This is the 125th anniversary of the horrific Johnstown, Pennsylvania Flood. It happened on Memorial Day, May 31, 1889. An ill-repaired dam let go when the heavy spring rains came, washing away the small town below.
2, 209 people perished.
I wanted to pay tribute to the brave people of Johnstown so focused a large portion of my historical novel, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow, on the flood. I don't write graphic pieces because I don't like to read graphic pieces. A park ranger from the Johnstown, PA National Flood Museum approved as accurate my flood writings. When a reviewer posted, "I was "there" in the story of Velvet Undertow. Especially the flood. I could smell the stench, and taste the water, and feel the fear and hopelessness, etc."- Blue Sparrow, I was satisfied the scenes would put the reader in the deadly racing waters along with the fictional characters Carolena Dunnigan and Grey McKenna.
Velvet Undertow's Dedication reads:
Dedicated to the innocent souls who lost their lives and loves to the great 1889 Johnstown Flood in
Postscript reads:
Authorities list the lives lost in
It took ten minutes for the city of Johnstown to wash away and five years before Johnstown
Although lawsuits were filed against the
South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club of Pittsburgh, none were successful. The
official cause of the flood? An act of God.
Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow Paperback available at: http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Islands-Velvet-Undertow-Malcolm/dp/1449029191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401592533&sr=8-1&keywords=velvet+undertow
