HURRICANE FLOYD RETROSPECTIVE
By:Minx McCloud
There are signs of activity at the former George’s Hard Rock Deli on South Main Street. The "for rent" sign has been taken out of the window and a new deli apparently is opening.
But it won’t belong to Manville residents Duane and Maria Potosky.
"I can assure you, we will never own a business again," Mr. Potosky said. "We both have lovely careers now and we’re seeing the good side of life for the first time in 15 years. It’s great to come home on a Friday and not bring problems home with you."
When the Potoskys owned the deli, they didn’t have paid sick days, vacations or weekends off. They are the sort of people who look for the "up side" of things, and they feel that if the flood had never occurred, they may never have gotten out of the deli business.
"I’m working in the trust department of a bank now," Mrs. Potosky said. "I enjoy it. And when everyone else is eating lunch, I’m eating too, not preparing their lunches."
A graphic artist, Mr. Potosky has found a job with a small but prestigious graphics firm in Trenton.
"I love it," he said. "It’s good, real good. It’s kind of a slow commute, but I found all the back roads and I listen to books on tape when I drive."
In spite of their new careers, it was a heavy blow last year when Mr. and Mrs. Potosky suffered a double whammy – losing their business and their house to Hurricane Floyd.
Although they don’t think a flood of such magnitude is likely to strike again, they have decided to sell their North Second Avenue home.
"We’re looking for a fresh start somewhere else," Mr. Potosky said. "You lose a home and a business, and sometimes redoing the house simply isn’t enough."
Indeed, the house has been completely refurbished.
"It’s all new," Mr. Potosky said. "We completely repainted the house from the ceiling of the attic to the floor of the cellar, and everything in-between. The pool has been completely redone and is up and running."
According to Mr. Potosky, they went "above and beyond" in fixing up the house. A contractor refurbished the basement and the first floor. Then the family went ahead and redid everything that hadn’t been flooded.
The windows are brand-new and the walls, formerly plaster, have been replaced with Sheetrock and are insulated. Mr. Potosky is certain another family will be very happy in the house.
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‘We both have lovely careers now and we’re seeing the good side of life for the first time in 15 years. It’s great to come home on a Friday and not bring problems home with you.’ — Duane Potosky |
"This is an incredible house," he said. "It’s better now than it was before. Whomever gets this house will get a better house than we got when we bought it."
"Why don’t we also say that there’s some sort of treasure hidden somewhere in the house?" Mrs. Potosky joked.
Where they will relocate is still a matter of speculation.
"It keeps changing," Mrs. Potosky said. "Prices here in New Jersey are unbelievable."
"Except for here," Mr. Potosky added wryly.
Their two teen-agers, Ivan, 13, and Mallory, 16, are resigned to the move. A few of Ivan’s friends have already left and he is indifferent about where his family will eventually end up.
"Maybe Montgomery would be good. That’s where my best friend lives," he said with a shrug. "Going to a different school doesn’t really faze me."
Mallory, who does not attend public school in Manville, figures she will stay in the school she is now attending, which means no loss of friends. However, the scars left by the flood are evident as she contemplates her ideal place to live.
"I’d move to Florida, Disney World," she said. "It’s a whole other world there. I would feel very protected, like nothing could go wrong."
The family is in "a bit of a limbo" now, Mr. Potosky said.
"When you decide to sell your house, you are at that point living in someone else’s house," he said. "You don’t want to expend any more energy on it. We keep the grass cut and the pool clean, but we don’t want to buy furniture or put up bookcases until we move."
They are treating the house as if they are guests, Mrs. Potosky said, adding, "We don’t even want to hang pictures on the newly painted walls."
That’s probably difficult to refrain from doing, since Mr. Potosky is a portrait painter who has won several awards.
Although they feel they are safe, some of the old fears resurface when it rains.
"I hate the rain, and any weather event at all except for sunshine," Mr. Potosky said. "My daughter, the dog and I are all beyond help."
Now able to laugh a bit at their misfortune, the family recalls living in a small apartment for three months, sleeping in one bedroom. They dressed in the closet for privacy and shared a 12-inch television.
Still, the Potoskys are survivors, and nothing can ever change that.
"Duane and I have been pretty fearless about things not in our control," Mrs. Potosky said. "We were able to make it through loss of a home and our income on the same day, and we were able to pull it together ourselves, with no outside help except from our family and friends."