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<br />May 31, 1935 <br /> <br />FLOO'D <br /> <br />A I was a sluggish stl'cam which me-- <br />small group of businessmen anderec} thru the vaJley, often going <br />stood at the railroad crossing and i comph~teJy dry in 8ummer, and the <br />watched in stunned disbelief as a possibility that it might become a <br />trickle of water flowed over the raging torrent ar,d damage the <br />tracks and spread do\'.'11 Clayton countrY3ide, had se:dom occurred to <br />street. It was incredible. Brush even pioneer residents. <br />had never had a flood, and though' <br />there was a sea of water which <br />spread as far as the eye could see <br />south the embankment of the tracks <br />would surely hold and Brush would <br />be spared! <br /> <br />In front of Penney's store, Cliff <br />Baker, new manager, watched the <br />trickle. He was new in Brush, and <br />when the rumors spread earlier that <br />the town would be flooded he mobi- <br />lized his small force of- clerks and, <br />working aJl night, had cleared the <br />basement of merchandise, piling it <br />high on cOlUlters and upstairs in <br />the baJcony. Scoffers watched the <br />proceedings with amusement, be- <br />cause experfenced people knew that <br />Brush had never in its history been <br />flooded! <br /> <br />SUddenly, tile tracks gave way <br />half a mile east of the town, and <br />within minutes the flood was no <br />longer a rumor--it was a fact, and <br />Brush was under water, which in <br />places reaQbml a depth of four feet. <br /> <br />For a week preceeding the dis. <br />aster heavy rains had poured on the <br />Beaver Valley south, and repeated <br />warnings had come that a flood was <br />3. probability. The Beaver Creek <br /> <br />The Flood at Ryland's <br /> <br />The railroad had. howeyer. pro- <br />vided :~ generous ~pace for expan- <br />sion oj' the creek ''''.henl its tracks <br />crossed it east of Brush. But when <br />the flood came it crashed U1I'U the <br />railroad embankmlmt and tracks <br />and flooded not only the town of <br />Brush, but surrounding far:~land as <br />far north as Hillrose. <br /> <br />ForLmately, the dama.ge in town <br />was confined to flooded basements <br />and first floors. Low spots suf- <br />fered more damage, and the south <br />side was particulal'ly affected be- <br />cause of its proximity to the creek <br />bed. T11e Red Cro:Js sent immedi- <br />ate aid to a few familiES which <br />were complllled to move, and com- <br />munlcaUons were interrupted fol' a <br />day, ])..It there were few serious <br />effects Irom the flood. Hundreds <br />of PUtr.ps were rushed into service, <br />and within a wee]t business was <br />back to 110l"mal. <br /> <br />Bl"us:l. however. has nevel" for- <br />gotten its flood, a:ld the railroad <br />has nov,' reconstrucl ed its tracks in <br />such a way that another visitation <br />;)f wat€ l' of the same or larger size. <br />~ou1d bE: handled' without :flooding. <br /> <br /> <br />-----=-:! <br /> <br />From left, Curly Burbridge. :\Ieek LehsocH:. Il,Jl:identifle(l, Chet :\lyen;, <br />J. B. Byland, Wlldentifled. <br /> <br />Figure 2 <br />Source: <br /> <br />An Account 0:1" the <br />Brush News-Tribune, <br />Supplement .-- <br /> <br />Flood <br />Anniversary <br /> <br />193:; <br />70-th <br /> <br />-22- <br />