Posted on 09/21/2003 4:29:19 AM PDT by pttttt
washingtonpost.com
Fairfax City Neighbors Make Do -- Together Storm Brings Out Friends, Generators
By S. Mitra Kalita Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 20, 2003; Page B01
The generator on Ronnie Vannoy's front lawn still had one three-pronged outlet available. He had already extended a long orange cord through his back fence to one neighbor, snaked a second through a side yard to another and flung a third across Ruby Road to still another.
As Vannoy's four dogs barked and growled at the buzzing machine, the Rev. Nelson Barry stopped his red pickup truck in front of Vannoy's house yesterday afternoon to deliver the latest report. Barry, his wife and their fleet of six children had lunched at Tony's Pizza, but their efforts to shower at a local gym had been thwarted.
"You got one of those long cords?" Vannoy asked. "Run one over the fence to me, and I'll link to you."
Like many Washington area communities, this horseshoe-shaped neighborhood in the city of Fairfax spent the day with no power, no water and no word on when it would be back on. They braced themselves for what could be days without television, showers, ice cream or instant messaging.
But they have each other.
The 27-home compound dates to 1947 when John Vannoy, owner of an asphalt company, built and sold the houses to family and friends. Back then, he advertised them as "four rooms and a path" -- the path being to the outhouse. Many renovated the homes, others moved away, but 17 homeowners still trace their roots to the Vannoys.
The rest say they feel related.
"I just put an extension on my house over here," said Barry, who lives on Sasher Road, named for John Vannoy's bookkeeper. "Just about everyone has been involved in that process."
Most neighbors still work in asphalt and other construction-related fields, and yesterday they shared the generators they use for work with those who don't. Ronnie Vannoy said the neighborhood could not afford to be without power.
"Our work is seasonal," he said. "In the winter, I don't got that much money, so I stock up in the summer. I didn't want to see anyone lose their food. . . . . Without that generator, I'd lose about $1,500."
. . .
Lights or no lights, Barry said, Sunday services will be held at Braddock Missionary Baptist Church. He plans to preach about one person's responsibility to another.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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Anyone still making kerosene refrigerators?
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