Sixty -seven years ago this month, The central part of Connecticut received an incredible amount of rain causing the greatest flood spectacle New England had ever seen. My hometown of Meriden Connecticut was spared since we were the next valley over from the Naugatuck Valley where the majority of the damage occurred. Meriden is East of Waterbury approximately 15 miles. The Waterbury area was considered the center of the flood waters. I was eight years old at the time and my dad delivered milk for the Meunchow Dairy of Meriden. When the waters started to recede, the dairy personnel took clean milk cans and filled them with potable water and my dad took several truck loads daily to the affected areas for drinking water. This went on for some time until local water supply systems could be restored,
The Waterbury (Connecticut) Republican American Newspaper printed a book with a picture story of the disaster. I had the book in my archives. Since the New Haven Railroad played a major role in transportation in that area, and many of the pictures were of damage sustained by the railroad, I thought it might be something of interest to our members, especially those who were New Haven fans. The flood took place while the New Haven was still a business entity. I wish to "Thank" the Waterbury Republican-American for permission to use the photos from their book.
Ben Sodergren <bsodergren@rep-am.com>
To:William Park
Wed, Aug 10 at 4:14 PM
Hello Mr. Park,
Thank you for sharing the story about your father - I was researching the Great Flood recently, and the stories of cooperation in its aftermath are really inspiring. Please feel free to post those pictures to the forum! I hope the other members of the group enjoy them.
Best regards,
Ben Sodergren
Librarian
Republican-American
(203)574-3636 x1497
