (our vacation week) and not only deluged Iowa but also Wisconsin. We got in only one day of fishing in our week up north and one morning our boat had 6 inches of water standing in it after an all night storm. All that water (our part of Iowa has already had over 30 inches of rain in 2008 which is more than double the average) has turned the lush fields and beautiful communities of eastern Iowa into bogs and lakes. Flood stage for the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is 12 feet. The highest recorded flooding prior to 2008 was when the river hit approximately 20 feet in the early 1990s. This year it crested at almost 32 feet! 20 feet over flood stage and 12 feet higher than the worst ever recorded previously. 700 blocks of downtown Cedar Rapids were under water.

Our winemaking supplies and homebrewing equipment business will rebound even if it does so slowly. The sales of Cellar Craft kits and WinExpert kits will bounce back with time. All of that is really not so important. The fact that our family and friends survived the storm is what is important. It is utterly amazing that only six people (a total of 8 in Butler County) in Parkersburg lost their lives. The siren warning got most to cover and because it was Memorial Day weekend many residents were out of town. We're back in business selling Cellar Craft and WinExpert wine kits both in the store and on the web at bluestemwine.com and would like to teach you the art of making your own first class homemade wine! Give us a shout! If you would rather make beer, we have the brewing equipment and supplies you need for this hobby, too!