What’s in your Hurricane Michael debris pile? We asked readers what they’ve had to throw away

Feb. 11--BAY COUNTY -- Family photos. Rescued items from other storms. Pieces of rooms renovated just before the storm, now thrown away.

Each debris pile left in front of a home or on the curb after Hurricane Michael was, and in many cases still is, unique and deeply personal to the home where it belongs. Each one, even ones with just trees and shingles, has a story.

We asked people what was in their debris piles and what it meant to them. Here are some of their responses:

Pieces of a bathroom

"This one is one of the hardest to look at. It's the pieces of my daughter's bathroom that we renovated six months before the storm. That is also the bathtub we all sat in to survive. I think of all the bubbles, bath toys, and giggles she had in there. Now, the entire room is shattered." -- Brittany Cole

Mayor's desk

Behind his desk, Springfield Mayor Ralph Hammond held countless meetings with constituents, spent hours thinking about the future of his city, and held interviews with the press to celebrate accomplishments. Now, it's just one more piece of wood in the "big pile of rubbish" that was the old Springfield City Hall before it was torn down during the weekend. City Hall also is where Hammond, along with some of his police department employees, rode out the storm.

"The desk doesn't mean anything," he said. "It's the memories."

Hammond called the demolition "bittersweet." The city is operating out of a temporary City Hall at 408 School Ave.

Bricks, crayon packs and a booklet on stopping drug abuse are some of the items left in the pile.

Family photos, toys, Christmas ornaments

"My entire house and everything in it. Family photos, my grandmother's china cabinet, my kids' first pair of shoes and hats they wore home from the hospital, all of their toys, my aunt's Christmas ornaments I was given after she passed away ... all of our memories." -- Kayla Luczaj

Memorabilia

"The clock is an old advertising piece (ironically for Time Insurance) we rescued after a tropical storm washed it ashore from somewhere, maybe 20 years ago." -- Jan Prewett

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