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Coming Events
 AN EXCITING NEW PROJECT!
And I need your help.

Washington Crossing Bridge at flood crest – August 19, 1955
Photo courtesy "River Jim" Abbott, Titusville

August 18, 2005 will be the 50th anniversary of one of the most devastating floods ever to hit the Delaware River, from Point Jervis, New York to Trenton, on both sides of the river. It was caused by two hurricanes training one after the other within a week’s time, saturating the ground and leaving nowhere for all that extra runoff to go. To this day, in Bucks, Warren, Hunterdon and other nearby counties, we all live with the lasting effects of this flood. One very visible example is the empty pilings that still stand between Bull Island, NJ and Point Pleasant, PA, where the bridge was washed away and never rebuilt. But there were many other changes made after the floodwaters receded that influence the way regional politics are played out, where people work and live (and don’t), etc.

So many people in so many places were hurt, killed or lost property in the flood, and—most amazingly—many who should have been caught in it got away. It is a moving story of the kinds of things we today most need to hear: tremendous heroism in the face of overwhelming tragedy; people working together for the greater good; those who lost everything pitching in to help those who still had something left to save; and the stoic will to slog on through the disheartening aftermath until the cleanup was completed.

Sound familiar?

The flood has been covered to varying degrees of depth in a number of books over the years, but it has never gotten its own encompassing treatment. Because its effects were so widespread and lasting, I have begun work on a new book that will memorialize the flood. The book will be a thorough, historically accurate work that captures both the event itself and the way it changed life in our region. In it, I will honor the importance of drawing connections between life before and after the flood in a way that is both historically and personally meaningful for those who lived through it and those who came after.

I believe in the power of story to remind us that each individual has the power to choose to act to change things for the better, and to help us remember hope.

Request
I am asking your help in locating ANYONE you know of, who may have personally lived along the river at that time and survived the flood, or who knows/knew someone who did, or whose businesses or family members were somehow involved.

I have already begun researching and will begin interviewing people in early February. I have a limited period in which to do this if I am still to have time to write and produce the book before 2005. Also, many of those who were personal witnesses to the flood’s devastation are getting quite old and may pass before I have time to connect with them. (The average 30-year-old in 1955 will be 80 in 2005.) Obviously, I would appreciate hearing from anyone with such contacts right away.

Got contacts?
Call me at 610-847-2456 OR email me at floodbook@thewordforge.com.

I am also looking for anyone who may have relevant personal letters, journals, photographs or other memorabilia I could copy and use in the book. Anyone contributing anything will be fully acknowledged in the book, and all original materials will be returned in good condition. I will, of course, make use of materials in public archives and collections, but those items from personal photo albums, scrapbooks, etc. will always be more rare and unique, and therefore of greater interest.

I’m open to suggestions from anyone who has any, about ways to make it better, more interesting, more thorough, etc. Any ideas you have about things you’d really like to see in such a book as a reader, if it interests you at all. I don’t want this to be a dry history book, but an engaging piece that reads like a thriller. All the elements are there; it’s just up to me to pull it together in a compelling way.

Specifically What I Need
Please feel free to share with me any research archives or collections you know about that I may not. Even if you think I know, tell me anyway. I’ve only lived around here about five years. I’m also interested in hearing any ideas you may have about clever ways of promoting the book once it’s published, aside from the usual bookstore appearances, etc.

Thanks for any contact info, names, etc. you may be able to share with me. Phone numbers and/or email are most appreciated for contact info, though I realize snail mail may be all you have or all that your sources may use. I will gratefully acknowledge all those who help me in the book, and you will be the recipients of my undying gratitude.

Thanks sincerely for your time and consideration of my lengthy request. I appreciate your support, and any good energy you can send me…I'll need it.

Best regards,
Mary