Troy Ohio flood

Ohio’s Greatest Natural Disaster Inspires My Story–Surprised by Love

/ sandramervillehart

by Sandra Merville Hart

A school event for my daughter took us to Troy, Ohio. The quaint city captivated me from the first visit. It felt like something ought to happen there—and that was before I was writing!

A few years later, an opportunity arose to join fellow Ohio authors in a novella collection set in Ohio locations. My mind raced back to Troy. What could I write about? My husband and I drove there on a mission of discovery.

At the Museum of Troy History I learned about a terrible flood in 1913 that displaced many Troy citizens and even claimed lives of a few. The way the townspeople rallied together to meet the tragedy inspired me and led to the writing of this story.

We walked around the town square, visiting shops. Around About Books is a treasure. I’ve since participated in booksigning events there so this has become a special place to me.

We ate at a lovely diner, K’s Hamburger Shop, a place that has been on Troy’s Main Street since 1935. My story is set in 1913 so it wasn’t there during the flood, but the whole place gave me a feeling of historic nostalgia.

My imagination soared from my research. The first draft of the novella, Surprised by Love, was written in two weeks! That remains the record for me.

Researching The Flood of 1913—Ohio’s greatest natural disaster—and personal visits to Troy inspired this story of love and courage.

I hope you will read this story and all the others set in Ohio locations in “From the Lake to the River. Here’s a blurb for my historical romance, Surprised by Love:

Lottie’s feelings for an old school crush blossom again during the worst flood her town has endured in years.

Lottie shoulders the burden for her siblings after their mother’s death. Her seventeen-year-old brother’s disobedience troubles her, especially since she also cares for the boarders in their home. When the flooding river invades not only the town of Troy but also her home, Lottie and her family need to be rescued.

Desperate circumstances throw Lottie and Joe, her schoolgirl crush, together. Can tragedy unite the couple to make her long-buried dream of winning his love come true?

Amazon

Troy and the Great Flood of 1913

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Images of America Series

Hard rains began on Easter Sunday. The city of Troy, Ohio, received almost 10 inches of rain in five days, flooding the Great Miami River out of its banks.

This nonfiction resource book shows details of the rising water, risky water rescues, and how the townspeople pulled together to care for the suffering in shelters and makeshift hospitals.

The Miami County sheriff, Louis Paul, directed boat rescues. So many people were in danger flood that men were released from Troy City Jail to join rescue efforts.

Excellent book for history lovers.

Reading this book and visiting the city’s museums so inspired me that I wrote a novella, Surprised by Love, about the 1913 flood in Troy. My novella is part of an anthology, From the Lake to the River. Stories in this anthology collection are set in Ohio locations and written by Ohio writers.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Cleaning Up After the 1913 Great Miami River Flood

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Cleaning up after The Troy Flood of 1913  was a massive effort on the part the townspeople.

The small Ohio city received about ten inches of rain in March of 1913 that flooded Troy. After the floodwaters from the Great Miami River and the Miami and Erie Canal receded, it left a muddy trail.

Citizens received warnings from the Board of Health about contaminated water. To avoid diseases left behind, they were not to return to their homes until water receded from their cellar. Wet wallpaper was to be removed.

Cleaning walls and floors with slacked lime killed mildew and mold. Troy’s Mayor John McClain requested two railroad cars of lime from the Ohio governor, James Cox.

The diseases were real. Troy citizens suffered through a typhoid epidemic the summer after the flood, said to have been caused by contaminated wells. Some died of the disease in late summer and early fall.

The characters in my novella, Surprised by Love, lived through the 1913 Troy flood. They tore down wallpaper. They cleaned with slacked lime.

They weren’t alone in this chore. Many in Troy and surrounding towns and cities along the Great Miami River also had massive cleaning after the flood.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. S.v. “slaked lime.” Retrieved July 21 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/slaked+lime.

Troy Historical Society. Images of America: Troy and the Great Flood of 1913, Arcadia Publishing, 2012.

Surprised by Love is Sandra’s novella in From the Lake to the River Collection (Mt. Zion Ridge Press, September 2018) that releases September 1st! Nine Ohio authors have written stories set in Ohio.

Surprised by Love is set during the 1913 flood in the small city of Troy, Ohio, where ordinary people courageously met the danger. Heroes are born at such a time.

Lottie’s feelings for an old school crush blossom again during the worst flood her town has endured in years.

 Lottie shoulders the burden for her siblings since their mother’s death. She also cares for the boarders in her home who need her assistance as much as her siblings. Dreams of Joe, her schoolgirl crush, must be put behind her. When the flooding river invades not only the town of Troy but also her home, Lottie and her family need to be rescued.

Desperate circumstances throw Joe and Lottie together. Can tragedy unite the couple to make her long-buried dream of winning his love come true?

The collection, From the Lake to the River, is available for preorder on Amazon!

 

The Troy Flood of 1913

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Troy citizens couldn’t foresee the terrible flood coming their way as they traveled to church on the stormy Easter morning of March 23, 1913.

The day before had a been an unseasonably beautiful day. The small Ohio city, set on the banks of the Great Miami River with the Miami and Erie Canal running through it, manufactured transportation equipment, food machines, and distilled beverages.

While the river rose, the canal overflowed on Sunday night. Men, carrying lanterns, walked between the two waterways to monitor water levels.

Water often seeped into cellars during hard rains and citizens weren’t too concerned at first. When ankle-deep water became waist high in twenty minutes, folks became alarmed.

Relentless rain flooded houses, driving people from their homes. Some were trapped. Sheriff Louis Paul directed rescues made by boats. Men with boats rowed to their neighbors’ aid. Folks outside of Troy came to help.

Some men were released from prison in order to help. “Sailor Jack” and Otto “Slim” Sedan became heroes during the flood.

Houses came loose from their foundations. One man rode down the river on his roof.

Animals weren’t safe either. Three chickens perched on a chicken house as it floated down Race Street.

Temporary hospitals and public shelters were set up for those displaced by the flood.

The Flood of 1913 is Ohio’s greatest natural disaster. The worst flooding occurred along the Great Miami River. Statewide, at least 428 people lost their lives.

Troy and nearby Dayton received 9.7 inches of rain in five days.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

“1913 Ohio Statewide Flood,” Ohio History Central, 2018/02/22 http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/1913_Ohio_Statewide_Flood.

Troy Historical Society. Images of America: Troy and the Great Flood of 1913, Arcadia Publishing, 2012.