The Flood of 1935 -- When Southwest Nebraska felt Mother Nature's wrath

Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Men rescued from the roof of the light plant are pulled ashore. (High Plains Museum)

McCOOK, Neb. -- What more could go wrong?

It was summer 1935 in Nebraska. It was dry, and dirty. There was nothing to stop the wind but the barbed wire. Grasshoppers, descending in swarms of biblical proportions, ate everything in sight.

A five-year drought continued its strangle-hold on the Midwest. The heat, even at the end of May, even before summer started, was already just about unbearable.

The flood west of McCook, 80 years ago this weekend. (Gazette archives)

Winds blew up dust storms so bad and black that daylight became midnight.

The country was depressed -- not only its economy, but it seemed everyone's spirits as well.

Then, in the Republican River Valley, it started to rain. But, like every other calamity of that time, the rain somehow forgot how to stop.

The Nebraska Light and Power Plant, in south McCook, after the Republican River flood on May 31, 1935. (High Plains Museum)

The last week of May, 16 inches of rain fell in eastern Colorado.

Then, on the evening of May 30 and into the early morning hours of May 31, one storm system positioned itself over Nebraska and another one stalled over the already-saturated Colorado plains. The two systems merged over northeast Colorado, between the Republican River and Arikaree River, where the rivers cross the state line into Kansas.

The torrential rains that fell out of those deranged clouds created a hell on earth as the normally shallow and calm Republican broke out of its banks and raced downriver toward unsuspecting residents just trying one day at a time to survive drought and depression.

While up to 24 more inches of rain fell over the corners of the three states and rain fell throughout the river valley, a 10-foot wall of Republican River water built up speed as it moved east out of Colorado, spreading out two miles wide before careening off bluffs on the north and south. Rising water pouring out of the small creeks that fed the Republican only made matters worse.

Caught in the torrents were everyone, every animal and every thing in the Republican River Valley from Colorado, through Nebraska and into Kansas. Some had warning, others didn't.

Family histories relate stories of horrific loss of life -- of those trying to escape, those who waited too long and those who purposely stayed behind believing their river could never behave so badly.

Family histories are also full of tales of heroic rescues. Including that of the men who worked at the Nebraska Light and Power Company plant positioned along the usually placid river banks of the Republican south of McCook's South Street.

The flood waters grew deeper and more unruly as they reached McCook -- residents watched the Republican rise 10 feet in 12 minutes about 10 a.m on May 31. The flood trapped the electric plant crew working in the plant in what became the middle of the raging torrent. Rising waters forced the men to scramble to the roof of the building (located south of today's Barnett Park).

There -- as rain continued to fall and tornadoes (and, believe it or not, dust storms) followed the flood -- the 40 men huddled for the next 24 hours.

They watched the flood's detritus hurtle past -- dead bodies, dead cows, horses, pigs. Huge rootballs of cottonwoods sheared off by the raging water played tumblebug between the river banks and sand bars. The wreckage of homes and barns and chicken coops floated past.

The largest part of McCook sat north above flood stage, and the community came to the rescue of the stranded, cold, wet, hungry men. Men attempted first to row boats and a large pontoon across the churning water. That didn't work.

The next attempt saw Paul Wilson shinny along the electric lines strung between the shore and the powerhouse, carrying and dragging a heavy cable attached at the shore. Two men successfully reached the shore by riding in a telephone cable cart strung on the cable spanning the 400 feet between the shore and large H-frame poles at the plant. A third man assisting with the rescue and waiting on the H-frame poles dived headfirst into the nasty yellow-brown water when the poles washed out and the cable cart plummeted into the water. He was rescued with a rope a quarter-mile down-river.

The men feared that their fortress against the flood would lose its moorings to the force of the water, especially when the water tower gave way and its 27,000-gallon tank crashed into the water, just missing the northwest corner of the plant. It swung against the building at one point, but caused no further damage.

Even though the building was reinforced with steel and the roof was built with sheets of steel riveted and bolted together, rushing water was compromising the building's foundation. The men comforted themselves knowing that two rail cars upended a short distance upstream seemed to divert some of the water's forces and deadly debris around the plant.

After 24 hours, the water started to recede and lose some of its power. Max Merrill, who had spent his boyhood on the Mississippi River, rowed to the plant roof with sandwiches, water and coffee, and took back with him first the plant worker who had injured his head (or hand?) the day before. The light plant workers waded through still-deep water to a sand bar and a second large boat rowed out and, in many relays, took the remaining men to shore. By 2:30 p.m., June 1, the last man reached shore.

Within a couple days, the same men who were marooned on the roof returned to survey the damage to their plant, motors and generators.

Three days earlier, as the first waves of flood waters started reaching the plant, the men had wrapped the motors and generators in burlap to keep out as much sand and gravel and mud as possible. When they returned, they discovered that even with those early efforts, they had only one surviving motor. But one motor could supply electricity to the community, if they used it sparingly.

That summer, the city rebuilt its light plant -- initially in the open air --and its engines started operating. McCook residents once again had electricity they could call upon whenever they needed it.

(James R. Jaquet, the plant's general manager, wrote an account of the flood and the rescue of his men following the flood. It's reprinted in a book called "Bluff-to-Bluff: The 1935 Republican River Flood" by Marlene Harvey Wilmot, 1995. (Bluff-to-Bluff and Bluff-to-Bluff, Too are available at the Museum of the High Plains in downtown McCook.)

The Republican River Flood of 1935 killed about 102 people, people who died when too much rain fell too fast and the Republican raged out of its banks.

In today's economy, the damage to homes, farms and businesses and the loss of livestock from Colorado to central Kansas would total billions of dollars.


In his report, Jaquet listed the men trapped on the roof: Jake Amen, Floyd Albright, F.W. Anthony, W. Baker, John Baker, Cloyd Bell. T.C. Bergin, Floyd Bower, Chas. Clark, Oscar Clark, Carl Cottingham, Lou Dulaney, Ralph Elwood.

C.H. England, W.R. Evans, R.H. French, Frank Gillen, John Herbst, John Herman, Merl Huet, A.S. Hockman, J.R. Jaquet, Harry Jensen, Ray Lytle, V. (Virgil) Lytle, Elmer Mapes.

Hugh Meyers, E.J. Nelson, W. Rishel, C.C. Parker, Geo. Schleeman, Geo. Simmons. J.L. Snyder, Ed. Storr, Gunnar Swanson, Stewart Walker, Paul Wilson, Louis Wolfe, Mike Worski, Joe Ward.

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  • Good story.

    -- Posted by dennis on Wed, May 27, 2015, at 9:43 PM
  • Interesting, that exactly 80 years have passed since 'the big flood,' on the Republican River, and my home town, of McCook, Nebraska, with what I consider to be the 'True Pentecost/Shavuot,' anniversary of the Holy Spirit indwelling the Apostles, and the possibility, through my studies, of Jesus coming to Snatch the Church/Bride away, this Sunday, being a likely day, to get away from this flood/war/volcano torn time, on Earth. ... The flood justified, what we call, the Trenton Dam, being constructed, to prevent future floods, and perhaps the Snatching, would justify the 'Awakening,' to the need of Christ 'in' our mortal life, so we can be with Him, and be Joyous throughout our Eternal Life. Hmmm, Ponder Please. IMO, The time is extremely SHORT. AMEN

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Fri, May 29, 2015, at 11:02 AM
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