Downed Trees, Memories of Cold Nights Remain In Aftermath of Storm

It is impossible to forget the blizzard-like conditions or power outages affecting thousands of homes in Westchester, many of them in Chappaqua. Yellow caution tape, three-foot high walls of dirty snow molded by plows and piles of broken and sawed limbs are on sides of nearly every street in New Castle.

Con Edison employees are still hard at work on power lines ruined by the snow and ice, or "wintry mix," to use a weathercaster's euphemism. Their trucks and those of local tree companies form mini parades as they convoy between work sites.

Melissa Saven, a Chappaqua resident, was among the many whose households were without power for nearly three days. Her street, Deepwood Drive on the west side of the hamlet, became a fortress from which there was no escape by car. She sent her three children to nearby friends' houses so they could stay warm. They only warmth in her house was from the wood-burning stove in the family room, located at the far end of the house.

"My husband and I did go upstairs to our bedroom to sleep," said Saven. "Night one was cold, night two was colder and by the third night we were absolutely freezing." The snow and cold were useful only for keeping perishable items from spoiling.

She said that she and her husband, Brian, stayed behind. The long, snowy walk from their end of the street to its outlet onto Hardscrabble Road was too difficult for Brian; he had knee surgery in October.

"People were carrying luggage on sleds to get out. It was a crazy scene, and we just followed everyone else through the snow," she said. The Savens sent their son with one family, while their two daughters went with another family, the Bycks, who picked them up by car on Hardscrabble.

The plan was to have the girls nearby on Deepwood Drive but soon power was out there too. Ellen Byck did the next logical thing – pack her two daughters and the Saven girls and head to her mother's house in Hartsdale. "My mother is in Florida right now, so we went to get the key from a neighbor who lives in her apartment complex. She couldn't find the right key. Then, we asked another neighbor who finally found one that worked."

Byck isn't complaining, though, because that was as annoying as the evening was. "We had filet mignon for dinner, and cookies for dessert."