Flood memories shared at a 20th-anniversary ‘town hall’ meeting
By MARK MILLER
It was a reunion of sorts.
As part of the “The Flood of 2003: A 20-Year Perspective” exhibit at the Wells County Public Library, about 20 people gathered Tuesday evening to reminisce and share. Most were there to listen, some had not been old enough to recall what would eventually be labeled a “100-year flood” and result in a number of significant changes as detailed in earlier News-Banner reports.
There were two common themes among those who shared: the awesome power of flood waters and the awesome response of people to help.
Doug Sundling, who initiated the exhibit, gathered the data and materials and produced the displays, gave a brief overview of the flood’s extent and the aftermath of the second-worst flood in the county’s recorded history including the remediations that essentially blunted the impact of the third-worst flood which took place just 18 months later in January 2005.
David Pence, who lives on South County Home Road, spoke about “this little dinky ditch” that crosses his extended driveway “became a raging torrent,” washing out his driveway.
Joe Langel, who was managing the IMI Aggregates gravel pit at the time, shared a number of his experiences and some statistics on how much sand his company delivered.
“The first call I got was Sunday morning (July 6),” he said. “I had no idea what was coming.”
IMI would deliver more that 3,500 tons of sand to the city of Bluffton and 250 tons to Vera Cruz. His crew continued to make deliveries for a 22-hour continual stretch over July 6 and 7.
“When my guys got off work, they’d go into town and help fill sandbags,” he added. “The thing is, none of them lived in Bluffton. But that’s what people did.”
Langel observed “an actual wave that came down the river,” and stood on top of the Huntington Reservoir dam with the water only five feet below the rim. “But I was always overwhelmed by seeing how many people came out to help. That was pretty special.”
In the aftermath of the flood, IMI made a number of donations to the government agencies which essentially refunded the cost of the sand, but as then-mayor Ted Ellis, who was also in attendance Tuesday evening, observed, the accounting was important in order to meet local matches for federal assistance funds.
Langel also complimented Ellis for his leadership and planning. “He was the first one who started thinking about what they’d do with all of these sandbags after the flood was over,” he said.
Ellis, when questioned, explained that some of the sandbags were used at the Street Fair, but most of it was taken to the county highway garage where it was utilized for several years.
Teri Kuhlenbeck spoke about her love for the river. “I’m on the Rivergreenway every day,” she said, but the flood taught her to also respect the river’s power.
Marcia Hotopp had positive memories of helping to fill sandbags alongside several county jail inmates, and also remarked on how the community’s restaurants brought food for the volunteers. Ellis shared a few of the more humorous memories he has.
“This actually happened,” he said. “I got a call from someone who just couldn’t believe their home had been hit by a ‘100-year flood.’ She had believed that the 100-year period started when they bought their house.”
“What we have to keep in mind,” Sundling mentioned as the meeting wrapped up, “is that this will happen again.” But, he added, the city is much better situated due to the actions taken in the flood’s aftermath.
miller@news-banner.com
