Business definitely not as usual
Staff writer
The ice storm and resulting power outage brought business to a screeching halt in the Marion area. However, some found ways to continue to serve their customers.
Carlsons' Grocery in Marion opened for business Wednesday morning armed with candles, flashlights and calculators. Business was brisk.
"We wanted to be open to allow people to get bread and milk," co-owner Linda Carlson.
After the power went out around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday Carlsons' continued to remain open.
"We had customers in the store at the time," Carlson said. "Our back-up battery allows us to operate for about an hour. After that we had to use pen and paper."
After being off all day, power returned for a short time at 11 p.m.
"Greg went up to make sure everything was working," she said.
By late Wednesday, the store had sold out of hamburger and batteries and reporting selling a lot of bread and lunch meat.
Many people were reported filling carts with bottled water.
Marion Post Office was open for business Wednesday morning.
Post office personnel were at work and went out on their regular routes.
"We have the window open," Postmaster Greg Topham said. "I don't think we've had one customer."
However, home delivery of mail appeared to be complete and on time.
Topham said staff delivered door-to-door to the extent they could work around ice damage.
"We'll do what we can do working around ice and icy steps," he said.
Ampride in Marion was unable to open for business Wednesday but remained open for several hours Tuesday after the power failure.l
"We lost electricity about 1:30 p.m. but stayed open until 4 p.m. thinking it might come back on," manager Laura Legg said. "We couldn't use our fuel cells or the cash register, so we used pencil and paper to figure it out."
The Big Scoop wasn't open for business Wednesday morning, but owner Lucy Helmer and others were there anyway — mopping up around freezers.
"We're here cleaning all the water out," she said.
Helmer said she and staff moved as much food as possible to an outside freezer Tuesday night.
"It might be a problem if the power is off for a while," she said.
But she remained positive about the situation.
"I needed to clean and defrost those 10 refrigerators anyway," she said. "At least it's fairly warm in here. The pilot light on the grill is keeping it warm."
Mike Regnier at Marion Auto Supply said the business was open Wednesday and serving customers.
"Mostly just people socializing," Regnier said.
The business sold out of batteries, flashlights, de-icer and wiper blades.
The storm also was good for business at D&J Liquor in Marion, which made three quick sales during the first hour of its candlelit sales day.
"People said they were mighty happy to see us open," owner Don Vinduska said.
After the initial blackout Tuesday, he and his wife, Jeannie, rented a motel room to stay in Marion rather than drive 15 miles north to their home.
"We figured there'd be no power for there for sure," Vinduska said.
But his rural home ended up never losing power, while the motel room in Marion continued blacked out.
The ice storm also posed problems for farmers.
Jerrie and Dwight Kruse of rural Marion were concerned about their cattle with the thick ice situation. They were depending on their son, Jason, to help out with the situation.
"We're pretty toasty in the house, but I don't think our animals aren't," Geri Kruse said. "I don't think this ice is so good for them."
