BELLEVUE, Wash. — For Robert Keeney, 76, the devastation left by last month’s bomb cyclone isn't just about downed trees and the clean-up process. It's about his family's history.
“It's not a lot of people in Bellevue who've been on the same real estate for 100 years,” Keeney, whose grandparents purchased the land in 1925, said. "I've been here since I was ten months old. My family donated land to the city for Keeney Park across the street."
Keeney grew up on the sprawling property surrounded by towering trees.
“There’s a bunch of these trees that you might say are friends of mine in a way. They’ve been here all along," he said.
However, during the recent bomb cyclone, friends turned to foes. The storm’s whipping winds brought down at least 32 trees across the Keeney property. It's been a family affair to clean up what they can.
Still, Robert's sister-in-law Kathleen, 74, said she sees the silver lining in the aftermath.
“It’s a blessing that the trees missed the house. They got everything else but they missed the house. So we still have a place to be, and that part is wonderful,” she said. "I also want to thank the neighbors, strangers who stopped by to check on us and give us food in the days right after the storm."
Keeney, a well-known environmentalist and community volunteer, is getting some help for his losses. A GoFundMe was created to help buy him a new truck. A tree totaled his old one. The gesture, and donations, surprised him.
"That's not the kind of thing I think of. It never even occurred to me," Keeney said, expressing gratitude for the unexpected support.
While they have a long road ahead, the Keeneys are in it for the long haul.
“It has to do with how the family operates,” he said. "We will get through this."