during Monday
Stupendous storm can’t stop
search for sub sandwiches
Residents ventured out
during Monday’s storm
to find food, adventure
By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
HOWELL — Craving a sub sandwich or a cup of coffee led some hearty residents to venture out during Monday’s historic snowstorm.
"We have been craving subs since yesterday," Paulina Szelest, 19, of Howell, said as she stood in front of the new Wawa at Route 9 and Kent Avenue on Monday afternoon.
Szelest and her boyfriend, Mike Hartman, 21, of Lakewood, challenged Mother Nature on Monday, embarking on a quest that would take them a couple of hours to complete.
The couple had set out in search of submarine sandwiches despite the bad road conditions brought on by a snowstorm that dumped some 2 feet of snow on the region.
The slow-moving storm started pelting the region with snow on Sunday afternoon and intensified throughout the night and into Monday, closing businesses statewide.
Because Monday was Presidents Day, many schools and government agencies were already scheduled to be closed, but businesses that planned on enjoying the commerce of the holiday also ended up closing as conditions worsened.
Szelest and Hartman found little open between Lakewood and Howell.
Gov. James E. McGreevey wasted no time in declaring a state of emergency Sunday, pledging that 1,500 plows and sanding trucks were on the job to try and keep major roads passable.
By 3 p.m. Monday, the snow finally started to taper off, giving residents a chance to catch up to the 19- to 24-inch accumulation of snow.
By that time, the couple finally had their subs.
"We had to go to the ShopRite in Lakewood to get the roll," Szelest said, explaining that the Wawa had run out.
Along the way, Hartman said, the couple ended up helping a stranded motorist who was driving a small Nissan.
"We thought it would take about 15 minutes [to get the sandwiches]. It took a couple hours," Hartman said.
Although Lakewood resident Phil Lanz said that his home was fully stocked and prepared for the storm, he wanted a cup of coffee.
"I went to a couple places, but they were closed," Lanz said.
Lanz, who works for L’Oréal International in Clark, Union County, said he already had the day off from work and that the storm canceled classes he is taking at Ocean County College, Toms River.
"The storm is kind of cool. My two dogs love it," Lanz said.
Some residents visited the convenience store between plowing jobs.
Several of the four-wheel-drive trucks pulling into the store’s parking lot carried snow blowers in the back and plows on the front.
One person stopped in for something to eat before going into one of Howell’s many developments to help residents dig out of the snow.
Not everyone on the roads had the day off, however.
Two NJ Transit employees stopped by the store to get coffee for themselves and others they were working with.
The pair had a truck to help keep the bus lanes and stops clear for commuters.
"It’s not too bad," one of the workers said as he disappeared into the NJ Transit plow truck.
By Tuesday morning more residents were up and about, digging out and preparing to return to work after the three-day weekend. Most schools and some government agencies remained closed on Tuesday, giving workers a chance to continue clearing mountains of snow in parking lots and from the area’s roads.