10 days, 16.5 tons, one part of the country helping another

MONROE-In just 10 days, from Sept. 7 to 17, towns all across Orange County packed a 53-foot tractor trailer with 16.5 tons of food and supplies and headed down to Pine, Louisiana, approximately 90 miles from New Orleans. The town of Monroe, for instance, collected 25 boxes of personal hygiene items. People in the town of Warwick contributed canes and walkers among other items. This was all started with one man, Phil Glover, a resident of Wawayanda, who simply set out to locate his sister. His 74-year-old sister lives in Pine, so when he was unable to reach her following Hurricane Katrina, Glover decided to purchase a 5-by-8 foot trailer, load it up with supplies and head to Louisiana. He found his sister safe and sound. But as he took inventory of the devastation, he knew he had to do more. Glover, a retired Navy officer as well as a volunteer with the local New Hampton Fire Company, was asked to stay on in Pine to coordinate relief efforts there. So he called his wife, Debbie, and together with her longtime friend Carol Moore and other volunteers they began relief efforts in Orange County. For instance, Gary Steimle of Ramapo Wholesalers Plumbing Supply who donated his warehouse to store all the supplies and spent two days operating a forklift truck to load and unload all donated goods. Then there was Arnie Shipp from Fox Radio 96.7, who gave airtime for free commercials to spread the word. Then there was Roderick Moore, formally from Middletown who now resides in Virginia, who donated his 53-foot tractor/trailer along with a driver. The donations came from merchants, corporations, agencies, churches, town and village halls, school children and senior citizens. The items included hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, canes, commodes, nutritional liquid formula, hearing aids batteries, clothes, over the counter reading glasses, toiletries, hundreds of shoes, cooking supplies, linens, food, books and school and packing supplies. Some monetary donations also paid for the driver's fuel costs. In the town of Monroe, Town Clerk Mary Ellen Beams contacted Larry Chanowsky, commander of American Legion Post 488 to ask for help. The American Legion responded immediately with $500. Drop-off boxes were placed in town hall. Between what the public donated and what the $500 purchased from the Dollar Store in Monroe, the town was able to deliver 25 boxes - courtesy of Monroe Rental - filled with shampoo, hair brushes, powder, deodorant, soap, rubbing alcohol and mouthwash to New Hampton for the trip to Louisiana. "I am just a housewife," said Moore, one of the local coordinators. "I don't belong to a prestigious organization. This was a team effort. There were different people of varied ages from all walks of life who shared a common bond. We cared." (Bob Quinn contributed to the reporting of this story.)