Cedar Rapids couple still fighting to recover from derecho
Cedar Rapids couple Bob Chittick and Carmen Baker have found their way through a year of derecho repairs and challenges since the Aug. 10, 2020, storm devastated their homes. It’s been a year of work and worry. The couple of four years live in Edgewood Forest and own side-by-side mobile homes, both affected by the derecho. Carmen’s home was immediately rendered uninhabitable with roof and water damage throughout. Neither of their homes were eligible for homeowners insurance, meaning the couple were largely on their own to finance repairs.
A Dodge Dakota pickup truck owned by Bob Chittick’s son, Nathan Miller, is seen crushed by a fallen tree alongside Carmen Baker’s trailer at Edgewood Forest mobile home park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday. After getting tarps in place and clearing enough debris to walk around both Carmen and Bob’s homes they carefully removed the the tree from atop the truck without allowing it to roll and cause further damage to Carmen’s home. The truck was sold off for parts but wasn’t able to be salvaged as a whole.
Carmen Baker stands in front of her trailer as her mom, Karen Quinnell, extinguishes a cigarette on the front steps in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Carmen and Bob’s families, like their neighbors, were left without power for a full month and were without internet or cable access for about two months. While volunteer help was available in many parts of town, a number of residents believed that property managers on multiple occasions prevented crews from coming in for the tree removal assistance needed for utility work early on in the recovery.
Bob and Carmen sit in Bob’s living room late at night after finishing up a couple hours of work on Carmen’s place. The couple of four years own side-by-side mobile homes both affected by the derecho in August of 2020. Carmen’s trailer was immediately rendered uninhabitable with roof and water damage throughout. Carmen and her mother, Karen, moved in with Bob and his 12-year-old son, Creslin. The plan was to get Carmen’s trailer fully repaired before moving on to addressing a new roof and other repairs on Bob’s side. Carmen and Bob’s mobile homes, built in 1971 and 1969 respectively, aren’t eligible for homeowners insurance meaning they were largely on their own to finance repairs.
Bob flips through a folder of saved receipts from all the materials and tools he and Carmen have purchased so far while taking a break in his living room.
Bob walks into the living room late into a night of repair work to take one more look at what further progress needs to be made re-framing the ceiling of Carmen’s trailer.
Karen gets ready for bed with a few pillows and blankets in her spot on Bob Chittick’s couch in his living room. While her bedroom in Carmen’s trailer had been completed a few weeks earlier, without insulation in much of the rest of the mobile home some nights she would opt for the couch she had already been sleeping on from the day of the derecho up until late January.
Bob's red Chevrolet pickup truck sits in the same parking spot his son’s truck was crushed in by a tree amid the derecho damage nearly six months earlier.
Carmen passes screws and tools to Bob as he works to repair framing to the ceiling of her bathroom late at night. Initially, Bob and Carmen both looked for contractors to do the bulk of the work but after a few contractors stood them up as winter drew near, they decided to take over and do the work themselves. Bob, frequently with Carmen’s help, would put in at least an hour of work each night after working his second job as a dinner-shift cook at a local restaurant. With limited days off between both of their work schedules progress, especially in the winter, could be slow but never came to a halt.
Bob carries trim boards while he and Carmen make their weekly trip to Menards in Cedar Rapids on a Saturday off from work. Bob and Carmen both took out personal loans and received FEMA money to get started with tools and materials needed after the derecho but quickly found themselves paying out of pocket for their repairs after that money ran out in December of 2020. It became a weekly ritual, usually on Fridays, to go to the bank and cash paychecks before heading to Menards. With a shopping list in hand they would buy whatever materials they could to keep them working for the week. With various materials being in short supply they occasionally would have to switch between projects in Carmen’s home while waiting for more materials to come back in stock.
Karen sits on her bed in her newly-finished room in her daughter Carmen’s trailer. When Bob and Carmen began repairs on Carmen’s trailer they first prioritized getting the bedroom finished and livable for Karen, who hadn’t had her own bed from the day of the derecho until late January when her room was ready for her.
Carmen peeks out the side door of Bob’s home while he gets ready to move a salvaged staircase into place with help from volunteers on a Saturday off.
12-year-old Creslin Chittick, Bob’s son, laces up his shoes before getting his bike ready to ride on the deck between his dad and Carmen’s trailers. While Creslin would pitch in help by grabbing tools and materials for his dad when asked, he also spent his fair share of time while repairs were underway running and riding around the mobile home park with friends.
Bob crawls beneath the floor level of Carmen’s mobile home while working to re-frame the damaged floor in one of the bedrooms with help from volunteer Bob Pleiness of Fairfax, Iowa. Pleiness met Chittick while both of them were helping out a neighbor in the mobile home park who also had severe home damage. Pleiness, a retired tooling engineer, came by at least once a week for a day’s work during much of the project. Arriving with his own set of tools, plenty of experience and a smile on his face each day, Pleiness was a major help in getting Carmen’s home back together and plans to continue helping with Bob’s home. A number of other volunteers, church groups and notably the local non-profit Matthew 25 contributed to the project as well.
Bob marks out a spare piece of 2x4-inch lumber while working on framing a bedroom in Carmen’s home.
Bob Pleiness cuts down a trim board while re-finishing a window in Carmen’s home while Creslin, 12, sits atop a ladder on the deck to watch him.
Carmen walks ahead of her partner, Bob, to take a look at progress made after a day of work on her home at Edgewood Forest mobile home park.
12-year-old Creslin uses a hair dryer to help dry off a couch as his dad, Bob, sets up a propane heater to help the process along. Lacking other means of storage, Carmen’s furniture had to be stored covered by tarps next to her home to keep them as safe as possible from the elements. A few items were lost to water damage but the couch and accompanying recliner were saved with a bit of work from a propane heater and hair dryer.
Bob lifts one end of a couch that had been stored outside since the derecho as he and Carmen begin moving furniture back into her completed mobile home.
Grandkids Oliver, 6, and Lily Layne, 3, play together on a recliner moments after it is set down for the first time in Carmen’s newly-repaired mobile home. “Beat my goal of getting at least one of our homes done before the one-year anniversary,” Bob said, “now it’s time to start my mobile home.”
Grandkids Oliver, 6, and Lily Layne, 3, play in the back of grandpa Bob’s truck while the rest of the family works to move furniture into Carmen’s completed mobile home.