SEEK opening remarks:
“As a company, we experienced first hand the destruction and loss during the Great Coastal Gale of Dec. 2, 2007. Yet amid the crisis, friends and neighbors reached out seeking to help. SEEK, as an exhibition, 10 years later, casts light on the beauty of art and artist stories that inspire.
Yes, indeed, sometimes the world can feel dark with reports of loss, but it is also filled with the pursuit of light, love and friendship. ” D. Fairweather December 2, 2017
And, too, sharing the 10th anniversary articles that appeared in the local media in 2017.
The great coastal gale of 2007 brought neighbors together. For some people it was an adventure. For others it was horrific.. Date: 2017-12-09 Seaside Signal story/ http://www.dailyastorian.com/signal
How Seaside’s leaders faced the storm. Voices from the Great Coastal Gale of 2007.
Date: 2017-12-08 Seaside Signal story/ http://www.dailyastorian.com/signal
Column: Recalling parallels between the Great Coastal Gale and Hurricane Katrina. A tale of two storms
Date: 2017-12-01 Seaside Signal/ http://www.dailyastorian.com/signal
The first Fairweather House and Garden store was located on Park Drive/ Highway 101. The building was destroyed on Dec. 2, 2007 during the Great Coastal Gale.
Left to right: Sesame & Lillies, Romancing the Home, Fairweather House, Judith M Interiors, Gearhart Gallery, Northwest Natural Foods, Dr. Theodosia Woods Wellness Center and Coast Business. The roof blew off.
One in five Clatsop County residents reported damage from the Great Coastal Gale. –State Farm Insurance/ 2007
Reprinting a thank you placed in the Daily Astorian. December 07, 2007
Thank you to the entire Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department, George Daggat and staff at Gearhart Fine Furniture, Walter Daggat at Walter Daggat Antiques, to the entire John and Tina Cook family of John Cook Glass Studio, Ned and Geri Malcolm, Cathie and Jack Cates and staff at the Natural Nook Flower Shop, Sheila Coleman, Jim and Terry Morrisey, Monica, Hunter, Vickie Lawson, Joan and Sue of the Gearhart Angel Network, Cindy and Misty Fitzsimmons, Les Lyson, Marie and Allen Hofmann, Philomenia Lloyd, CC Carrow, Karen Wilson, Heidi Futon, Robert and Dianne Widdop, Bernie and Carol Komm, Louise Whitehead, Cherry Harris and many more neighbors and friends that weathered the storm to assist Fairweather House.–D. Fairweather
And, too, reprinting an article from 2008
The Power of Story
Vance
South Coast Coach
As coaches we are always attuned to the power and the meaning of story. Aside from being careful that our own story doesn’t dominate a conversation with one of our clients, we, by are nature pay close attention to the stories that unfold around us.
I recently had one such incident and with her permission I am going to share it. The small town of Gearhart was besieged with a tremendous damaging windstorm in early December of 2007. Denise Fairweather, being fairly new to the community, had not had her gallery open long when the storm hit. It tore her business apart and left her in the hospital with a serious knock on the noggin that she was lucky to survive with. The beautiful things she had marketed in her shop and even large parts of the shop were scattered all over the area.
While she lay recuperating, her new neighbors combed through the wreckage, scoured the area, and retrieved what they could of her inventory. They did what they could to clean up the area enough for Denise’s insurance company and for FEMA to assess the level of damage to her shop, her person, and her life in general. As she recuperated, her new neighbors carefully stored her things in their houses, garages, cars, anywhere they could find. Denise slowly made a recovery from what could have been life long disabling brain damage as the process of insurance and assistance rolled on.
Her insurance company decided her business was a total loss, and FEMA decided that Denise qualified for a small business loan with their assistance. She now had what was left of her former inventory to deal with. All the community brought forth what had survived and they had a large sale in the Seaside Community Center. What was not sold for pennies on the dollar was donated to anyone in the community. The result was that Denise was in her new location with new stock in time for what Seaside refers to as the Spring rush. She had been made whole by that strange blend of the kindness of fellow community members, her insurance company, the skill of her physicians, and her own will to survive. Each year they celebrate her survival and the strength of the community on the with a sale called the Foulweather event.
Denise had been worried that she was losing her short-term memory as a result of her injury. Her doctor told her that the best thing she could do was to tell the story and gradually the pain and the victory would return to her. Jane and I were honored to hear this story as part of that process and to spend time with this wonderful woman in her amazing business known as Fairweather House & Gallery. It is located in the historic Gilbert district of Seaside Oregon. If you want to re-connect with why so many of us love what we do as coaches, stop by if you are in the area. Denise will remind you with every word she says. She only promotes local artists to the area, and the shop and Denise are an example of goal, focus, and overcoming the adversity that we are sometimes handed.
To read more about the 10th anniversary of the Great Coastal Gale, go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf//11/oregons_storm_king_considers.html
Q: How to you handle a severe high wind weather warning today? –Renee
A: “Whenever a wind storm arrives that sounds like a freight train overhead, with winds more than 100 miles per hour, I gather a cozy sleeping bag, a down comforter, a lot of feather pillows and spend the night sleeping in the unfilled Jacuzzi tub…using it as a personal safe haven.” –Denise
For more about the gallery and its history, please visit http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com