Save Iowa

A Flood Story: The Credit Island Bait Shop in Davenport, Iowa

Posted on 26. Jan, 2010 by admin in 2008 Flood, Stories

Downtown Davenport not long after the floods

The Credit Island Bait Shop in Davenport, Iowa
By Cari Cooney

In the summer of 2008, the waters were starting to rise at alarming rates. Credit Island in Davenport, Iowa was no exception to the flooding, as for many years it falls victim to high water levels. The owners, Al and Alice Kump, along with friends and family of the Credit Island Bait Shop on West 2nd Street in Davenport knew they had to act fast if they wanted to save their store.

The City of Davenport was quick to bring down 15 truckloads filled with sand, ready for bagging. For two long weeks, Laura Formholtz helped the owner Al, her brother in law, stack piles of sandbags in hopes to save the Bait Shop’s building. Friends and family pitched in to help shovel bags full of sand and attempt to form protective barriers against the rising water. The local radio and news stations were kind enough to put a good word in, and strangers from all walks of life came to downtown Davenport to assist this small business in a time of crisis.

After two hard weeks of sandbagging and battling sunburn and heat exhaustion, everyone finally felt that they could relax. Unfortunately, the water continued to rise and Laura was once again back to help her family when they needed her. She described the dark waters that would rush up against the sides of her car as she drove to the Bait Shop. “I could slip into this river in the dark and never be heard from again…they would never even know I was gone! It was an understatement to say I was terrified!”

As the sandbagging continued, so did the generosity. Local grocery store Hy-vee brought food to all of the volunteers who spent hours in the heat helping to protect the Credit Island Bait Shop. After weeks of working hard to save this local store, the flooding subsided and the damage was assessed. Because the shop was not hooked to the local sewer line, harm was minimal. Merchandise had been removed in a timely manner, so no inventory was lost due to water damage. However, the time of the flooding would have been the months where the Bait Shop made the most income and sadly the owners lost revenue. There was some painting that needed to be re-done and the owners had some personal items destroyed, but the shop sustained very little water damage.

Laura Formholtz still looks back and thinks how lucky her family’s business was during the flooding of 2008. “I talked to people I otherwise never have had the chance to meet and I gained a bit more of an acceptance towards others. I think it was wonderful that so many people who never even met my family volunteered day after day to save the family business!”

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