A total loss.

Daniel Crocker and his wife Jessica are dealing with a lot, including more than $300,000 in merchandise and overall store loss.

The business owners who took ownership of Waugh’s about four years ago had planned a couple weeks ago to close the 104-year-old store that sold clothing and other fine items. Daniel had worked there since 2016 and it was an immensely difficult choice for him to do so.

But business hadn’t been good. Crocker, who has spoken a bit about the store’s ending, said earlier how for the past six to seven months the revenue continued to decline. He knows costs are going up for everyone, including for his family. He’s just glad he got to serve the Harbor. Everything seemed like it would all end with one last sales bash that was supposed to last a few weeks. Crocker just wanted to show his appreciation, say thank you for shopping and for the memories, and maybe make some last minute sales to help at home.

But then last week, disaster struck. The roof started leaking and then the leak turned into a lot more. Crocker described it as a “waterfall.”

Some people from the public question if it was a disaster because of the timing. Wednesday, June 5, was supposed to mark the start of the closeout sale where the items in-store were going to be marked down by 30%. The flooding throughout the store happened a couple days before the closeout sale. But, from talking to Crocker, it seems like it’s just an unexpected loss, that’s it.

Daniel’s side of what happened

“It’s extensive,” he said of the flooding loss, which he shared on Facebook on Wednesday. “The tailor department was leaking as you saw on Facebook. I don’t know how long it was leaking. We were thinking it started like Sunday (June 2), (or) Monday morning (June 3). We didn’t get there until Tuesday (June 4) around 3:30 (p.m.) So, everything in the tailor department is ruined. The machinery and all that because it was leaking right on it. Luckily the clothes weren’t next to it.”

The building received a new heater in October or November, according to Crocker. As far as the heater, Crocker said the leak “wiped it out.”

“There was over a foot of water on the roof,” Crocker said. “What we were told was it was a caulk gun that got stuck into the drain. I think that was my fourth time being up there. My first time being up on the roof was (Thursday, June 6) when the insurance company was there. I don’t like it up there. I don’t know if it’s our space that we rent or not, but I never go up there because there’s no need to go up there.”

Crocker said the flooding was measured where the drain was. The measurement showed it to be over 16 inches.

“The insurance company was surprised the roof held,” Crocker said.

Crocker explained the flooring for the building. It starts with the first floor — Waugh’s, an upstairs area — for Crocker’s office and two back rooms with decorations, which are all “ruined.”

“We spent $10,000-$20,000 for the last four years updating the decorations and they’re all gone,” Crocker said.

And then, before you enter Waugh’s, on the left-hand side there is another door. That door takes people up to the “real second floor.”

“That’s where everything happened,” Crocker said. “It was mainly on the roof — the roof that was Waugh’s.”

While there is more to the roof, it was in the Waugh’s section of the roof where the gun got stuck.

In the four years the Crockers have owned Waugh’s, the roof was tarred a year or two ago.

Crocker, as of Monday, was waiting for his insurance adjuster’s estimate. He’s supposed to meet with the adjuster on Wednesday.

Initial reaction

Crocker explained how it was when he discovered the damage to Waugh’s.

“When we opened the door, I heard it like a waterfall,” Crocker said. “You know that sound and you’re like ‘oh shit.’ We’ve had leaks in the past as you people can tell.”

Sandbags were a common site during the January 2022 flooding throughout Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and the rest of Grays Harbor. Crocker remembered his store receiving a little bit of leakage, but it wasn’t like the flooding this leak caused. Crocker pointed out how Heron Street, where Waugh’s is, is “higher on the road system.” He said Waugh’s never “really had to worry about a flood”.

“You can see it on the walls, where the water marks were,” Crocker said. “Our shirt wall, we had shirts there, you can see the water marks. They took pictures of that (June 6). The Birkenstocks, this hurts because once the cork gets wet it cracks. You can’t sell them. You can’t sell anything now. On Tuesday I was like ‘how are we going to sell everything now?’ They’re saying it’s gonna take a month-and-a-half, or two months to fix everything.”

Flooding from the leak

“I thought it was going to be further up in the store, but not way back there,” Crocker said. “And it’s just, when we got in there it was pouring down rain. Like, there was already (water) soaked in the carpet. I think they said they spent two to three hours soaking the water up on Tuesday just to get it out of there. We went in there yesterday because of the insurance adjusters and it smells like mold. I can’t sell anything. Everything’s a total loss.”

Crocker said he and Jessica were sick from the smell after less than two hours of being there.

“Even our banker was sick,” Crocker said. “He was taking video of the store before our (scheduled) sale and he said he was sick too. He changed his clothes right after he left. He said ‘I got sick too.’ It was so potent, the smell. They put up barriers (for) right now, but once you open those, oh my god, it’s bad. Even the insurance adjusters are like ‘oh, that’s real bad.’”

When asked to see the inside of the place, Crocker said he wasn’t allowed to go in. He’s waiting on insurance.

According to Crocker, there’s a sweatshirt by the cash register till and the sweatshirt has already received mold growth.

“It’s a total loss,” Crocker said. “That’s going to be the fight with the insurance company, trying to get coverage. If it was like a residential flood, you could save all the clothes because it’s for personal use. But since we’re a retail store for clothing, we can’t (sell) because the liability’s too high.”

Effect on family

“(We’re) just in disbelief,” Crocker said. “I was getting ready on Tuesday after he was done taking videos of the store. I had a couple last things to do and then we were going to open up at 10 o’clock on Wednesday to start the closing sale. It’s just unbelievable.”

Crocker said they lost $277,000 in clothing, alone. That doesn’t cover the decorations or the tailor room.

“We’re probably looking at around $350,000, or more,” Crocker said. “So my stress level has been through the roof right now.”

There is no recovery for the Crockers as far as Waugh’s is concerned. And it’s not just financial.

“We’d like to have a closing sale to say goodbye to everybody,” Crocker said. “That was the other part of the closing sale, to say good bye and thank everybody for coming the last four years. But it’s just not feasible anymore.”