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Show The Flood of 1935 Came in a Drought Year to Local Residents x- ' ' ' '; ' ' " 'V : - :"'r , v . .: ' " ' ' , ' ,. ' ' - " - ' , " 4 -. ' 1 ' . f .... '; -" ' Flood path of 1935. Byard Allen, holding his son, stands in the area wiped out by the flood of 1 935 which was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke. Those who remember its devastation know how unpredictable Mother Nature can be and never underestimate how quickly she can bring down a mountain. by Geri Taylor August 17, 1935 was a day the residents of Manila would never forget. According Accord-ing to an article in the Pleasant Grove Review dated August 23 of that year, the rain began lightly falling around 1pm, then soon turned into torrents. Alec Wadley was almost 24 when the storm hit and he recalls re-calls it was concentrated in the mountains east of Manila, mainly over Heiselt's hollow. The drought-stricken hillside did not soak up the rains, but . sent the deluge into the valley, covering much of the Manila Ward. The raging stream separated separat-ed when it hit the small knoll, sending the water on either side. The southern watercourse inundated inun-dated H.V. Swensen's peach orchard with dirt, rocks and silt, then flowed down to Ezra Swensen's farm where it finally lost momentum. Water rushing down the north side of the hill did the greatest damage when it hit Ivan Monson's hedge and separated sepa-rated into two powerful currents. cur-rents. Although the hedge had protected the Monson home from the flood, his potatoes, corn and raspberry patch were covered with water. The flood gushed down the hill, flattening flatten-ing Willard Monson's grain and filling George Monson's cellar, then turned south. Meanwhile the flow, diverted di-verted south by the hedge, filled the Murdock canal and other ditches with water and soil and ran across the Hol-man Hol-man orchards. At this point the streams converged, reaching the Nyal Wadley home with enough force to fill the cellar and cover their bedding, furniture, winter clothing and canned fruit with water. They hurriedly pulled up carpets and piled them to escape the dirty water which soon covered cov-ered their floors. The flood then washed the road east of the Wadley farm full of large and small rocks and dirt to the depth of several feet in different places. Eleven-year-old Steve Warnick was helping his father thresh grain when the water covered cov-ered their fields, about 12 mile southwest of the Wadley farm. He remembers having to wait three or four days for the ground to dry enough to finish the job. It was reported that "the Pleasant Grove Fire Department was called and with their water pump was able to get the water from the cellars of Nyal Wadley and George Monson." Trees were uprooted, fences torn down and in many places the ground was covered ' several feet deep with rocks and dirt from the mountainside. Elsie Monson, whose hedge diverted the water from her home, said it was filled with rocks and dirt, but still stands these many years later. She and husband, Elwood, lived in their uncle Ivan's home and were away that day, missing all the excitement. The article stated "The damage cannot be estimated. It will take some time for the farmers of this district to either remove this added dirt or make it useful for cultivation." The Civilian Conservation Corps were quickly mobilized to build a spillway where the greatest amount of water came down, directly across from the Monson home located on North Canyon Road. Neither before, nor in the 76 years since the flood, has the spillway been used for the purpose it was built. Hopefully the flood of 1935 was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke, but those who remember remem-ber its devastation know how unpredictable Mother Nature can be and never underestimate how quickly she can bring down a mountain. .IV)' v ' .HvrriA; . ' Vji . I z CERT volunteers are pictured at a Grove Creek location where they led other volunteers last Saturday in filling sandbags for residents who need to prepare for possible flooding. Thanks to volunteers, sandbags are now available avail-able at various locations throughout the city and can be picked up by those who might he in flood paths. Photo cmirU'.sy ol Tiinpanogos Times |
