Octogenarians survive Hurricane Helene ordeal
BRADENTON BEACH – Ohio residents and childhood friends Dick Kuhlman and Nancy Schrier, both in their early 80s, are thankful they survived the Hurricane Helene storm surge that destroyed Kuhlman’s beachfront cottage while they were in it.
In 2023, Kuhlman’s wife, Judy, passed away and he and Schrier, a widow, later reconnected and began spending time together.
In the late 1940s, Judy’s grandparents, Floyd and Florence Myers, had purchased a 29-foot Airstream trailer, towed it to Bradenton Beach and parked it on a vacant beachfront lot they owned at 2214 Gulf Drive N.
In the years that followed, Floyd built a cottage around the trailer, transforming the cottage Judy later inherited into the 1,180-square-foot “3 Pines Cottage” that served as a family vacation home and a vacation rental managed by Wagner Realty.
Hellish Helene
When contacted separately at their Ohio homes on Nov. 27, Kuhlman and Schrier recounted their survival saga and the kindness they encountered along the way.
Kuhlman, who first visited the family cottage in 1965, enjoys coming to Anna Maria Island in September. Schrier had never visited the west coast of Florida, so they drove down to spend a week or so at the cottage. They knew there was a potential hurricane brewing near the Yucatan Peninsula but they didn’t expect it to impact them the way it did.
When Hurricane Helene’s arrival on the Island was predicted, Schrier suggested evacuating. Kuhlman told her the cottage had been there for 75 years and the only hurricane-related water intrusion it ever experienced occurred in the mid-1980s, when 14 inches of water made its way in.
Kuhlman convinced Schrier to stay, but looking back on that decision, he said he should have heeded her advice.
As Hurricane Helene arrived on Sept. 26, the pair watched the Gulf of Mexico waters begin trickling through the sea oats and toward the cottage. When they later saw 4-5 inches of water accumulated on the beachfront porch, they retreated to the kitchen area that was part of the original Airstream trailer.
“The wind is really starting to howl and all the sudden a floor lamp by the window tips over. As I stepped out of the ‘trailer’ and into the living room, I was walking in 2 or 3 inches of water under the carpet.”
Large waves began crashing against the beachfront windows. The fourth or fifth wave shattered the southernmost window and the cottage began to flood.
“Within five minutes, we had 4 feet of water throughout the house,” Kuhlman said.
Kuhlman opened a small kitchen window on the street side of the cottage to allow the water out if it got that high.
“For the wrong reason, that was a good thing to do. All the water trying to escape through that very small window created an intense pressure that blew a hole in the trailer wall about 5 feet square,” Kuhlman said.
The refrigerator began to float and the quartz countertop buckled and fell to the floor. The countertop became wedged against the refrigerator and created a slide-like point of exit to the large hole in the wall.
Kuhlman called 911 but was told the conditions were too bad to dispatch rescuers.
Schrier climbed atop the refrigerator, slid down the countertop and swam and crawled her way out of the cottage. When Kuhlman tried to follow, his foot got stuck between the refrigerator and the stove. After freeing himself, he too made his way out of the cottage.
Now exposed to hurricane force winds, the pair caught their breath while clinging to the Wagner Realty sign. They decided to seek shelter in Kuhlman’s van, which had already moved about 30 feet from where it was parked. Fortunately, the van was unlocked, because they left the flooded house with no keys and without Kuhlman’s wallet and Schrier’s purse, which would later present additional challenges.
After calling 911 and an unsuccessful attempt to walk to a nearby friend’s home, the pair resigned themselves to riding out the storm in the van, where they eventually fell asleep. Around four in the morning, two police officers arrived in an ATV and drove them to the Bradenton Beach Police Station, along the way driving up and over the large sand piles that accumulated atop Gulf Drive. They were then transported to HCA Florida Blake Hospital, where Kuhlman was examined for a wound on his arm.
Post-hurricane kindness
At the hospital, they were given dry scrubs to change into before being taken to a shelter at a nearby public school, which Kuhlman entered wearing yellow hospital socks and no shoes. At the shelter, two different women offered them a place to stay after the shelter closed.
They were later transferred to a Red Cross shelter on Manatee Avenue. Kuhlman’s son, Bret, called from out of state and told his dad an Uber driver would be arriving in five minutes to take them to a friend’s condo in Sarasota. As they headed to their ride, a Red Cross representative who knew Kuhlman had lost his wallet handed him two $20 bills so he had some pocket money. After initially declining the money, Kuhlman got the man’s address so he could later repay him.
After settling in at the condo, Kuhlman went to a bank without any identification and eventually convinced a bank vice-president to allow him to withdraw $400, needed in part to fill some much-needed prescriptions. He also encountered a sympathetic pharmacist who filled the prescriptions without him having any proper identification.
Because the condo owner was returning, Bret had an Uber driver take the pair to the Hyatt Regency hotel, where they were given a significant discount on their room.
At breakfast the following morning, a fellow hotel guest overhead Schrier say she needed a charger cord for her phone. The man opened his briefcase and gave her one of the many he had. Unsolicited, he also gave Kuhlman $100 cash, which Kuhlman later repaid.
“The kindnesses we experienced along the way were incredible. We had wonderful encounters in that hotel,” Kuhlman said.
They later faced the daunting challenge of getting through airport security with no physical copies of their drivers’ licenses.
“The hospitality of Florida disappeared there and they were rough on both of us,” Kuhlman said of their encounter with TSA personnel.
After resolving those matters, Bret booked them a flight through Atlanta to Detroit and a driver then took them to Kuhlman’s home in Elmore, Ohio.
“It was a life experience. I wouldn’t want to do it all again, but I think it had the best possible outcome,” Kuhlman said, noting that the cottage was insured and he will be compensated.
After filing an auto insurance claim, he leased a new Mercedes Benz to replace his totaled van.
Kuhlman and his son later returned to the cottage to further assess the damage. The cottage is condemned and it will soon be demolished. The father and son agreed to leave the lot vacant for a couple of years to see how the real estate market unfolds before deciding what to do with the property.
Schrier said, “It was an experience I don’t want to ever go through again. I was leery about going in the first place because I knew it was around hurricane season, but everybody said we’d be alright, just do what they say. Well, I didn’t do what they said and I paid for it. I told Dick I’m never coming to Florida again.”
She too expressed her appreciation for the kindness they experienced during their adventure.
“It was quite an ordeal. I have lots to be thankful for,” the Fremont, Ohio resident said.
