Unlike The Villages, members had a terrible time with insurance companies and getting qualified contractors to make repairs. Many waited months, living in houses with blue FEMA tarpaulins covering their roofs. Also, unlike The Villages which has underground wiring, without electricity to run air conditioners or refrigerators, the Florida heat became unbearable for some members, forcing them to find shelter elsewhere.

In February 1998, a tornado, even more severe than this February’s, roared through parts of Central Florida killing 41 people.

Over half of those deaths occurred in the communities of Winter Garden and Kissimmee in suburban Orlando. None of our members lost their lives.

In Kissimmee, four of our members did lose their homes in the subdivision of Lakeside Estates. “It was the most depressing sight I’ve ever seen,” said Association member Alice Cooper, whose home in Lakeside Estates was spared with minor damage.

Still, Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation. Our membership in that state has nearly doubled over the last 15 years.

Perhaps our older members, children at that time, remember the Hurricane of ’38 which killed 500 people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. And all recall the numerous blizzards of the last 50 years, especially the grand-daddy of them all – the Blizzard of ’78.

Our members don’t scare easily. While most say they still miss Massachusetts, it takes more than hurricanes or tornadoes to drive them out of the Sunshine State. We’ve yet to hear from any that are leaving.