Journal & Topics Media Group

Together Again

Des Plaines Native Displaced By Hurricanes Reunites With Husband

Des Plaines native Amy Kelley (left) and her husband, Nathanial “Skeeter” Kelley were separated for two months due to back-to-back hurricanes. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Kept apart for two months by two major hurricanes, Des Plaines native Amy Czarnecki Kelley and her husband, Nathanial “Skeeter” Kelley, will finally reunite this week.

“I’m so excited to see him,” said Maine West alumnus Kelley, who first spoke with the Journal in September when she was forced to evacuate from Florida to Des Plaines. Her husband was able to get out of their home in St. Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, before category-five Hurricane Irma hit.

Since that September interview, Kelley has returned to Marathon, FL, where she had recently taken a job teaching Spanish to middle school and high school students.

“Most of the kids are pretty unbelievably strong,” said Kelley of her students. Many saw their homes destroyed during Irma and lost nearly everything they owned. “Quite a few people had to move,” she added.

FEMA funds can only keep families in hotels for a certain period of time. After Irma hit, more hurricanes, including category-five Hurricane Maria, pummeled Florida and the Caribbean, making cleanup efforts more difficult. In fact, 2017 has already been included in top 10 lists of most hurricane-filled years.

“We have definitely gotten the edge of some storms,” said Kelley. “Maria had a lot of rain.”

Despite the losses, she said the Marathon community, located in the middle part of the Florida Keys, has worked to help each other through donations of supplies and positive attitudes.

As the school’s football field has become swampy and pools have been ravaged, athletes have had to travel far for practices. Members of the swim team have been doing on-land exercises because they have no access to a pool, said Kelley.

“It’s pretty impressive how quickly things are getting done,” she said. As of Monday, clean-up crews had piled a large pile of debris near the school where she works.

Piles of debris in Marathon, FL. Photo courtesy of Amy Kelley.

As for Kelley’s former home in St. Thomas, where she and her husband worked as scuba instructors, many residents remains in shelters and many local businesses may never open again. One example is Cost-U-Less, a local big-bulk grocery store, one of few places residents could find affordable food on St. Thomas.

However, most of the Kelley’s neighbors and friends made it through the storms, which at certain times sounded like buckets of water falling on the island.

“Once again, he was lucky,” Kelley said of her husband.

The couple’s boat and former home remains afloat in a St. Thomas harbor, but was damaged in the storm. For now, the Kelleys are focused on establishing their life in Marathon.

Support local news by subscribing to the Journal & Topics in print or online.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.