The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-06-10
Drowsy Missouri Village Awaits Death by Drowning
By ROBERT VALLEY NEA Service Special

LldU mllllOu dIlu Hall lCl IAAS acres of the St. Francis Valley in Missouri and Arkansas may be pro- tected from flood, this whole town faces a compulsory moving day" When the waters back up to full depth behind the Wappapello dam, Greenville will be far under water.
 Not only this drowsy little town itself, with its 800 people, but be- tween 5000 and 4,000 others in the
 True, the government is buying out all these people at figures gen. nearby valley must seek new homes. orally regarded as fair. But it is not so easy to pull up, lock, stock and barrel and seek new life else where when most of long life has been spent in a quiet little town like Greenville.
 Three Years Grace
 The $16,00O,000 that is going into the Wappapello dam will start flowing this summer, but it will be almost three years before the new lake covers the valley with a 20- mile sheet of water that will rival the Lake of the Ozarks as a recre- ation spot. This gives the people of Greenville plenty of time to con- sider what to do.
 But there is further problem. Much of the entire county of Wayne will be flooded, and Green vile is the present county seat. A new otWn must be chosen for it's place, or possibly what remains of the county may be annexed to other adjoining counties. The nearby town of Williamsville, 12 miles away, is attempting to per- suade the Greenvillians to move there in a body.
 Greenville is proud of its new centralized school, built for $l16,- 900 with WPA help only a few years ago. But water from the new dam will rise above the present level of its roof, making it useless before the $20,00O in bonds on it have been paid off.
 Materials from this building and the $6O,000 brick courthouse may be salvaged and used in relocating the buildings elsewhere, but this has not been definitely decided.
 Most of the houses in the area to be flooded will be simply razed for junk lumber.
 More Problems
 Houses and land can be paid for, but that is again not the whole problem raised by such projects as Wappapello.
 What of Dr. John Wagner, who for 28 years has been ministering to the communitys sick and deliv- ering it's babies? When his pa- tients scatter in many directions he is faced with rebuilding his practice.
 What of business men like F. B. Ellinghouse, publisher of the local paper, who has been building it up for 25 years as an integral part of the community? His subscribers and his advertisers will both vanish at once.
 What about Mrs. Susie Scott Watson, who has run the local hotel for 30 years? No more trav- cling men will come to Greenville. because there won't be any more Greenville.
 There is little complaint about the prices the government is offer ing for town property, but some of the farmers in the richer bottom lands which produce corn crops as good as 100 bushels to the acre. are dissatisfied. A few of them are facing condemnation suits after re- fusal to sell at the price proposed.
 Much of the 25,00O acres of farm land in the reservoir area will not be continually under water. When water is lowered at the dam. the river will scarcely be over it's banks at Greenville.
 But when water is being stored. 1t will gradually rise until if reaches the level of the second floor o1 the courthouse, and a point now well above the school roof. So the DIV AiAiASiiO 10 UtthulB no chances or later suits for damages, but is simply buying all the land in the area.
 One More Harvest
 Practically all farmers are nut ting out a crop for l938 knowing that they are sure of at least one more harvest before the water be- gins to rise. But the town itself. a sleepy backwater for many years stopped any forward progress in 1920 when talk of a dam first started. Nobody wanted to under take new enterprises in a commu- nlty which might vanish shortly.
 But nothing, not even certain doom, can paint an entirely black picture. Certain residents are planning for Greenville this fall a gigantic home coming" inviting all former residents to come back Tor farewell look at the old famil- jar scenes before they vanish for ever under the risinp wator. of