LUNCH WITH BOOKS: "River on a Rampage" - The Disastrous Ohio River Flood of 1936

March 27, 2018
12:00pm - 12:00pm

TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018 AT NOON

"River on a Rampage" - The Disastrous Ohio River Flood of 1936

Heavy snow and rain in March 1936 triggered the worst flood in the Upper Ohio Valley's history. The river crested here in Wheeling at a record 55.5 feet on March 19th, and floodwater inundated the Island, much of South and Centre Wheeling and even the downtown streets as far east as Chapline. The Suspension Bridge and Steel Bridge were closed, and the Market Auditorium was converted to a refuge shelter and makeshift hospital. Utilities were shut down, supplies cut off, and more 20,000 people were driven from their homes. Historian Roger Pickenpaugh, author of "River on a Rampage: The 1936 flood from Chester to Marietta," joins us once again to tell us the story of the disastrous flood in Wheeling and beyond.

Roger Pickenpaugh is a retired teacher who taught for thirty years at Shenandoah Middle School in Sarahsville, Ohio. He is the author of over a dozen books on outstanding weather events in Ohio and the Civil War. His book "Captives in Gray: The Civil War Prisons of the Union" was published by the University of Alabama Press and awarded the 2010 James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize by the Central New Jersey Civil War Round Table. A companion volume, "Captives in Blue," rounds out Pickenpaugh's examination of Civil War prisoner of war facilities with a study of Union prisoners in Confederate prisons. Pickenpaugh lives in Noble County Ohio with his wife and co-researcher, Marion. Copies of "River on a Rampage: The 1936 flood from Chester to Marietta," along with several of Pickenpaugh’s books will be available to purchase following his talk.

- Tuesday, March 27, 2018 - 
Lunch With Books starts at noon in the Library Auditorium. 

The Ohio County Public Library's "Lunch With Books" programs are free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to bring a bag lunch. Complimentary beverages are provided. "Bring your lunch, feed your brain." For more information, call the library at 304-232-0244.