Gabe Chapley of Chapley Gardens poses with camera. In a conversation with Gabe, he explained how earlier in the day his family helped neighbors and friends move their live stock and machinery from the farms that were in the path of the flooding. Eager to show the images he made, he showed a few photos and a video he made. He was out, wading through the water to make photos for the local access channel.
Holyoke Massachusetts was not affected by Irene like neighboring towns and states. The Connecticut River passes through dividing the land between Holyoke and South Hadley. The dam, as seen in the preceding photos, had an overflow of water. The amount of water passing over the dam could be comparable to the amount that passes over in the spring. It wasnt until noon on Monday the 29th when the amount of flooding passing over surpassed what is typical of the spring surge. Sunday the 28th, the day Irene passed over, I stood on the South Hadley side of the river and made these photos. Monday I was allowed into the Robert E. Barrett Fishway, where I produce more images. The visit to the fishway, for me, was a last minute trip. I only had my phone with me and produce the images that come after the youtube video. Both Sunday and Monday I used my photo to produce video of the flooding.
