Archive for July, 2008
1943 Floodstage “Home on Pass & Nearly Impassable,” by Erwin A. Thompson
The first time that a flood really affected my life was the flood of 1943. That was one of the big ones. INBETWEEN ARKANSAS & TEXAS TRAINING CAMPS IN WORLD WAR II Ruth and I were coming home from our tour of duty at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. Our unit was being moved from that location [...]
1943 Floodstage: “Me & My Brother,” by Erwin A. Thompson
After Ruth and I unloaded and settled in at home, I prepared to fix the road. It was a hopeful venture. I was trying to use the trailer to haul the rock. I must have also quarried the rock. But disaster struck again. I got stuck! Down on the Upper Bottom Road. There was no [...]
1973 Floodstage Mississipi River, “Never Happen?” by Erwin A. Thompson
In 1937 they closed the Alton Lock and Dam. This dam had been loudly touted as the last thing needed for flood control. I remember asking: “What are you going to do with the extra water coming down stream? Pump it out over the top?” “No, it will never happen,” was the answer. In 1973 [...]
Floodstage! How our Old Gate Road became a life line to higher ground…by Erwin A. Thompson
EVERGREEN HEIGHTS LAYOUT: The Hilltop & Bottom Lands…and the Field Roads HILLTOP A lesson in the topography of our property would be helpful in understanding how these changes in river levels affected us and the community. The Riehl farm at that time consisted of a hundred and fifty four acres. The original farm house (the [...]
1993 Floodstage…500 year flood damage on a human scale, by Erwin A. Thompson
Riehlife’s FLOODSTAGE SERIES continues with Erwin A. Thompson’s explanation of sandbagging, pumps and dumps, and fixing up houses after the water goes down. –JGR ________________________________________ In 1993 we had what they called the “five hundred year flood.” SANDBAGGING We tried sand bagging, there in the East Bottom, and it worked for awhile. But there are [...]
1993 Floodstage Tribute: Bob Sanders, Garbageman—He went beyond the call of duty because it was the right thing to do, and got new business.
This is a continuation of the RIEHLIFE FLOODSTAGE SERIES written by Erwin A. Thompson. Read on! —JGR How We Got a New Garbageman, Because He Did the Right Thing in Hard Times by Erwin A. Thompson Garbage in any flood is a major problem and in the 1993 flood it was a problem for the [...]
1993 Floodstage Tribute: “Dog Mike,” poem by Erwin and Ruth Thompson for a brave flood fighter
DOG MIKE by Erwin and Ruth Thompson
Mississippi Headwaters
This picture is a corner of a post card that my father saved for my brother to scan as I continue my travels in Northern California. Gary says, “This is the headwaters of the Mississippi, at the Itasca State Park in Minnesota. My family was there once. I think Daddy and Mother were there also [...]
2008 Mississippi River Floodstage, by Erwin A. Thompson (& Janet Riehl)…floodstage series continues
The folks around here have been nervous, not knowing. It is hard to realize, but we do not have a tenant that was here during the 1993 flood. Of course the predicted crests are never guaranteed. The predicted crest has been changed upward several times this year, and no doubt would have been higher except [...]
River Love from Childhood & Changes in the River, by Erwin A. Thompson
River Bluffs I have lived on the bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River for all but the first nine months of my life. The family owned a good pair of field glasses, and they were one of my great experiences, to look through them and watch things like the building of the rafts when they [...]
Entries(RSS)