SINGLE ISSUE PRICE $5.00 The pueblo lore Published monthly since 1975 by The Pueblo County Historical Society The huge volume of floodwater, its velocity and the debris the floodwaters created and carried, destroyed numerous public, private and railroad bridges from the upper reaches of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek drainages to Fowler, Colorado and beyond. Only one of the five railroad bridges in Pueblo survived. This photograph from the Denver Public Library collec- tion is one of several that show crews removing debris from around wrecked railroad bridges and the wreckage being removed and/or dynamited. June 2011 Volume 37 Number 6 INTRODUCTION Jerry Miller 1 THE GREAT PUEBLO FLOOD OF 1921 Bernard Kelly 2 LOOKING BACK—PUEBLO THROUGH THE YEARS Jeanne Hickman 10 MY MEMORIES OF THE 1921 FLOOD Hazel Korber 11 THE FLOOD FROM TOP OF THE OPERA HOUSE John A. Martin 12 FAMILY MEMORIES Jerry Miller 16 HERO OF 1921 FLOOD REMEMBERS THE LIVES HE COULD Pueblo Chieftain, March 13, 1950 17 NOT SAVE TELLS OF THE PUEBLO FLOOD The Western Star, June 24, 1921 18 TRANSCRIPTION OF HANDWRITTEN NOTE Austin G. Marsh 20 THE PUEBLO FLOOD OF 1921 Guy E. Macy 22 LETTER FROM HAZEL G. WALDRON TO HER MOTHER John Korber 29 MEMORIES OF THE 1921 FLOOD AS TOLD BY MY MOTHER Bill Crain 31 AND GRANDPARENTS MY GRANDFATHER, UNSUNG HERO Fran Reed 32 FLOOD MEMORIES Sally Kennedy Collection 33 CITY A PANORAMA OF RUIN Susan Adamich 34 FREAKS OF THE FLOOD Susan Adamich 37 THE FLOOD’S AFTERMATH Arla Achermann 38 FLOOD MEMORIES Stephanie Blatnick 39 The Pueblo County Historical Society 201 W. “ B” Street ~ Pueblo, CO 81003 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ……………………………………….…………… June 2011 Welcome to this very special edition of the Lore, featuring the Pueblo Flood of 1921. Publications Chairman, George Williams, and the Lore Committee have outdone them- selves with this issue. For them it has been a labor of love; for you, hopefully, an interest- ing afternoon reliving or learning about Pueblo’s “great flood.” Regretfully, we say goodbye to our distaff leadership with the graceful retirement of President Louise Keach, Vice President Ann Gardner, and Secretary Pattee Williams. With great wailing and gnashing of teeth, they refused to perpetuate themselves in office. How- ever, these ladies did a great job over the last year and we thank them heartily. They are now succeeded by two recycled old pros – George Abel as vice president and Bob Strader as secretary. Only I come to you as a “babe in the woods,” a newcomer with no institution- al memory of Pueblo at all. I feel like an outsider looking in, but willing to try to learn. Please bear with me if I stumble along the way. -- Words from Bob —— PUEBLO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 201 West “B” Street, Pueblo, CO 81003 Telephone 719-543-6772 E-Mail: [email protected] WEB PAGE www.pueblohistory.org Many of the Societies collections and those of other local history and heritage organizations can be seen in the Southeastern Colorado Heritage Center Museum located at 201 W “B” St. The Societies Edward Broadhead Library is located on the upper level of the Southeastern Colorado Heritage Center. Hours: 10 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, or by special arrangement. MEMBERSHIPS: An application for membership is contained elsewhere in this edition. Memberships include 12 monthly issues of Pueblo Lore, library privileges, monthly programs, purchase discounts and related benefits. MEETINGS: Dinner meetings and historical programs are held the 2ND Thursday of each month, Sept. through June at Rosario's Restaurant, 29th and Elizabeth. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. The program starts at 7 p.m. Dinner reservations are required. OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: Robert W. Ogburn, 303 West Hahns Peak Road, Pueblo West, CO. (647-2084) V. PRESIDENT: George Abel, 307 Henry. Pueblo, CO 81004 (561-0995), SECRETARY: Robert Strader, 8 Queensbridge. Pueblo, CO 81001 (542-5150), TREASURER: Halcyon Mathis, 15 Sepulveda Dr. Pueblo, CO 81005 (561-1080) PAST PRESIDENT: Louise Keach, 7 Terrace Drive, Pueblo, CO 81001 (544-1315) BOARD OF DIRECTORS: 3 year term: Ken Clark (561-2826), Allyn Middelkamp (545-9609), Peggy Willcox 564-6338 2 year term: Larry Allen (545-9587), Larry Frank (561-0619), Ann Gardner, (542-2600) Arlene Manzanares (564-5951) 1 year term: Naomi Allen (583-9009), Weston Burrer (543-7600), John Ercul, Mary Jane Voelker (561-2693), Jack Ward (546-1213) Publications Chairman: George R. Williams, 38 Country Club Village, Pueblo CO 81008 (543-5294) Library Director: Dorothy Hammond (566-1605) I. T. Supervisor: Michael Theis (542-0442) Photograph collection: Mary Wallace (542-1652) Program Director: Jeff Arnold, 45000 Fields Road, Avondale, CO 81022 (947-3682) [email