Show LOUISIANA TOWN FINALLY OUTSMARTS OL MAN RIVER VIDALIA LA ol 01 man river has been browbeating this town tor for more than years but fooled him now the big yellow currents that crush against Vi dalias levees will pound in vain for soon vidalia wont be there moving vidalia back a quarter mile and the currents can undercut the dikes and the dikes can slither into the river Vi dalias 1500 2500 people wont care its been going on a hundred years their predecessors and bands ot of slaves carted the earth to build the dikes against the currents the dikes grew higher with the years sometimes it looked like 01 man rivers fight sometimes it looked like Vi dalias the river took temporary possession during the devastating flood of 1927 vidalia moved back and strengthened the levees now tower ing above many homes in the spring of 1937 the levees mounted again again the river changed united states stales army engineers strengthened the bends above the town dredged channels and performed a little surgery but the river would not be quieted engineers cut through giles bend north of the town it made the river only more dangerous the current was deflected onto the protection levee around Vi dalias front and great slices of land weakened and fell into the water works progress administration engineers moved into the front line of attack they began the tedious process of 0 mapping out a new town site a quarter mile from the bank A new courthouse and a jail rose on the new location today the new town is growing the old is moving back to safety |