Can it really be almost 30 years ago that the Aurora area went through the experience of the tragic 1996 flood?
Susan Wyeth, a teacher then of second grade at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Aurora, was in South Carolina at the time of the flood July 19, 1996 due to the death of her uncle. One of the last things she said to her husband, Jay, was “Don’t forget to water the flowers.” After all, it was July and it was hot. Not to worry. Nature took care of the watering in a manner both destructive and, ultimately, constructive.
“My husband, Jay, went to the basement and the window wells burst with water covering everything. We lost personal files and a baseball card collection. I lost my grandmother’s doll house and a set of her china dishes as all were broken. While the skies continued pouring 16.9 inches of rain over the (Aurora) area, Jay brought in cinderblocks from outside the house and with the help of his brothers and neighbors, put the piano on the blocks. It was the only piano in Cherry Hill( subdivision in southwest Aurora) to be saved due to his foresight. The water came up three feet on the first floor so everything was ruined. All the main appliances had to be replaced and walls had to be rebuilt as the water had saturated even the insulation,” she told me.
Because their four sons, Ryan, Jason, Austin, and Brandon, were small the situation seemed an adventure to them. Susan decided to write and illustrate a book reflecting this situation. The book’s title is “There’s a Flood in My House.” The Aurora Public Library purchased four copies. From this book we read, “The street that runs along the side of our house is now a fast-moving river with a stiff current. Dog houses, firewood, toys, and many other items from our neighbor’s yards went rushing by as if they are in a hurry to get somewhere.”
Susan continued “We belonged to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and Pastor Jock and Gail Ficken served as coordinators for the volunteers who served meals at the church, offered childcare, sent volunteers to wash walls and did everything to help us. The City of Aurora was a huge help. The VNA came and gave tetanus shots. Cherry Hill was closed to all but the residents because we dumped everything at curbside and then bulldozers and flatbed trucks came in to take away all the debris. Our home insurance didn’t cover all our losses. FEMA gave us $10,000 for restorations also.” The morning after the worst of it, Jay phoned and said “Honey, I watered the flowers.” Power never went out on our side of the road. At one point a van full of food was brought in by a caring Auroran.
Susan has composed the most delightful illustrations for the book using torn colored paper. A passage in this book has the boys saying that “There is a pile of unwanted wood that has been thrown out of the house. We used it to make a ramp for our bikes and a ladder for climbing up the tree. We dream about building a huge tree house.”
Eight weeks later, the family moved back into its home. The boys wanted to continue to rollerblade on the new wood floors, but Susan told them “There is absolutely no more rollerblading in this house.”
Time has passed, hasn’t it? The finished book was Jay’s gift to her that Christmas. A more delightful story about an unforgettable flood could not be imagined, and about a community that came together.