When Hurricane Ike roared ashore Saturday, it brought with it whipping winds and driving rain.

Across the Brazos Valley, huge trees were uprooted, power lines toppled and entire buildings blown over.

After the storm passed, more than 150,000 customers were without power, causing major headaches across the region.

Spoiled food was tossed out left and right, including roughly $60,000 worth at one Navasota grocery store.

“I've been here twenty plus years and never had to throw away this much stuff,” Florian Gurka of Harlan’s Grocery Store said.

To meet the medical needs in Robertson County, a health clinic was forced to operate out of a horse trailer powered by a donated generator.

And it's that buzzing sound of generators that could be heard all over the quiet town of Caldwell.

That is for those who were lucky enough to find one. The power providers were flying off the shelves of local stores.

"We've sold around 100 to 150 of them in the last day or so. They're going as quick as we can get them on the shelves," Daniel Lefner of Gander Mountain said.

Another hot commodity brought motorists from miles away.
"There's no gas in Conroe," driver Jason Taylor explained.

"There's long lines there--we're not getting any gas over that way," said Richards resident Dennis Ferguson.

But despite the problems, everywhere you looked, people were pitching in.

Whether it's in Madisonville where thousands were served hot meals, or in Iola where volunteers fed Grimes County residents in need.

"We didn't have anyway to get food and it's embarrassing to have to come ask for it," cried Bedias resident Regina Taeger.

They are stories of giving, neighbors helping neighbors, on this road to recovery.