Calamity: The Heppner Flood of 1903 by Joann Green Byrd

Abstract

 Reviews Calamity: The Heppner Flood of 1903 by Joann Green Byrd University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2009. Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 256 pages. $22.50 paper. In Calamity: The Heppner Flood of 1903,author Joann Green succinctly narrates the tragic story of the flashflood that took the lives of 245 people and destroyed much property in the community of Heppner, Oregon. Based on a careful analysis of existing sources, the author painstakingly describes the sweep and impact of that terrible natural disaster and its aftermath. Making excellent use of eyewitness and carefully vetted after-the-fact accounts,she is able to provide an almost minute-by-minute report of the physical course of the floodwaters and how most of the victims lost their lives.The destructive force of the wall of water rushing through the town of Heppner is almost impossible to grasp. Non-masonry buildings did not stand a chance of survival. The author’s in-depth research into the biographical details of the victims’ and survivors’ lives certainly conveys the human scale of the losses suffered that hot Sunday, June 14, 1903. In covering the crushingly destructive storm in Heppner, the author also describes in detail the outpouring of money and personal aid that towns and individuals throughout the state and beyond provided in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.Portland and neighboring communities in eastern Oregon were especially quick to pour in workers,supplies,and money to help the town and its survivors recover. The author effectively captures for contemporary As simple as one … two … three … One … share an unforgettable heritage experience. Two … give back by joining or donating to the Oregon Historical Society. Three … match your gifts with a contribution to the Cultural Trust, earning a credit that will reduce your Oregon taxes by your entire donation to the Trust. It all adds up: Trust donations directly benefit the Oregon Historical Society and support 1,200 cultural nonprofits in every county. You give twice but it only costs you once. Now, that’s smart giving. Donate at www.culturaltrust.org. Carleton Watkins, “Cape Horn, Columbia River,” 1867, albumen mammoth print, included in Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867 – 1957, a 2008 exhibition (Portland Art Museum) and book (Oregon State University Press). Photo, collection of Oregon Historical Society. 775 summer street ne, ste 200 salem, or 97301 (503) 986-0088 cultural.trust@state.or.us Follow us on:  OHQ vol. 111, no. 1 readers the scale of this assistance by converting the 1903 dollars into their current value.By the author’s account,Heppner’s own resilience and effective use of outside help enabled the town to physically recover rather quickly. The human toll, however, proved more difficult to overcome. The last section of the book provides brief biographies of every victim and all of their families, thereby recapturing as much as possible the human dimension of the story. The book also includes a generous selection of photographs that convey rather well the destructive force of the floodwaters. To aid in understanding the individual and community response to the calamity in Heppner , the author makes good use of modern disaster-response studies, especially from the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans.It would, however,have broadened the context and value of the Heppner response to natural disaster by comparing its story to those of other towns in Oregon that experienced great losses in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For example, Long Creek suffered much destruction from a cyclone in June 1894, and fire almost completely wiped out Sumpter in 1917. Did these communities receive similar outside assistance and recover as well as Heppner, or did other factors affect the short- and longterm outcome of disaster in their cases? The author makes some use of the census records to help describe Heppner and its inhabitants,but a more systematic analysis of such information would have provided a more complete context for understanding the development of the community over time and how it coped with calamity.The author does briefly carry forward the story of the long-term effects of the flood and its potential for reoccurrence in Heppner by discussing the community...