Reporter tells tales from the storm

Thursday, December 10, 2009

By ANDREW SYLVIA

Correspodnent

Although it’s only been a year, Peterborough Transcript reporter Dave Eisenstadter takes a look back on the massive ice storm of 2008 in his book “The Weight of the Ice,” a recount of his experience as a reporter during the disaster, as well as a complete overview of the storm’s impact throughout the northeast.

The 192-page book, published by Surry Cottage Books of Keene, covers a wide array of topics from the initial storm to the restoration of regular life in New England and New York.

“Everyone wanted to talk about it and tell their story, it was one of the most extraordinary things in their existence,” said Eisenstadter. “People had great stories, they were not holding back. It was kind of refreshing to hear what their experience was like. People talked to me about their triumphs and funny moments and sad moments.”

Areas in Southern New Hampshire, such as the Monadnock Region, were some of the hardest hit areas, forcing Eisenstadter and the rest of the Peterborough Ledger-Transcript reporters to move their operations primarily to Concord during much of the emergency. However, he was still able to return to the field, including the Souhegan Valley, to collect various stories and photos for the book.

“In Milford, one of the key stories was their shelter, a regional shelter for all over the place. There were 56 shelters in New Hampshire and Milford held the regional shelter for surrounding towns that weren’t well equipped enough to have their own,” said Eisenstadter. “Basically the way it seemed to go was that there were a lot of places that were devastated, but the higher elevation and forestation places were hit the hardest. The Souhegan Valley was hit hard in the Wilton and Lyndeborough areas, but all of Southern New Hampshire was hit hard.”

The storm brought unprecedented damages, according to Public Service of New Hampshire, with more than 400,000 households throughout the state and 3.5 million people throughout the Northeast losing power.

But there were very few fatalities, most of which occurred outside of New Hampshire, with the storm’s aftermath more inconvenient than dangerous.

“The most amazing thing was that people were in so many different levels of preparation. Most people felt unprepared for different reasons. The five things that people had the most trouble with were heat, water, food, lights and communication,” Eisenstadter said.

Although meteorologists considered the ice storm to be a 100-year event, Eisenstadter says he would be ready to tackle the story again if it hit Southern New Hampshire.

“Despite being in a rural area, it did feel more like the reporting we were doing was basically as important as it could be in our area. When people have good stories to tell, it’s fun to retell those stories, although it’s a lot more work. If given the opportunity to cover another big storm, I’d look at it as another challenge and opportunity to tell unique stories,” he said.