1964 flood memories

Grover Center was flooded...[because of water damage] the gym floor looked like ocean waves and heaved so high a person could walk underneath it. —Thomas Bixler, MED ’65, EMERT ’00

In the spring flood of 1964, my used 1955 Pontiac floated away in the flood. —Everett Louis Overstreet, BSCE ’67

The spring rains of 1963 made the West Green a lake. Students were swimming in the six-foot deep (likely polluted) waters outside of Grosvenor Hall (then a dormitory). One creative head resident spread a rumor that the waters contained “VD.” Swimming stopped. —Charles Christine, MED ’64, and Dorothy Christine, MED ’64

I don't remember if it was 1963 or ’64, but there was a huge flooding of the Hocking. I lived on University Terrace in the Women's German House. The west end of the street was flooded as was the new West Green area. People were using canoes and rowboats. It was nice having some classes cancelled! —Janet West, BA ’64

I was a freshman living in Gamertsfelder Hall on the second floor. The flood didn't really affect me. I went to classes as usual. The biggest concern was for the pizza shop in the back of the hall. —Robert Bakos, BS '64

Sitting in McCracken Education looking across to Jefferson Hall, all you could see was the very top of the parking meters as boats passed by where the street was. The only entrances open to the two buildings were the ones on the end toward campus. All others were flooded. Cars parked under Jeff Hall were ruined. —Mary Geis Howe, BSED '65

I lived in Jefferson Hall 1961-1965. When the flood waters reached the top of the garage, all electricity went out. I had the flu, and my floor chairman made me check in at the Hudson Health Center. Safe, but I missed the fun of the floods! —Phyllis Levine Komerofsky, BSED ’65

I was at OU at the time! We had to leave the Phi Tau house so that female students would have housing! It lasted for a few days, Athens was isolated and made national news! —David Liggitt, BSED ’65

I attended Ohio from 1961-65. I well remember the spring floods--ankle deep water in the East Green streets, and the parking lot at the end of University Terrace flooded, cutting off access to the footbridge across the Hocking. Working at The Po s t one year, I interviewed the university business manager and wrote a resulting article on plans being developed to reroute the river to eliminate the floods. —Jim Cullison, BSJ '65

During those memorable times, I lived in Bryan Hall, high and dry on the hill, with a good view of the rising water. I remember hearing reports of dead cows on the golf course. My English professor Dr. Butterworth actually rowed to work! — Carol Johnson Kilbourne, BA ’65

I was a photo student in the ’60s and remember the art building (Siegfried Hall) bottom floor getting flooded several years. My last year there, ’67, I lived in a house very close to the building but only the art building was ever flooded. —Norman Shapiro, BFA ’65, MFA ’67

I survived two years of flooding in Jefferson Hall with no heat, light, or hot water. We studied in Chubb Library, ate junk food, and played bridge by flashlight. Memorable was the broadcasting of [the song] "Noah, Build an Ark!" from one of the other dorms as I waded to class! —Sarah Mosser Albert, BS ’65

I attended OU from 1961-66 and experienced more than one flood. The year I lived in Treudley…the water reached the first-floor stairs. People were fishing out of the windows and the basketball court across the street was being sandbagged. Construction materials were floating down the Hocking, and the radio station was playing, "How High's the Water Momma." —Janice Rienerth, BS ’65, AB ’66

I was a sophomore in the newly opened James Hall. There were no doors on the rooms at first. One night at about one in the morning we were woken up and told to evacuate. We had to walk through water to leave. The University had no evacuation plan that year, so we were told to go wherever we could. —Jerry Woodgeard, BSED ’65

My first recollection of the Athens flooding was standing on the bridge watching what appeared to be an outhouse with a chicken on the roof float by. Years later, my boss at The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad came to me with a project: the flood control project for Athens. I drafted some of the documents that transferred control to the government for flood control. —Weston A. Park, BA '65

Water came into the lounge in Tiffin Hall on the East Green (spring 1963), and we were evacuated by pontoon boat because they didn't want us to walk through the contaminated water that was waist-high. They relocated us to dorms located on higher ground. —Sue Evans Berkemeier, AB ’66

