Community, building owners dig out

Thirty thousand plastic eggs known for bringing joy to kids’ faces each Easter: Gone.

Community gathering places where information is traded over tenderloins, burgers and pizza: Temporarily closed.

Families, neighbors, friends and strangers pitching in to dry out buildings, provide food and rescue pets: Going strong.

Despite Main Street’s eerie quiet compared with its usual pace, residents’ resolve to put on their boots and tackle their problems spoke loudly on Thursday afternoon in downtown Cambridge City.

Max Duke, a 12-year member of Cambridge City Masonic Lodge No. 5, helped pump water out of its basement at 24 S. Foote St. He said the water had been as high as one of his helpers, a young man who’s 5 feet, 8 inches tall.

While the fraternal organization’s financial damages were still unclear, Duke said the lodge lost “a ton of memorabilia” and something iconic but more replaceable: Approximately 30,000 plastic Easter eggs were floating in the contaminated water.

They are filled with candy and placed on Lincoln Middle/High School’s football field. The hunt has been going strong for more than 30 years.

Duke said some of the flooding happened when the water heater floated up and broke off water pipes.

“It was quite the scene,” said Heather Brower about the floating eggs.

She was helping clean the lodge despite the total loss of an Airbnb property that she and her husband, Jake, own. Three feet of water in front and 6 feet in back was just too much for the home near the water plant.

However, Heather said she was keeping the loss in perspective because it wasn’t their personal home.

“So many people have it so much worse,” she said.

Next to the lodge, American Legion Post 169 volunteers also had doors propped open, trying to dry out the popular weekend gathering spot for both veterans and community members.

Legion Adjutant David Siggers said he was sure water went all the way to the top of the basement’s 8- or 9-foot ceiling. He said three water lines broke off and began leaking overnight.

The Legion will be closed until further notice, hampering its fundraising and community connections.

After years of financial challenges, Legion leaders began the Stars and Stripes drawing that drew ticket buyers from around the region on Friday nights. They poured those proceeds into various community causes as well as renovating their building.

“We spent a fortune on it and now we have to do it all over again,” Siggers lamented.

Although the timetable is uncertain, a regionally known breakfast and lunch spot also plans to reopen when possible.

A.J. Weilenman, who owns Lumpy’s Cafe along with Terry and Jane Bertsch, said gas was shut off, so he can’t fire up cooking equipment to test it.

He estimated 3 to 4 inches of water eventually crept in the building at 20 S. Foote St. Neighbors from across the street called Weilenman after the cafe closed Wednesday to let him know that rain was accumulating out front. He said the water started to recede, but then it surged again.

On Thursday, a generator ran fans to help dry out Lumpy’s.

The driveway alongside the building washed out, and helpers came to add new materials and rake it level.

Around the corner in the first block of West Church Street, Kenneth Bertsch pointed out the front wall of his daughters’ house that the water caved in. He expects it will be an expensive repair.

Laurissa and Alizabeth had recently insulated the home and were preparing to put siding on it, but now they’ll wait to see the extent of the damage before making additional investments.

After removing about four feet of water, the Bertsches thought they had the basement close to empty. However, the last surge came, and that’s when the wall gave way and water poured in yet again.

“Everything else can be cleaned up,” Kenneth said as a team brought out wet items from the basement and placed them on the side yard.

Town councilor Jim King, who is a co-owner of several U.S. 40 properties, said their conditions varied.

“It’s one hurdle after another,” King said.

The building called 100 West, at 100 W. Main St., which includes apartments as well as retail businesses such as MediCenter Pharmacy, was in really good shape, King said. The yellow building is a town landmark, with an exterior mural of Harness Racing Hall of Fame pacer Single G.

However, the former library turned events center called The Archive, at 33 W. Main St., has 6 feet of water in the basement. The Marketplace, which was built a few years ago, and the neighboring historic Mathias and Kline building known for its exterior Abraham Lincoln mural, each had feet of water standing inside.

And, the Kings’ home a few blocks away wasn’t spared, with floodwaters taking out the garage, car and basement.

“Water loves to leave its mark,” King said.

Paul Fowler was joined by family to pump out the basement of the National Road Antique Mall, 39 W. Main St. Fowler, a Cambridge City native, and wife Pam purchased the business from longtime owners Beth and Rick Leisure in February 2025. His father had owned the hardware store a block west that’s now the home of Building 125, a fellow antique merchant and gift shop.

The water rose to 8 or 9 feet in the antique mall’s basement but stopped just before reaching the main sales floor, Paul said.

Unfortunately, damage occurred to the garage, side doors and beehives. However, Paul said they were very fortunate compared to many other buildings on their block.

Paul’s cousin, Gary Finley of Dublin, and son-in-law Dan Stevens of Muncie, joined him Thursday for repairs while awaiting the arrival of two sons from Utah bringing truckloads of supplies.

Finley said he’d had his own difficulties at home getting rid of water after power was lost. He carried an estimated 60 buckets of water upstairs from his basement. Water flowed down the street, hit the side of his house and went in through the window where it had never come in before.

“Sometime things have to give us an opportunity to step up and show character,” Paul said about the spirit of teamwork he sees as cleanup begins. “It creates an opportunity for community. We’ll all be a lot closer friends when this is over. The rest of it is just stuff.”