Southern Ordeal Former
When Martha “Marty” Vanslette lived in Butler County as Marty Jablonski, winter weather was an unavoidable part of life and not the cause of much stress.
Now a resident of Spring Ranch, Texas, which is about 15 miles north of San Antonio, Vanslette found herself devising ways to survive the devastating ice and snow that paralyzed much of the Lone Star State two weeks ago.
Vanslette said the ordeal she and her husband, Shelly, survived began Feb. 13, when a thick glaze of ice covered their apartment complex, sidewalks, cars and all of the roads and highways for miles.
Because average winter temperatures in the San Antonio region hover at 50 or 60 degrees, homeowners and apartment complex managers do not have ice-melting pellets sitting in the garage to sprinkle over the sheen of ice.
To take her dog outside, Vanslette stood under a covered outdoor hallway while her pup gingerly made his way across the smooth ice on the sidewalk to get to the frozen grass.
“It was so funny seeing him try to walk,” she said. “He was slipping and sliding.”
Vanslette said the ribbons of elevated highways weaving in different directions atop one another were abandoned because they froze solid.
Ice would melt
The couple, although marooned inside their apartment, figured they were OK because the ice would likely melt the next day.
Then, the next night, the snow began.
All told, Spring Ranch got 6 to 8 inches of snow, Vanslette said.
The Vanslettes remained holed up in their cozy apartment to ride out the odd winter weather together, enjoying the sight of their dog frolicking in the snow.
Then, around 8 p.m., the power went out.
Vanslette began searching for a flashlight, which she didn't think she'd need for long because, surely, the power would be back on in a few hours at most.
“The first night was not so bad,” she said. “It was sort of a novelty in a sense.”
The next day, the mercury dropped to 16 degrees, and the Vanslettes scrambled to find a way to keep warm.Vanslette retrieved a heavy blanket she had crocheted while the couple cruised the United States in their motor home for four years before settling in Spring Ranch in April 2019.“I was going to sell it,” Vanslette said of the blanket. “I'm glad I didn't because it saved our lives.”Without heatShe said as Monday ground on, the couple languished without heat or light in their 45-degree apartment.“We couldn't do anything,” Vanslette said of the lethargy that comes with trying to stay warm. “It was so cold in here.”Because there are no snowplows or salt trucks in southern Texas, the couple did not have the option of going to a motel, which probably would not have had power either.Adding to the couple's woes was the fact that the water to their apartment complex also went out shortly after the electricity had died.Vanslette bagged up perishable items in the refrigerator and set them outside her door to keep them cold.She avoided opening her freezer to help preserve the food inside, and the couple ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.In 24 hours, the frozen items were beginning to thaw, so she bagged everything up and carried it outside too.After 48 hours, the power returned, but not the water, Vanslette said.“When it came back on, it was better because we had heat,” she said.The industrious Vanslette then began filling garbage bags with snow and lugging them into her bathtub for emergency drinking water.A friend collected 5 gallons of water from her hot tub and brought it to Vanslette for toilet flushing.After the can was empty, Vanslette joined her neighbors in using water from the complex's pool to flush the toilet.Water to flushWhen the property manager finally was able to make it to the complex, he set up buckets and carts near the pool, so tenants could use the water to flush their toilets.“People just did what they had to do,” Vanslette said.
Friends up north sent the Vanslettes cases of bottled water, and an anonymous good Samaritan left six bottles of water outside of their door.Once the power returned, Vanslette was able to do some cooking for the couple.“But even when the electricity was back, I didn't cook much,” Vanslette said. “I had lunch meat, so we ate sandwiches.”Because the roads were passable, the couple decided to take a ride to San Antonio to eat a hot meal inside a restaurant.“There was absolutely nothing open,” Vanslette said. “No fast food. Nothing.”She then realized restaurants were also without water.The Walmart around the corner from the apartment complex had bare shelves, empty produce tables and barren freezers, deli counters and bread baskets.“A lot of the stores had to throw out a lot of food too because it was perishable,” she said.The couple heard a nearby school was giving away cases of water at 2 p.m. during one of the waterless days, so the couple got in line in their car at 1:30 p.m.It turned out, the school had only 50 cases of water, which quickly ran out.“There were cars behind us for what looked like a mile,” Vanslette said. “We didn't get any.”Vanslette's water returned after a harrowing 48 hours, but she wondered why the National Guard or some other government entity didn't bring in food and drinking water for stranded residents.Not connectedShe said because of a move toward independence 20 years ago, Texas' power grid is not connected to those of neighboring states like the rest of the country.Because of that, no help was available from other states, Vanslette said.She said a decade ago, the federal government recommended that Texas winterize and insulate its infrastructure.“They never did anything,” Vanslette said.Regarding the frozen windmills being vilified by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Vanslette said 95% of the state's power comes from its independent electrical grid.She said Abbott is blaming the Green New Deal for the outages, which is just a theory at this point and not confirmed.“He is ultimately responsible,” Vanslette said of Abbott.Vanslette said the property manager at her complex is having each apartment's water faucets and pipes inspected, and life is getting back to normal.The Vanslettes did not suffer any damaged pipes, but many of her neighbors were not so lucky.“It's been a challenge, and one I don't want to go through again,” she said.She won't soon take for granted running her dishwasher, washing machine or taking a shower.“I'm never going to take that lightly again,” Vanslette said.Focus on positiveThinking back on the ordeal, Vanslette focuses on the positive in her usual, cheery way.“We got through this and we're kind of lucky in a way,” she said. “It could have been so much worse. We didn't have a hurricane or tornado or flood that destroyed everything.”She also appreciates her many kind neighbors who helped her in any way they could.“I've met the nicest people,” Vanslette said. “Everyone waves to you now. It's really a friendly environment, so I consider myself lucky.”
