The last few weeks have brought their own deluge … we have been flooded, so to speak, with your memories, photos and mementos of the 1937 flood. We have more than we can use, in fact. But we have made space for a variety of video interviews, stories and photos that give those of us who were not there a feel for what it was like. If you are in the main blog page right now, you can click on 1937 Flood in the menu to your right to find a couple of more blog entries and some comments submitted by area residents (this entry will be the first one, so you will have to scroll down past this entry to find more). I invite you to join them: what are your memories or family stories from the flood of 1937? Just click on COMMENTS above this post, and then scroll down to add your story. In the meantime, take a look at what we’ve collected on our flood webpage, and be sure to tune in tonight (Jan. 15) to CET for the 1987 50th anniversary program THE 1937 FLOOD: A LOOK BACK. -Patsy

You may know that CET has been collecting memories of the 1937 Flood. Next week on our special Flood webpage you will find the results: video, written memories, photographs and even music. We appreciate everyone who has contributed. A special thanks to Tim Kraus at Hughes Center High School for Teaching and Technology, who inherited an original 16mm film of the flood and allowed us to transfer it to video. It was quite the adventure trying to track down a 16mm projector, but another one of our area schools was able to loan us one. Thanks to Dave Reder and Lakota West High School for the loaner! To get a preview of some Flood stories, visit my previous blog entry on the flood and read the comments submitted.

At 9pm on Friday, Jan. 19, CET will air 1937 Flood: A Look Back, which contains original flood footage and interviews focusing on how the community – especially businesses – dealt with the flood and its aftermath.

We are pleased to be able to use our media services to give you a well-rounded look at this important event in Greater Cincinnati’s history. Tell us what you think. What did you enjoy? What did you want to know more about? What other topics should we be examining? Watch for my blog entry on Jan. 19 and please take a moment to comment … or feel free to email CET. We look forward to hearing from you. –Patsy

The Ohio River’s Flood of 1937 was before my time, but I have heard stories. I’ll bet you have, too.

I hail from Western Kentucky, and though my hometown of Murray suffered from creek and tributary flooding, it wasn’t directly affected by the Ohio River’s floodwaters – but our neighbor Paducah certainly was. All my life I’ve heard about “Speedy” and his wild ride in the Great Flood. Apparently a funeral home in Paducah had been working with an experimental embalming method, and when Mr. Charles “Speedy” Atkins drowned in 1928 and there were no funds to pay for a funeral and burial, the funeral home embalmed him with its new method and displayed him in a case to show its work. Then came the flood in 1937, and poor Speedy was washed away in the deluge. Later, his body was recovered and returned to the same funeral home as a “flood victim.” He was not buried until 1994, but before then he was featured on Ripley’s Believe it Or Not and other television programs. Speedy’s headstone in Maplelawn Cemetery, Paducah, Ky., notes that he lived and died as a pauper, but was buried a celebrity.

I know there must be local stories that are touching, frightening, amazing … even ones that rival Speedy. Click on Comments above this blog entry, then scroll down and type in your own memories or stories that have been handed down in your family. You can also contribute photos and videos to coincide with CET’s January programming and online observance of the 70th anniversary of the flood. See our ’37 Flood Web page for more information. –Patsy