|
Laminated copies of newspapers bearing headlines about HurricaneCamille covered a long wooden table in a back room of Nelson CountyHigh School"s library. Three students gathered around the issues, methodically groupingpages together by date and publication, and attaching them with ametal ring. "The students are very interested in the topic," saidJane Raup, the high school"s librarian. For the past several weeks, seniors Stephanie Bryant and AshleyCoffey and junior Chris Baker have been archiving, organizing andlaminating hundreds of donated articles, photographs and othermementos concerning the hurricane which devastated the county in1969, leaving more than 125 people either dead or missing. Only a few finishing touches remain on the project. The donation came from Raup"s mother, Louise Wood, ofWingina. For years, Wood had been keeping materials concerning HurricaneCamille in a box. The earliest resource was a Waynesboro newspaper from the day afterthe hurricane and the most recent item was a newspaper from 2009covering the hurricane"s 40th anniversary. "The box seemed like a bottomless pit," Bryant said."Every time you pulled something out, there was moreunderneath. That"s a good thing, though." Raup said the materials would be a nice addition to theschool"s Hurricane Camille resources and the students"work would make the resources easier to locate for the numerousresearch projects done on the subject each year. Through the documents, the students are able to see the situationunfold, beginning with the Waynesboro paper, where there is nomention of the destruction on the other side of the mountain. Reports on casualties and the damage were printed as daysprogressed and as other publications heard about what happened. The communication system was not as evolved back then. The roadswere washed out and there were no cell phones, making it difficultto let others know what was happening, Raup said. The articles also contain comments from people directly affected bythe hurricane, giving faces and human elements to the naturaldisaster. "It"s really interesting," Bryant said."The interviews with the people were the worst. The way theysaid it, you could almost feel as if you"re in theflood." Some experiences resonated with Bryant as she read the articles,including the Raines, who were washed away and had to hold on whilethey waited for help, and Colleen Thompson, who was swept downabout a mile in the flood. All three students said they were shocked at the actual damage itcaused and how something like that could happen in the middle ofVirginia. They were also amazed and impressed at the residents" abilityto come together and get through the crisis. They said they also enjoyed learning more about their ancestors andcounty. Coffey took a personal interest in the articles, searching thepapers for references to her dad"s family, who lived throughthe hurricane. She said one of the most frustrating aspects of the research werejournalists misspelling names in the articles, making it difficultto know if she was related to the people mentioned or if it reallywas another family with a different spelling. Since the disaster happened in the county they grew up in, Bakersaid it was easier to connect with and sympathize with thefamilies. "You see disasters on the news and you really can"trelate to it," he said. "With Hurricane Camille, I feltas if I was in it because it was in Nelson County. You can reallyrelate to it because it was in your area." Students reading the papers in the future will not only learn aboutHurricane Camille and Nelson County but about the country at thattime as well. 1969 was also the year of Woodstock and the moonlanding. "It"s fun, looking at the papers and learning moreabout other things," Coffey said. "They"re talking about landfills and that they"reall right, which is different than today, and the low cost of food.It just blows your mind." Bryant said one of the most challenging parts of the job wasmatching loose articles to the proper publication and issue. Organizing the three-inch binder filled with copies of articlesseparated into sections on different aspects of the hurricane wasalso difficult and time consuming. Some of the sections are geographical regions, relief and recovery,the Mennonites, the weather conditions and the control post set upin Lovingston on U.S. 29. The students and Raup affectionately dubbed the binder "TheCamille Bible." Although it was a lot of work, Bryant said the project inspired herto pursue a career in history and reaffirmed Baker"s interestin the field. Baker aspires to be a history teacher or professor. Baker"s love of history was the motivation for Raup askinghim to help organize the school"s collection of Camilleinformation. Once the box of new materials was donated, Bryant, who wasRaup"s aid, became involved in the project. Coffey joined her friend shortly thereafter because she was an aideduring the same block and saw how many documents Bryant was workingwith. The students" main hope is that their work will make iteasier for future classes to learn about Hurricane Camille. "Hopefully more kids will learn more about the flood and notforget about it," Bryant said. "I don"t think it will be forgotten because of themarkers, but the verbal history is leaving.". I am an expert from portable-data-terminals.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Handheld PDA Devices , GIS Terminal Manufacturer, Mobile POS Terminals,and more.
Related Articles -
Handheld PDA Devices, GIS Terminal Manufacturer,
|
