A Town That No Longer Exists
There's something I really, really want to write about but I don't have the time tonight. So instead....
Hearing what Jess and Chantal are going through right now has brought back some old times for me. Back in the early to mid-80's our small town of Times Beach, Missouri was overtaken by a flood from the Meremac River. We were allowed back in, and we did several weeks later. Then the following year, we were hit again. This time much worse than before. I remember when we left, it was by boat, all of our belongings, house and cars left behind. The water got so high that you couldn't see any rooftops over the next few days after we were evacuated. This particular flood caught great media attention because when the water went down they discovered evidence of dioxine. We were never allowed back in. The impact of this disaster on the town was great. People who would ask why people would even go back after this area of land has flooded several times over the previous decades just don't understand. Most people go back simply because they have no place else to go. It was much cheaper to rebuild than to move. Most people of the town were helped by the government and Red Cross, but our family was left with nothing. You see, the governmental programs out there, and insurance was for home owners. We didn't own our house, but rented it from the man next door so none of the aid provided applied to us. Renters insurance wasn't popular at the time, not that my step dad would have gotten it. He was an ole country boy who didn't believe in such things.
For the next six months, the place was just eerie. You could see this small town from highway 44 (no one but government was allowed in), and it was literally a ghost town. Abandoned houses and businesses just sitting, still covered in mud. Over the next decade I watched all of the houses and local businesses disappear as they bulldozed the entire town. By 1992, there was nothing left. Just miles of abandoned land. They had incinerators down there for the better part of a decade. This is the wildest experience I've ever gone through in my life. An entire town, wiped off the map. A zip code that no longer exists. I've heard that it is in some of our school textbooks, but I haven't seen one yet. I tried surfing the net for pictures of what the town looked like back then, but all I could find was references to the final flood. Ironically, they reopened this area of land in 1999 as a wildlife reservation park. Today, I live just 10 miles from what I used to call home. I think of it every time I pass on my daily commute.
So, I can certainly understand and sympathize what these people in PA are going through. The fear, the uncertainty. My heart goes out to all that is being hit.
Oh...I just found this picture of when they were clearing the toxic waste after our evacuation. Strange that I can find no pictures of what the town looked like when there was actually LIFE there! They sometimes have pics in our local paper. Next time I'll be sure to keep one!
posted by Wolfie @ 9:38 PM
Comments: 6
