By Marcia Love
With many families in the Maple Creek area still without a home to go back to following the flood, the question on most of their minds is where to find a permanent residence.
It’s a question Muriel Thomas has asked herself for the past four weeks.
Thomas has been living at the Maple Creek Motor Inn since her trailer at Willowbend Trailer Court was flooded on June 18. Now she and 13 other families from the trailer court are without homes.
“It’s scary,” she admitted. “We had everything bought and paid for – our homes and the furniture – and everything is gone. Where do you go from here?”
Social services is assisting Thomas with her living situation until August 21, after which she said she doesn’t know what to do.
“We all got the $3,000 (advance payment) from PDAP, but the bills don’t stop coming and I didn’t work for two weeks because I was trying to save my stuff,” she explained. “If there was something to rent and I could afford it, I would (rent it).”
The scariest part for Thomas is wondering if any displaced families will be able to own a home again.
“I would like to know what our futures are,” she said. “Can any of us ever afford to buy a home again? Will I ever have a home again?”
Sheri Forester said she feels lucky to have found a house to rent on a farm 20 miles outside of town.
After her home at Willowbend Trailer Court was flooded, Forester stayed at the Maple Creek Motor Inn while she searched for a house to rent.
“There’s absolutely no places to rent in town right now,” she explained. “Some other people might have to rent places up by Swift Current, because there’s nothing else around here.”
When Thomas and Forester returned to Willowbend Trailer Court to examine the damage, they were glad to retrieve what possessions they could find.
“We were crawling through the mud to save what we could,” said Thomas, who recovered some of her jewelry and photographs. “Things that wouldn’t have meant much to people before suddenly mean something. It’s amazing that they’ll go through the mud and find a necklace and think, ‘I’ve got to have this.’ Before it wouldn’t have mattered.”
Although Forester’s furniture and appliances were all ruined, she was pleased to find her great grandmother’s cameo.
“There was half an inch of mud on everything, but I managed to save half of my pictures,” she said. “The rest are gone. Things just floated away like they were nothing.”
Forester also lost two vehicles that were parked two blocks away from the trailer court and sustained flood damage.
For Thomas, it’s the simple things about everyday life in her old home that she misses.
“It would be nice to wake up in the morning and have a cup of coffee. I would love to have a home-cooked meal. I don’t know if I’ll ever complain about having to cook again,” she said. “I wish I could wake up and be able to go home. I miss my home.”

Muriel Thomas holds her parents’ water-stained wedding photo she retrieved from her flooded trailer in Willowbend Trailer Court. It was among the few things she managed to save.  Photo by Marcia Love