Flood – Oral Histories

POLK COUNTY: Jennie Jones Giles, Silver Creek area

HENDERSON COUNTY: Flood Story by Donald Freeman, Gerton, NC

HENDERSON COUNTY: Flood Story of Ollie Huntley- Middle Fork section of Bat Cave

HENDERSON COUNTY: Flood Story of Edna Huntley Pryor (1889-1981)- A first-hand account of the flood’s effect on her family and community in the Middle Fork section of Bat Cave

MADISON COUNTY: Flood Story of Herman Guthrie- A first-hand account of a Marshall, NC resident who watched as his father and aunt were washed away when the flood took the building they were working in.

WNCW RADIO ADAPTATION Part One: The first episode of a four part series featuring oral histories of mountain elders. This episode focuses on family stories and how the flood effected families in Bat Cave, Gerton and Edneyville, North Carolina.

WNCW RADIO Documentary Part Two: McDowell County in North Carolina held the record for the most rain during the Flood of 1916, over 22 inches in a 24 hour period in addition to the ten plus inches of rain in the days before the second hurricane hit Western North Carolina. Hear from storyteller Bill Carson and others how the flood effected this area of the Southern Appalachians.

WNCW RADIO Documentary Part Three: The heroes and heroines of the Great Flood of 1916 who helped their community survive and get back on their feet again.

WNCW RADIO Documentary Part Four: Culmination of the radio broadcast focusing on what we’ve learned from the 1916 Flood and what might do with that information.

FLOODS, LANDSLIDES, and YOU: Floods in Western North Carolina can cause landslides. This presentation demonstrates WNC’s propensity for landslides and what communities can do to protect themselves and the environment.