By MARK MILLER
- Watch for other articles about the 2003 flood in the coming days in the News-Banner
Doug Sundling has very vivid memories of the first two weeks of July 2003. His position in the city government at the time was heavily focused on areas of data, city planning, mapping and research.
“Mayor (Ted) Ellis was very supportive of gathering data,” Sundling recalls. “Everyone in the city was focused on the flood, battling the rising waters, etc. I kept gathering data and fed it to the mayor.”
At some point this past fall, it occurred to him that the 20th anniversary of what became known as “The Flood of ‘03” was fast approaching. He had much of the data, as well as maps and some old photos. He also had access to several resources — and he had the time. He approached Jason Habegger and Sarah McNeill at the Wells County Public Library about putting together an exhibit of some sort.
“Everyone really liked the idea,” he says. “It confirmed my first thought, that I believe people would find this very interesting.”
The Wells County Foundation provided a grant to cover the display materials and the library allowed Sundling to utilize its computers and other resources. Other than that, the exhibit — titled “The Flood of 2003, A 20-Year Perspective” —which includes two 20-minute videos, has all been a contribution of Sundling’s time and talents.
That is all now on display at the west end of the library’s main room and will be for at least the remainder of July. The two videos have been set up on back-to-back video screens and will show on a continuous loop.
Sundling does not have an estimate of the amount of time he’s spent on the project, but says it has consumed most of his attention the past two months. He has utilized old maps and newspaper clippings, re-drawn several maps that display the extent of the damage from the flood, and has also paired up a number of photos from 2003 with the also-historic Flood of 1913.
One of his new perspectives in putting all of this together was in realizing the full extent of the flood.
“One thing I don’t think people realize now is that we were just one more storm away from the city being totally isolated,” he says.
Additionally, Sundling sees his exhibit as “a work in progress.” Much of the display materials has been contributed by others, “and I anticipate people bringing in pictures or other stuff they might want to share,” he continues. Photos can be added to the videos.
Town Hall July 25
Part of Sundling’s vision in commemorating the flood is to have a “town hall” style meeting, in which people can share their own perspectives of the event.
While he and library employees were setting up the display, “one lady came by and looked at one of the pictures from the 1913 flood,” he shares. “She pointed to a window in a building and said ‘That’s the bedroom I was rescued from.’”
That was exactly what he had hoped to accomplish, he said, and wants to give people the opportunity to come together to do that.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 25. Sundling plans to make some opening remarks and share some data before opening the meeting for people to share.
“I know some people are really shy about doing that,” he says, “but I also think people like to share their experiences and memories. We’ll see.”
miller@news-banner.com