protected] PUEBLO LORE: ISSN 0741-6598. Production Manager: Niki Summers 252-1201 ([email protected]) Editor Emerita: Arla Aschermann 303-993-6561 ([email protected]) Pueblo Lore Staff: P.O. Abbott 544-8655 ([email protected]) , Ken Clark 561-282 ([email protected]), Bob Collyer 543-7211 ([email protected]), Jeanne Hickman 546-0113 ([email protected]),Dwight Hunter 423-0355 ([email protected]), Jerry Miller 560-0372 ([email protected]), Robert Ogburn 647-2084 ([email protected]), Bob Strader 542-5150 ([email protected]), Michael Theis 542-0442 ([email protected]), George R.Williams 543-5294 ([email protected]) Appropriate contributions are welcome, neatly typewritten, with sources, preferably submitted in Microsoft Word on disk, CD or e-mail attachment. Bylines: Pay in copies only. Mail to Pueblo Lore, Pueblo County Historical Society, 201 W “B” St., Pueblo CO 81003 or e-mail to any member of the Pueblo Lore staff. The Society disclaims responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by contributors, will not accept material with obvi- ous historical errors and reserves the right to correct said errors before publication. Copyright © 2011 Pueblo County Historical Society – All rights reserved PUEBLO LORE — June 2011 — 1 Introduction By Jerry Miller June 2011 marks the 90th anniversary of The Great Pueblo Flood of 1921. Without question, it was the most important and dramatic event that affected Pueblo in the 20th Century, and literally put Pueblo on the map. For anyone who lived through it, the June 3, 1921 flood was something they remembered for the rest of their lives. Whether they lost loved ones, lost their homes or prop- erty, or witnessed the victims' terror and heard their screams, the memories never left them. Even those who only observed the post-flood devastation never erased the images of what they saw. Those of us whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were involved heard their stories many times. My own parents' remembrances are printed in this publication, along with many other first-person accounts. This issue of The Lore, and a more comprehensive booklet that will be published soon, are de- voted to the catastrophe that killed hundreds in this city, made thousands homeless, and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Those of us who have been involved in the production of these publications have been shocked to learn how much we didn't know about the calamity that took place here so long ago. It is amazing to realize the scope of the storms and the amount of rain that fell in such a short period of time. When the terrible event occurred, some of our citizens exhibited great courage, and others were remarkably foolish, and both attributes sometimes cost them their lives. In the end, the devastation that the flood caused was exceeded by the fantastic effort to clean up the mess, to rebuild what had been destroyed, and to do everything possible to keep such a thing from happening again. Now, even after the passage of so much time, we can sympathize with those who lost so much, and we can admire their grit, determination and endur- ance to rebuild their homes, businesses, city, and their lives. This dramatic unidentified photograph of a woman and three males standing by what is probably their wrecked home, with water and debris all-around, epitomizes what Pueblo residents experienced 90 years ago. The accounts that follow further explain the events associated with the June 3, 1921 Flood and reinforce our appreciation for those who rebuilt a devastated city and their lives. We hope you enjoy this issue and a more complete history of the 1921 Flood in the form of a booklet that will soon follow. — The Lore Production Committee 2 — PUEBLO LORE — June 2011 The Great Pueblo Flood of 1921 By Bernard Kelly June 3, 1921, was a dark misty, rainy day area was washed out to a depth of 7 feet. in Pueblo, Colorado. The newspaper reported The storm had begun in the foothills that a cloudburst the day before had caused about 1 p.m. Friday, June 3. By 3, it had spread Dry Creek, just west of the city, to go over its over the upper and middle parts of the valley. banks, and said that two children had been Between 5 and 7 p.m. it had gathered its might drowned. Water from the rain backed up along at the lower end, near Pueblo. Main Street and seeped into doorways. People Pueblo then had a population of 40,000. talked with a mild sense of adventure about the It lay at the confluence of the Arkansas and “flood.” Fontaine Qui Bouille rivers. Residential areas It was the last day of school for me. I were north and south of the Arkansas river bed was leaving the 8th grade at St. Patrick's School but most of the business district and railroad and knew I would be entering Central high yards stood in the lowlands that had been School the next fall as a freshman.