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To the Editor: Several days ago, my husband, Mike Pothering Jr., and Mark Oshman, both volunteer firefighters with the Good Intent Hose Company No. 1, Llewellyn, returned from a two-week trip to Mississippi.
They were part of a 12-tanker task force activated by Pennsylvania Ergency Management Agency (PEMA) to assist the residents of Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.
This trip was not a vacation for them by any means. Both men volunteered their time, receiving no compensation for their time from the state whatsoever, but went with the blessing of the members of their fire company as well as the love and support of their families.
They spent two weeks assisting the residents of Gulfport and Long Beach, Miss., by fighting structure fires, brush fires and providing water where needed.
They slept when they could in tents, on cots and even on the floor of a conference center. They showered with water supplied from their tanker through a garden hose and welcomed it after a long day.
My husband got in contact with me, and Mark with his wife, when they could, and neither one ever complained of the conditions they were subject to. They were just glad to be able to be there to help these people in their time of need.
They were amazed by the concern of many of the residents for them, the volunteers. They met people from all over the United States and even people from England, all there because they wanted to help.
These two men saw sights that will stay with them for a long time to come and have many memories of people from the area that will stay with them forever.
As the wife of a volunteer, I have come to understand the need for people like Mike and Mark and been placed second many times when my husband has been needed as a volunteer firefighter, and it is something that I have learned to live with willingly.
I can honestly say that the tears I cried both when my husband left and when he returned were not of sadness but because of the overwhelming pride I felt being the wife of this volunteer.
It is with extreme pride that I write this letter about my husband, Mike, and Mark. These two men left Llewellyn without hesitation, not having any idea of what they would be encountering, and when asked upon their return if they would do it again, neither hesitated a minute to respond, "Most definitely."
Karen Pothering
Llewellyn
09/27/2005
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