West Green just opened new dorms (’62?). My VW bug was floating in the dorm garage. Pushed it out onto the pavement, started it up and drove off. Other cars were stuck in about three feet of water! —Dennis Mulgrew, BBA ’66

Spring '64 and spring '66. Helped the Athens residents clean up, especially lower Mill Street. West Green, which was brand new in ’65-’66 , flooded its first year. VW Bug floating in James basement. —Col. Jacob Killian, USAF, BA ’66

I was there in the 60s when bad floods covered the greens, the golf course ,and athletic areas. When the water receded, the golf course was a series of gravel bars scattered across the landscape. When we were finally allowed to use the course, the gravel embedded in the fairways scratched our golf clubs. It was like putting across grass made of tapioca. —Vern Turner, BS ’66

I was staying in a West Green dorm at the time and the garage flooded up to outside our room. My roommate and I were rescued by boat—just stepped out the window! Glad they rerouted the Hocking River in future years! —Janet Maybry Stevens, BSED ’66

I lived in Sargent Hall and, when flooding was expected, notices went out to remove cars from the underground garages. Once, a Volkswagen Beetle was not removed and did, in fact, float. The steady bumping of the car roof against the ceiling of the garage was heard throughout the dorm. —John B. Bishop, MS ’66, PHD ’69

The flood of 1964 turned Tiffin Hall into an island. No way in, no way out. We labored until 2 a.m. moving the lower-level furniture out of the rising waters, but at least we could sleep in (we thought). During the night, the men of Gamertsfelder built us a bridge and we had to get up for our early morning classes! —Kathy Crews McQuarrie, BA ’66

I was a sophomore in the brand-new West Green #1 dorm! There were no provisions to house us during our evacuation, so we had to find people we knew in other dorms. I was a "Lindley Lovely" the year before, so that's where I went! It was party time on Court Street because of the flood! —Linda Van Fleet, BSS ’66

I was there from 1962 to 1966 when I graduated with a BSEE. I was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity and lived in their house which was high and dry. —Peter Olson, BSEE ’66

I was one who stayed in Jefferson Hall when we were given the choice in the l963 and 1964 floods. We burned candles for light and used flashlights in the hallways. Water covered the utilities in the ground level garage area: no electric and no heat. It was a real adventure! —Linda (Webber) Williams, BA ’66

In 1963 I was living in Cash’s Trailer Park, which was where the Convocation Center is located. Late at night, the National Guard came and hauled us out through flooded Richland Avenue. We spent a couple of nights on cots at the Armory. The Salvation Army gave us vouchers for food and clothes. Classes were not canceled. —Roger Patterson, BSED ’67

We were living in Lakeview apartments during the spring of 1968. We heard the news of the possible flood, and I thought I would move my trusted little Dodge Dart to a safe place. INSTEAD IT WAS WORSE AND MY CAR WAS FLOODED. I stayed in the apartment. It was quite an experience!  —Dee (DeDonato) Vowles, BSED ’67, MA ’68, and Barbara (Reid) Bennett, BSED ’68

Lived in Perkins Hall on the East Green. When the West Green flooded, they evacuated those students to East Green. Took my already small room for three and increased the number to five. Very hard to do panty raids during this time. The next year they "moved" the Hocking to its current location. —Tim Ellifritz, BSJ ’67

I was flooded out of the dorm called West Green #1 in ’63. They put us in an old funeral home, where we slept on the floor for eight days! I remember guys jumping out of the windows of the dorm into the water…of course they had to get tetanus shots afterward. It was a fun time! —Denny Alleman, BS ’67

I remember that students would put Volkswagen Bugs in the garage of Jefferson Hall. As the waters rose, the cars would float and hit the ceiling of the garage. —Jeanne (Rutter) Smiledge, BSED ’67

I lived in Sargent in ’65-’66 as a junior, transferring from the Zanesville Branch of Ohio. Although I personally did not see this, we were told about the flood of ’64 and resident men jumping and diving in the Hocking until someone said they should go to the Health Center for typhus. —Michael Dorr, BSED ’67