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Show The Centerville Newsette Issued Monthly at Centerville, Utah Editor Associate Editor Vestil S. Harrison Lois Clayton Clinton S. Barber ...Sports & Service A ews Clubs and General Alta Blood Cook Cleveland Roving Reporter Leonard Mitchell Staff Photographer Send news and contributions to any of above, or to the Editor, Box 143, Centerville. The Newsette Reports We have a small amount of cash left over after paying for this number. We are going to publish an April issue, and the staff will make up the deficit for our farewell copy. We are grateful for the wonderful support we have received from our readers Those and who have contributed since the last issue are: William Parrish, Clarence L. Sullivan, V. F. Harrifellow-townspeopl- March, 1946 THE CENTERVILLE NEWSETTE Page Two e. son, Reggie Coles, Ellis Wilson and LaVern Harker. Thanks a lot! o HAVOC WROUGHT BY FLOODS IN 1930 From page one was one year in which the old dame was particularly active in venting her wrath upon us. Joseph Williams recalls those 1930 turbulent days as follows: On July 10, 1930, between 4 and 5 p. m. the thunder and lightning were terrific, clouds gathered very rapidly and a great deluge of rain came. A deafening roar followed as though a great wind from the east was to sweep down upon us, but not so. Instead, a mighty wall of water burst forth from the Parrish and Ford canyons carrying debris that did great damage, and destroying the homes of William Lang and Eugene Ford. A few days later the county commissioners of Davis county, E. B. Clark, E. O. Muir and Mr. Cook, called a meeting of the citizens of the county at Farmington to devise some plans to assist the sufferers in the county. John G. M. Barnes, Bishop A. L. Clark and Joseph E. Williams were chosen as a central committee, Mr. Williams being named chairman. This committee also selected Henry Stahle and Mark Holbrook to act on the committee. On the 11th day of August, 1930, continues Mr. Milliams, the clouds again settled over the countains and between the hours of 1 and 2 p. m. a terrific storm in the hills belched forth a wall of water of terrible velocity, carrying thousands of tons of debris with it and tossing huge rocks weighing hundreds of tons as though they were but small rowboats in its path. This flood destroyed the home of Herbert R. Streeper, Henry W. Barber, David G. Winn and Harold Duncan, and did considerable dam age to the central school building; also the homes of David F. Smith, Marlin France and Mr. Roberts, and destroyed the outbuildings of these three homes completely. This same wall of debris covered the farms of H. A. Cleveland, Naomi S. Sessions and Gladys S. Thorpe, and partly covered the farms of Robert Smith, John F. Porter, L. C. Wooley, Robert Achurch, P. P. Parrish, Stanley Parrish, William Parrish, E. B. Parrish, S. J. Parrish, Hyrum Ford, Joseph Ford, William Julian Bamberger, Trembath, Charles Larson, A. L. Brewster, H. B. Folsom, John Pressler, Lucille B. Bonnemort, H. B. Williams, Therice Duncan and Millie Brown. On the evening of August 11th Chairman Williams and others decided the destruction was too great for the county to stand, and the chairman was asked to wait upon the governor of the state. In response to the call, Governor George H. Dern met with the Davis county commissioners, State Road Commissioners H. H. Blood, Mr. Parker, Mr. Peterson and the central committee in Centerville on August 12. After viewing and discussing the situation it was decided it should be a statewide affair inasmuch as Bingham and Utah county had also been damaged by floods. This same day it was decided to call in the Red Cross, and H. H. Blood sent a wire to the headquarters at San Francisco. In response, on August 15, J. W. Richardson and Miss Allen of San Francisco (National Red Cross workers) arrived and with Joseph E. Williams visited the places that had been destroyed and damaged by the floods. A report of their findings was sent to Governor Dern on the same day and Monday, August 17th, work was commenced to collect $35,000 to give some relief to the flood victims. On August 13th at 3 a. m. and again the same day between 1 and 2 p. m. Centerville was visited by still another flood, it going for the most part over the same grounds as the previous floods. State and county officials, county school board and the state prisoners rendered much valuable aid and service in cleaning up the debris and restoring whichever of the farms it was possible to restore. Warden Davis of the state penitentary, who had experience in previous floods, rendered much assistance by offering suggestions and placing volunteer labor at our disposal, said Mr. Williams. It appears that the benefits of the prisoners labor were not all on our side, however, as one convict managed to escape in Davis canyon in Farmington. It is not known locally whether he was ever apprehended. As a gesture of gratitude for their helpfulness, the