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, , J"ay 1934 ------- - - --"------ ----------------------~~~~~--~ , The 1984 Oak Creek flooding has brought out such comments as "THIS IS THE FIRST TIME", "I'VE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THIS BEFORE THIS YEAR" and "RESIDENTS OF 90 YEARS HAVE SAID THEY NEVER SAW IT SO BAD" I have not lived in Oak Creek for 90 years. For those who have and for others who are new here, I would like to reminisce a little. By so doing, perhaps I can give a long overdue recognition to past Mayors, Town Board Members and Town Employees I can remember serving on the board with Melvin Myers. Every spring he spent hours and days checking with the town employees and checking for himself what the situation really was. He knew the water had to be taken care of--that was priority number one! He had a man working 24 hours a day during .the high run off to make sure the plant had good water for the town. Jack Baker and Joe Petronovich spent most of their time taking of it. They made sure the headgates at the reservoir were open. sure Joe can tell you of the 72 hour shifts he put in--some within past ten years. Dude Todd, Fay Hall, Herman Dunkley, Les Gregory and John Yurich worked for the town at different times, each passing on to the next his knowledge of the foreseeable problems. The creek bed and spillways had to be maintained and cleaned so that the dirt wouldn't settle and raise the water level to a point of flooding. This time of year, they spent hours, day and night to keep the water running smoothly. Herman Dunkley made sure the equipment at the sewer plant was removed or protected from destruction. They were so efficient that the water passed through unnoticed. As for the 10cal_bl;!~!.D.~-~-~.!~:.:;:_"they '::.:p~S!.:-:!,~.;Jn...XJJLL.Q.fL, eac~L year a.!lfLbu i l..t accordi ngly;t I would slt wdl'i :hmmy Hoy t and he told me ao /"'1' i rs t comi ng into the valley and how the creek meandered through the present town. He said that the town people over the years changed the path", The business people built with plenty of space beneath the f10.l:..S..A, __.,-,...~.,~,-~-.""-~.~-."~- - ....co..,.., _ ' ...~~_..~........,,~'"__.,..,~,--,..~~r'-< Th';'''P~';r;;-';;n Bu ildi ng, Andy Black Bu ildi ng and the Li berty and Mat t' s Place (to name a few) had 3 to 4 feet crawl space under the floor. I can recall working at the Yount. Drug Store and checking the water level under the building. I was scared to death. The foundations criss- crossed with openings at various spots, forming a maze. I hated the dark--I hated crawling around in all that water and I was so sure that I would, find a dead body under the bars that I had nightmares for weeks and could never remember just what it was that I was checking for. care I am the Oh ~es ew~n Lee (down io Hickory Flats) built her houses (or should I say-- crIbs) four feet oft the ground. Her one or two room buildings (and she had several!) were so constructed that there were four or five steps up to a small porch before entering. I asked her once why she built her places like that and she said "Honey, when you live around here as long as I have, the last thing you want is to wake up to a bedroom full of water!" There were times the water ran high and couldn't be controlled. Those were the times the town flooded. In 1914, when the mine strike forced the miners to live in tents where the city park is now, the water flooded the entire area and the strikers lost what few belongings they had. In 1939, the creek flooded through town and the area by Earl Ray's had water half way to the roofs of the houses along there.