The floodwaters that arrived June 23 receded almost as quickly, but some people are still coping with the aftermath of flooded basements and the damage left in the wake.
For Kathleen Simon-Hendel, the water literally swept away a precious memory.
Just after the flooding, she posted in the Township of Woolwich Buy & Sell Facebook group asking for help locating her dad’s memorial bench, which had been washed away in the flooding the evening before.
“On Saturday morning my mom went down to check on the bench and it was gone. The water – the low line of the water – was up to where a few inches on the back of the bench would have been showing, so the water was higher than we had ever seen it,” she said.
Asking for help, she explained the bench is a memento of her father – a memorial marking his passing in April of 2016. The bench is wooden with a plaque that says, “In memory of David John Simon – ‘Mr. Wilson’” that, before the flooding, sat along the Grand River next to the golf course in Conestogo.
“He passed away last April. There was an old bench there before, and dad sort of found that secret little spot with the bench. When he passed away, our neighbours surprised us with a new bench they had made, a memorial bench to replace the old one – they are wonderful,” she said.
Simon-Hendel’s father was an avid golf lover and in his retirement could be seen driving a cart around the course and helping with the pristine lawns.
“The bench is really the heart of what we call the office, what my dad called the office. It is where we go to be with my dad. The bench really became like his gravestone. We don’t have a plot for him – his ashes are scattered – so this bench is really like his gravestone,” she said.
The bench, which was picked up by the Grand River following the flooding, has yet to be found. Although there have been a few tips from people who had seen her post on Facebook, they weren’t logistically in the right direction.
Simon-Hendel is asking for information from anyone who may have seen the bench that means so much to her and her family to be directed to her through Facebook message or phone call (her number is listed on the public Facebook post in the group).
“Social media is amazing. I couldn’t possibly search all of the rivers,” she said. “It is just amazing to have so many people know about it, and that potentially we could get it back.”
