Not all memories of Bound Brook are good ones. Growing up, I lived through three floods. I don't mean some water in the street. The worst I saw was water almost up to our ceiling. Our refrigerator flooding in the kitchen. Worst of all, when the water receded, thick, smelly mud was left everywhere. In those times, neighbors helped each other and we all made it through. In some ways we were lucky, we had a second floor where our bedrooms and the bathroom was located and this is where we lived until things were fixed. I watched my Mom rebuild twice and later after I purchased the house, I rebuilt once. Some really tough times back then but I still wouldn't have traded growing up in Bound Brook for anything. Anybody else have any flood memories? Thanks
Not all memories of Bound Brook are good ones. Growing up, I lived through three floods. I don't mean some water in the street. The worst I saw was water almost up to our ceiling. Our refrigerator flooding in the kitchen. Worst of all, when the water receded, thick, smelly mud was left everywhere. In those times, neighbors helped each other and we all made it through. In some ways we were lucky, we had a second floor where our bedrooms and the bathroom was located and this is where we lived until things were fixed. I watched my Mom rebuild twice and later after I purchased the house, I rebuilt once. Some really tough times back then but I still wouldn't have traded growing up in Bound Brook for anything. Anybody else have any flood memories? Thanks
'71 Hurricane Doria was really bad back then, but the two most recent floods where the Raritan River was part of downtown main street topped the Doria storm as you can see by picture below
WOW Gia that picture paints a 1000 words TOTAL DEVASTATION at its finest. Bound Brooks Main St under 6ft + muddy water. Bad memories is all I can say....
-- Edited by BROOKER on Friday 13th of March 2009 07:21:33 PM
I delt with every major flood Bound Brook got hit with since Tropical Storm Doria hit us in 1971. Although I haven't lived in town since around '81 I spend quite a bit of time there as my family still owns a home in BB. I also delt with the most recent flood of 2007. None of them do I really care to remember. '99 was the worst then the one in '07, I would say. Then came Doria in '71. Doria was scary as the water came down the street like a fast flowing river carrying everything along with it. If I am not mistaken there was a heck of a flood somewhere between '94-'96 and also around '86. Each one of them filled the basement at my families home and once in '99 made it to the first floor. Clean up was no joke. I still have a gripe with the town of Bound Brook over the last flood of April 2007. For all you old timers on this forum that may not live around the town of Bound Brook anymore for your information the officials running the town in 2007 would not let us even come close to our families homes after the waters receded until about a week later. Unlike all the other floods before this one at least you were able to come right back in when the water receded to start the clean up and pump out your own water. The town of BB's officials would not let you do this in 2007 for what ever reason. Oh I think the reason was that they were telling us that because of possible foundation problems no one was allowed back in. What a bunch of crap if you were to ask me. I feel that many of us had to deal with more problems because of the (powers that be) making us wait so long. Heck back in 1971 when Doria hit us we went to work as soon as the water receded.
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I can remember the 71 flood..it was the day I was heading off to college..my day was in the hospital and my Uncle Nick was taking me to school..We did not want to tell my Dad but he found out via the TV news. Thankfully a neighbor took care of getting Chitch's pump out etc while Dad was in the hospital. So I don't really remember the extent of the flood or remember seeing much of it because it was the morning I left town.
Any memories? You must be kidding...I wont forget the very first one, the remants of tropical storm Doria back in '71. I had to be displaced for a week at a relatives. What was very sickening was when we were victims of this flood and we lost everything mud-covered, we just wanted to throw it out. Cleaning it up was not even an afterthought. There was just so much thick mud everywhere. Then everyone unaffected by the flood drove by and went into our trash to salvage what we lost. This is heartbreaking today when I think about it. But I remember it was 6am sharp and the fire whistle blew (the flood number was not on the fire chart at this time). I counted the number from my bed and knew it was nearby. I looked out my window facing main street and saw wooden steps floating down the street. It was the steps to one of the merchants in a makeshift trailer after a fire earlier back.Minutes later it was up to my house and I was running out there in my jammies trying to pull shut the basement window as water was pouring into our basement. When I couldn't I ran back in and woke everyone up and looked down the basement and in seconds, the steps were floating towards the top. So yes...I remember a lot..and the details too!!!
I experienced only one flood. Having left Somerset County in '88, I missed the two bigger ones. I remember my aunt and uncle living there at the time telling me the refrigerator was floating to nearly the ceiling and they had to be rescues by boats from the second floor. Living right behind the Harley Davidson building which went up in a blaze, my aunt still tells me how the fire from the Harley Davidson fire, the Brook Bakery, the hotel next door and what was a jewelry store all went up in flames. That was 3/4 of the entire block. The fire reflected in the water around it with dead silence and there was no way for fire apparatus to put it out. This alone would give me nightmares. I can't imagine going through this, but felt so bad for my aunt, uncle and every other one in town who had to endure this five times worse than what I experienced with Doria.
I was working in the BB Post Office in 1971.  I remember driving across town to pick up a co-worker in the monsoon rains. We got to work and the mail truck was late so I went to the Texas Weiner place at Main./Mtn for breakfast for the employees. As I walk down Mountain Ave I saw Main Street flooded with cars, trash, telephone booths floating by. The rest of the day we worked with BBFD helping folks. I remember fighting the fire on West Second St up to our chests in Calco polluted flood waters. And then the weeks and weeks of trash piled up from flooded homes as I delivered mail.
Good memories about how everybody came together to help - sad memories for those folks who suffered.