prisoners were served a hot dinner in the church, and given a social in the Service News and Notes speak it well enough to carry on an. interesting conversation. One day we went on the train with them to a tangerine orchard and helped them pick tangerines until it was so dark you could hardly see. They gave us a basket full when we left. The tangerine is probably the Japanese delicacy. Its very sweet, and tastes better than the ones we have in this country. Rice and fish are their main dishes. They have a few sweet potatoes, hardly any fruit with the exception of oranges and tangerines. There is no candy, and the only sugar is a dark, stringy kind, which is not very sweet. It looks as if it was pounded from cane. The cookies are about like our dog biscuits small, hard and tasteless. Leon said the most beautiful things that he saw were the Japanese religious shrines, one of which he went through. The shrines are located on a hillside, usually. Near the front entrance are a totem pole and a weird-lookin- g Buddha, which has several arms and legs. The Japanese approach this and bow low to it before entering the shrine. Then they walk up to the entrance and pull a rope which is attached to a bell. They ring the Leon Reeves Tells Of Japanese Customs The Japanese people are very friendly and courteous when you get to know them, says T4 Leon Reeves, who spent about three months in Japan with the army medical corps. Leon was in the first convoy that landed in Wakayama, Japan, September 20, 1945. They had been given notice to invade Japan shortly before V-- J day. While in Wakayama, Leon became close friends with a family of Japanese. The father of the group owned a shop in which he sold silk and other goods. We (Leon and companions) visited the shop quite often and became acquainted with the father and his daughter and son. Every evening that we were there, the father would close the shop, pull all the blinds down, and we would go into the back room of the shop and visit. The family had a Japanese-Eng-lis- h 36-ho- ur dictionary and an English-Japanes- e dictionary. With those two books, they learned to speak our language quite well. They learn things fast. When we first knew them, they could speak very little English, but when we finally left them, they could Turn to page three afternoon. They played the piano and the organ and gathered together, singing hymns and enjoy- was also some loss of poultry, sheep, hogs and farm implements. Fortunately, no human lives were lost. . . . The survey ing themselves. revealed that all families made We quote from the official rehomeless by the floods were port of the American National temporarily housed with neighRed Cross, Washington, D. C., bors and friends or in near-b- y concerning the Utah floods of vacant houses. As has been 1930: The most serious of these stated, the problems of emerfloods were characterized by gency relief were small, as all mud flows or water containing affected families were immedienormous loads of boulders, ately provided with temporary stones, gravel, sand and finer shelter by relatives and friends. material. Many of the boulders The Davis and Salt Lake county weighed between 100 and 150 chapters in a few cases tons and one was estimated to funds for food and provided clothing. weigh 300 tons. The great bulk There remained however, the of the flood water accumulated problem of permanent rehabiat the headwaters of the tribulitation assisting many of the streams of the tary comparativefamilies in reestablishing the as small it and pourcanyons, ly home on the old site, or, in a ed down the ravines it picked up number of cases, giving needed of stones large quantities earth, assistance in the purchase of new and uprooted vegetation. The acreages or building lots and the water and solid materials rushed erection of buildings thereon. down these tributaries, gaining Those registered for relief are in velocity, and at their .conflusummarized as follows: Davis ence became raging torrents county, 67 families; Salt Lake sweeping down the main cancounty, 60 families; Utah county, 7 families; total, 134 families. yons into the valley below. DwelThe Red Cross financial statelings and other buildings were 3 wrecked, flooded or left half ment showed that a total of buried in the mass of earth, rocks was spent for relieving and boulders which was deposthe flood sufferers, of which ited on the leveler lands to was contributed by the depths varying from a few inches American National Red Cross, to as much as twelve to fifteen and $26,240.63 by individuals feet. Growing crops and orand organizations. chards were destroyed, as were Floods are dangerous and costfences and irrigation waterways; ly things, and next month we are and of the 179,200 acres of land going to print something which flooded 295 acres were so eroded should startle every resident and or littered with the debris as to property owner of this render them worthless. There ... , i $28,-240.6- $2,-000.- 00 |