Published: October 21, 2009 01:29 pm      

'Historical' flood

By Mark Pace



It was Mother Nature against human nature, and when Mother Nature’s flood waters of a few weeks ago in September decreased, human nature’s chores increased. As usual there are the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful in such situations. Ugly in its destructive forces, beautiful in floral gardens, trees, shrubbery and green lawns that routinely need the descent of heavenly moisture — especially essential to the trees whose leaves fade from green to autumn’s beautiful color spectrum that splash the landscapes’ foliage of colors as brilliantly as the mounds of the colors on an artist’s hand-held palette.

Thus, Mother Nature, with her beauty, often is reflected in the stilled and deepened floodwaters beneath. It is those rising waters that eventually may seep under doors, and into human nature’s hand-made structures and do horrible ebb-and-flow damages that may necessitate eventual destruction.

Such was the situation last month on the ground and interior of the area’s old and historically important and famous Crown Garden and Archives in north Dalton, home of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. It was the red-brick office building of the Hamilton family’s officials of Crown Cotton Mill created in 1884.

On a September morning when Erik Gallman, executive director of the Archives, reported for work he was shocked to see the Archives ground flooded with water. Upon entry of the building he found some water damages to a room and possibly a hundred books of historical value that would become mildewed and covers curled, but yet legible for reading. There were electrical problems that city workers determined could cause a fire, and rewiring had to be done.

Gallman raised the windows and brought in four large exhaust fans to blow out the moisture.

Those recovered books will be offered for sale to the public.

Gallman has received cleanup assistance from individual citizens and a group of students from Northwest High School’s vocation instruction class, along with two teachers, Angela Gallman and Laura Jager.

“One of those students and other people, like Thea Gossett, have returned several times to help us out,” said Gallman. He named, for example, Sherian Hall, Stacy North, Joanne Lewis, Jean Manly and Augustine Gallman among others, who have been of assistance. Others include Randy Beckler who provided a van for storage, and the volunteer functions of Bob Howalt.

Gallman later gladly discovered the interior flood damage was not as great as first feared.

Most flood damage was restricted to one room and the loss of a single room floor carpet.

A primary objective now is to have other organizations and individuals to lend cleanup aid.

Gallman said much assistance is anticipated Oct. 23-24 when Shaw Industries sends in a number of its personnel to the scene. Current plans call for the rehab project to be completed in time to have a proposed Christmas open house.

Persons who may have feared that the room of poet Robert Loveman may have been damaged needed not to fear. That eloquent room was moved several years ago from the present Crown and Gardens Archives building and set up in the nearby Hamilton House

Mrs. Ellen (Art) Thompson, president of the Historical Society, confirmed the limited damage inside the house. Coincidentally, that occurred during the time Gallman was undertaking a project of interior improvements that is requiring a considerable amount of time. She also spoke of the good and the bad situations that resulted from the constant heavy rains and floodwaters.

It was discovered that the flood resulted from a culvert that was stopped up with tree roots.

“That has now been cleared out by city of Dalton workers. One sure thing is that had it not been discovered now, it could have been much worse in the future,” she said.

Both Mrs. Thompson and Gallman express their appreciation to local citizens who are volunteering their time to assist in clean up operations, and say that even now more assistance could be used.