Las Vegas age. [volume] (Las Vegas, Nev.) 1905-1947, 1927-05-28
OUR ELLEN WRITES
FROM FLOOD REGION
Miss LeNoir Gives Account of
Flood Conditions in South
Mississippi Valley.

ceive a letter from Miss Ellen
LeNoir, who was for several
years in charge of the University
Extension work in this district
She is now in charge of the work
in the northwestern district of
Louisiana, with headquarters at
the State University, Baton Rouge,
La. The letter is written from
her home address, 146 Dalzell
Street, Shreveport, La.
After expressing appreciation of
the Age, which she receives every
week, she writes:
Just now l am having temper
airy headquarters in Shreveport
with my family instead of at the
University. Perhaps you have
known it all the time, but it was
a surprise to me to find that
Baton Rouge is east of the Mis-
sissippi, as all my district is the
northwest part of the state. |
am staying on this side of the
yiver until we are sure that travel
across can be continued without
roundabout trips.
when | first came, we watched
the Mississippi, noting its rise
each day by the still visible por-
tion of the advertisements painted
on the levee across from Baton
Rouge. Now the great damage,
as you know, has been done in
the northeast by the tributaries of
the Mississippi and in the south
west by the Aatchaufalaya, which
IS swollen by backwataer from the
Red River which would ordinarily
go into the Mississippi, but can
not reach its present high level
Of you already know how to pro-
nounce that river you know some
thing that l have recently learned.
| thought at first that people were
talking about "a chapel aisle, and
wondered what that had to do
with the flood.
"The break in that levee today
caused the first loss of life except
one, when the little town of Mel
Vile was inundated to quickly that
some people were drowned in
their homes before they could be
rescued. The rescue workers
have been ready with boats at
each threatened point, and have
worked heroically and accomplish
ed wonders.
with all the property that has
been lost and the privations that
people are suffering in other parts
OF the state, l can hardly be
thankful enough that in all my
district (the northwest) there is
no danger. OF course a few have
lost crops in some of the low sec
tions, but no one has lost every
thing as in other portions of the
state. Here our main connection
with the flood is trying to help in
some way
"The director of extension has
offered the services of the staff
to the relief organization as we
are needed, but there has not
been much that we could do i'm
mediately. Our director is in
charge of rehabilitation and is
preparing to distribute seeds, baby
chicks and other necessities for
starting over when the waters
have receded. Most of the home
demonstration agents are getting
canning centers started where
they and the local women can
supplies to be used as needed in
the refugee camps and later by
people returning to their homes.
81 have eleven agents in my
district and am putting on two
emergency agents for this special
canning. People are most gener-
Gus with their ho.p. Last week
when l met with a parish police
jury County commissioners) to
discuss sending them one of these
emergency workers, one man vol
unteered right away TIL give a
beef to start the canning.
"The only personal experiences
that I have had really in the
water were not serious. The last
time I came from Baton Rouge to
Shreveport, the train ran Il
should say crept) a long way over
track covered with water up
above the steps of the cars, and
a man had to walk ahead to push
the driftwood out of the way, as
the day before a freight had been
derafled by driftwood on the
track.
my other experience was on a
little local train with no Pullman
cars, on which l expected to make
trip of about three hours to get
into Shreveport one Saturday
night. We were going slowly most
of the time, but about ten o'clock
the train stopped and brakeman
announced that we had "a little
washout' ahead and would go on
in a few minutes. l leaned over
on my hat box and went to sleep.
In an hour or two the brakeman
told us that there were some pill
lows on the train but no cases.
Most of the passengers took a
pillow and from their suit cases
brought forth something with
which to cover it. At four o'clock
in the morning several big motor
busses came out from Shreveport
and took us in. Now, even that
inconvenience is not occurring
anywhere in northwest Louisiana,
for the only trouble We might
have here would be from Red
River. the crest of which passed
early this month and the back
Uofor from, which ic acnan;p or