The Flood of '59

In January of 1959, there was a flood over much of Ohio. Even our flat farm in our flat county was under water in many areas and very deeply in some areas. It was now obvious to see where the low areas were. The house and barn were ok. Most of the road and some of our fields were buried deeply. The railroad was high and clear. This wasn't one of those raging down the stream floods, this was day after day of rain. Then when even some of our fences were under water, everything froze. Within a few days, it was all frozen solid. School was open for those who could get there. You could walk from neighbor to neighbor in any direction and not have to do more than step over a fence. This was the winter I got my new ice skates. I think we all got ice skates, but I'm not sure. Sometimes the ice was wind blown into ripples, but still negotiable. Several of our neighbors joined us and we skated the five or six miles to grade school. It was easy skating except for a small stream just before the school. We expected the running water to make it dangerous, but the stream was small and it was frozen too. That was fun. And when we got to school, there were so few students that classes were more games then study. Because of the covered roads, things had slowed down everywhere and it was an interesting time. But, that didn't last long. You can't lock people in for long. Once the ice was frozen deeply, there were cars and trucks out on top of the ice. Then even the school buses were out again. It was quite an experience riding in a bus that was almost as high as the fences in places. When the thaw started, the first day was treacherous. Water on top of ice is too slippery for safe driving. But, the melt happened fast and then the water slowly receeded. It melted from the top down and you never had to worry about breaking through. Then the mud seemed to last forever.

That is still the biggest flood in most memories. It covered more of the state than any other flood. It didn't do the damage of many other floods, but it was big and the effect lasted the rest of that winter. I'm now fifty miles from the farm where I grew up, and there are pictures here of the damage done in the flood of "59. The house I'm now living in was buried up to the second floor. This is a hilly county and we are across the street from a park and a river. This area was hit harder than the flat county I grew up in. At the time of the flood, and being a child, I guess I assumed it was pretty much the same all over. But, the pictures of this house show how wrong I was. Now I wonder just what it was like for the people down river and stream and closer to the Ohio River. I'm sure it wasn't just standing water for them. But, my memory will always be of a lot of water and a lot of ice and actually, a lot of fun.