Jane Ralston an eighty-eight year old resident of Louisville and has lived here, in Louisville, all her life. She was 14 years old during the Great Flood. “We never evacuated. Our house sat a little higher than the rest of our neighborhood, and luckily, the water only made it 18 inches from their front door.” She recalls a particular incident about the dangers of the high river water,
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| Jane Ralston |
One night, he (the man living across the street), my dad, and I took the boat and we went out one night to look around. It was after dark, of course it got darker then since it was January. We started down the street. So he goes south on 28th Street and we heard over the water ‘Help! Help! Help!’ and it was behind us so he turned that boat around and rowed for all her was worth up toward the helps. And about 4 blocks away, there were a couple of guys hanging onto a telephone pole into ten feet of water, that cold, cold water, they had been in a canoe, which was terrible to do, and they had turned over and these two had been hanging on a telephone pole. Fortunately right across the street from where they were there was a store front that had roof out over the sidewalk and there was someone in there in that room and they had a fire place going and so we got there and another boat or two go there the same time we did and we got the big guy... the big guy had given up and the smaller guy had been holding on for both of them. And we got the big guy into our boat and we got him across the street in to the room and warmed up. (Ralston)
Water is one of the most powerful elements on the earth. It can erode stone, rust, steel, and sustain life. The United States was built on the many waterways that course through the land. Cities and towns have been built along rivers for their resources of food and easy travel capabilities for years. The Ohio River cuts through the Midwest region of the US and empties out into the Mississippi making it a key component in trade and transportation. The convenience of the river does not come without its fair share of liabilities; the water’s ability to sustain life also has the power to take it away. The Great Flood of 1937 was the most devastating flood on record to this date along the Ohio. In Downtown Louisville water rose to the second story of buildings and made it all the way to the West End of Louisville which was where Ralston resided. All the way in the West End, the water made it to the basement and the first floor of homes, luckily for Ralston and her family, their house sat higher than most in her block and water stopped eighteen inches short of their front door. Ralston joked, “My mother had finally bought a refrigerator the year before and she told us if the water reached our first floor we would have to carry that thing all the way up to the first landing.” (Ralston) In the city of Louisville, KY, ninety people lost their lives dues to the horrific conditions the river put the city in, not only to drowning, but to illnesses that come with a weakened immune system due to contaminated water and lack of clean drinking water, such as pneumonia. “I remember them giving us typhoid shots,” recounts Jane Ralston of Louisville, “back then they would reuse needles and sharpen them between patients. I remember that it hurt.” (Ralston) Not only was this an unsafe and inefficient way to vaccinate the residents of Louisville, but it was after they had evacuated most of the resident to small enclosed spaces where viruses were very transferable. Unfortunately, the influenza vaccine was not created until several years later, a vaccine that could have possibly saved many of the lives that were lost. Flood season ranges from January to May, when rain is heavy and the snow begins to melt, inconveniently, this is also flu season and the time where most people are susceptible to illness. “My little brother, he was nine years old then, he fell in twice. I remember mother had him in on the bathroom, wiping him down shivering, the water was cold, it had snowed and there was ice floating in the water.” (Ralston) Ralston’s brother survived, but there were many who were not as lucky. Water is dangerous in many ways, a simple 6 inches of water is enough to take a person off their feet, and twelve is enough to sweep a car down the street.
Against all odds, Louisville prevailed. The true determination of Louisville was proven in the few months after the flood. In an article about the flood on Kentucky education television’s (KET) website, a reporter says, “But it seems that the Great Flood couldn’t wash away Louisville’s fighting spirit. After a major cleanup, things were back on track by Derby Day in May.” (Et Cetera: 1937 flood)With the Kentucky Derby being such a tradition in the city of Louisville, being able to proudly hold the event in lieu of the disaster that had occurred had to of brought a sense of hope and normalcy back to the residents. The Kentucky Derby is held the first weekend in May, meaning that the entire city was moving forward in just a few months.
