WATERBURY — In the same sunny carriage barn where his great-great-grandfather once crafted wheels and sleighs, Jeremy Ayers now kneads clay into functional art.
This property, and the family it houses, has survived multiple flood and mud disasters over the past 150 years. Ayers’ grandfather, in particular, was evacuated away from both the 1927 flood and 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene.
Floods “bookended his life,” Ayers said.
When Irene hit, Ayers had recently taken his pottery business full-time. The water ruined not only his home, but his basement studio. It destroyed everything but his pottery wheels — including the kiln, which normally costs thousands to replace.
But the storm surge was quickly followed by a surge of volunteers, eager to help rebuild. Someone even gave Ayers a partially completed application to a specialized fund that helps artisans replace their supplies after natural disasters.
“We didn’t ask anybody for anything, but people just gave,” Ayers said. “It was amazing.”
Read more: In Waterbury, Irene’s devastation gave some ‘a reason to start over’
