To the Jounal editor:

The power went out around 10 a.m. throughout Mathias Township on Wednesday, Nov. 27. That’s when our emergency began.

As a result of good planning by Alger County emergency manager, Steve Webber, we have an emergency generator on hand to power the Trenary Community Building emergency shelter.

This provided us heat, lights, kitchen, and bathroom facilities which were available for citizens who were without power and heat.

Many citizens came together as volunteers to provide a Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetables, fruits, bread/rolls, cranberries, as well as many pies and desserts.

This was provided for anyone who sought shelter and warmth. Many citizens were fed & housed during the four days of the emergency.

Luckily, there was enough water in the tower to keep water pressure in the system, for the four days, so that it didn’t have to be shut down!

We Energies power was restored around 4 p.m. on Friday, November 29, from the community building west so those citizens could go home. Alger Delta Electric power was restored east of the community building about 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30, so those people could return to their homes.

This was just in time to refill the water tower and avoid a 2-plus week shut-down of the system. The emergency ended about 8 p.m. on Nov. 30.

The next storm hit Saturday night, Nov. 30, and by 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1, there was another two feet of snow. Snowing and blowing continued throughout the day but we all had power.

Please commend the great effort put forth by all the line workers who worked day and night to restore power. There appeared to be more damage done than most folks could remember from one storm.

There were many citizens who volunteered time, talent, food & beverages, and everything people might have needed. Thank you. You know who you are! I will only name one person — Mike Johnson, our community building maintenance worker — who worked from starting the generator the first day and maintained it to get us through. He also did many other tasks during that time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!