The city of Louisville has built many monuments and water level signs to keep the past alive, the city restored a building front on River Road as a monument to all that was lost in that area during the devastating natural disaster. Though there is no plaque to describe it, residents learn by word of mouth about the structure, when first driving by, as an out-of-towner, new to the city of Louisville ,one would be confused at why there was an old building front in the middle of nowhere and nothing of its generation to be seen around it. It seems to be out of place, but little do they know, everything else was invading its home, not the other way around. The more people learn about Louisville the more they will learn to love it. Louisville has a deep intriguing history locked in its residents. People that have spent their whole lives here have seen more that can fit on a page in a book.
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| Rowing a boat in downtown Louisville | http://louisville.edu/uoflmagazine/fall2009/archives/ |
Old homes and buildings that outlive the feeble, cheap architecture of modern construction still stand strong against the elements. The red brick and gray stone stand steadfast against wind, water, and anything else Mother Nature wants to throw at it unlike the wavering drywall we build with today. The strong will and sweat that was poured into each layer of bricks laid into this building are immortalized in it one true home to stand for the dreams of those who made it through those hard months. In the pale sunlight of the early morning the building gives hopes of prospering through the hardest of times. 1937, the middle of the Great Depression, a shocking natural disaster seems to add more despair and suffering along with the worsening economy. I turn back toward the skyline of the city, beautiful tall buildings that are workplaces to the thousands of people that prosper in the city of Louisville. The bricks are nothing as strong as the stories we can be told. Walls cannot talk, but the many people still around can and their stories are beginning to trickle.
The majestic home front had been restored to its original quality, placed on a pedestal to preserve the monument, setting the building apart from the road it divides, but unlike other historic places in Louisville, its story is not told on a plaque. The humble building stands alone in the fog of the Ohio, seemingly waiting for Mother Nature to hit again. Since 1937, the Ohio has not stood still. The harsh months from January to April always bring anxiety of waiting to see the rivers reaction to the changing of the seasons. How much snow did the Mountains at the source of the Ohio get? How much rain are we to expect along the Ohio Valley? Though residents have become accustomed to the flooding that takes place around the Ohio, it still causes damages yearly to their homes. Though nothing can be done to stop Mother Nature, I still wonder if anything can be done to lessen the blow? “The spirit of Louisville’s citizens rose to fight the rising flood waters those dark and cold days 70 years ago. We should remember and replicate that spirit as we continue our city’s ongoing efforts to prepare for disasters and catastrophic challenges of all kinds.” (Remembering '37 Flood) That remark was made by Mayor Jerry Abramson, Mayor of Louisville in 2007, on the 70th anniversary of the flood. Like many other Louisville residents over the years, he comments on the strong sense of pride Louisville has and that nothing will ever break the spirits of all that reside there. Ralston recalls, “We didn’t have a lot of help back then, with it being in the Great Depression, we got no aid, but Louisville did a good job picking our selves back up.” Ralston recollects on how she was out of school and her father’s job struggled for a few months after the flood. The whole city’s job seemed to be rebuilding the city, but thankfully the city rebounds quite quickly for all the damage and their lives got back to normal soon.
Proposed research
Hundreds of people died during the Flood of 1937. Most of the deaths were not due to drowning or even freezing even though the flood occurred in January, most of the deaths were due to the flu and pneumonia. The city officials gave out typhoid shots on reused needles that they sharpened between patients. Needless to say, that was not the safest or most efficient way to prevent the spread of disease. I propose to have more free vaccines available and more information to the risk of diseases to be covered incase another flood occurs. The public needs to know the risk that arises when high water comes in the winter and there is difficulty getting to a health care facility. I would send out pamphlets and raise money to get free vaccines the flu for the residents that the Flu is a higher risk of being fatal to such as the elderly, young children, and people with compromised immune systems. Also it would be beneficial to raise money to find a vaccine for pneumonia.
“Louisville Rememebers ’37 Flood.” Mayor Fischer Newsroom. www.louisvilleKY.gov. 22 Jan 2007. Web. 19 June 2011
Ralston, Jane. Personal interview. 5 July 2011
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