Kansas City, MO - Roundhouse & Turntable - 1951 Flood Here are a couple shots of bad times in Kansas City, 7/4/1951!
I was in Doc's Caboose last year talking about the 1951 flood. They said they had done some remodeling in the building several years ago and mud was still packed in between the stud all the way up into the second floor! Brad Slone
Wow. Talk about a flood. I am surprised they did not try to at least get the motive power and cabeese out before they took the dive.
My mom and dad lived in Kansas City at that time. I was born a year later. Dad worked at the Milgram's Grocery Store over in Armordale. The way it was told by my parents: Few expected the flood to be so bad. The first reports indicated a few feet, maybe. Dad was at work at Milgram's. The manager had instructed all the employees to place as much merchandise on the highest shelves as possible. As they went about their business doing so, someone ran into the store and yelled to them "The levees are failing, get out now!" Dad owned a vehicle. Dad made a dash for his car and some of his fellow workers that were car-less, not uncommon in a city "back then", ran with him. I'm sorry, I can't recall what kind. Now that both dad and mom have passed, I have no way of knowing. I do recall it had running boards. They all piled into his old car and dad started leaving the parking lot to climb the ramp on the nearby bridge so as to get to higher ground. It may have been the 7th Street bridge. As he did, people jumped aboard, hanging on and riding the running boards, on the fenders, anyway they could. The suspension of the old car was bottomed, and it was lugging in first gear up the significant grade up and over 7th Street bridge. Dad recalled it was like in a bad dream that you could not run fast enough to get away from a pursuing calamity. Anyway, as the old car made progress up the 7th Street bridge ramp, behind them, the water was beginning to rush into the area they had vacated. By the time the water crested, the Milgram store was completely submerged. Close call, and a life experience of theirs that I heard told many times over the course of dad and mom's life. Andre Ming
Wow! What a miracle. God was surely watching over your dad and his friends that day. Thank you for sharing that story! God is great!
I just posted several pictures on another thread about the 1951 flood at 19th Street Yard. They can be found here. http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?t=3906 Richard
