Story of one flood as told by Ms. Sarah Dailey of Ridgway, Illinois
Sung by Ms. Jess Rawson
Written by G. B. Fields of Fairfield, Illinois (1989)
RP WMP MP3
Hard by the edge of the Ohio River, Shawneetown has seen its share of troubles each time the waterway has overflowed its banks. Local newspapers have recorded such events as far back as 1832. After repeated floods, townspeople built the first of the levees in an effort to hold back the floodwaters in 1859. The levy broke in 1898, resulting in 25 deaths and 200 lost homes. Although the levy was raised to an "impenetrable" 60 feet after this incident, another major flood occurred in 1937. Shawneetown was subsequently relocated to higher ground.
The first part of this track is the story of one flood as told by Ms. Sarah Dailey of Ridgway, Illinois, to Professor McIntosh during the early 1950s. Through the spoken word, Dailey describes the disaster from a personal perspective. She focuses on how the news spread by word of mouth, and how the individuals affected by the floodwaters gave aid to one another.
The second part of this track is the song of the 1898 flood sung by Ms. Jess Rawson, who was a little girl at the time of the catastrophe. This song, titled "Flood of Shawneetown" or "Broken Hearts and Homes," was written in 1989 by G. B. Fields of Fairfield, Illinois, and dedicated to a man who had lost his wife and two daughters in the disaster. Rawson has a fine, strong voice-listen as she recounts the incident through Fields' melodramatic lyrics.
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