Evening star., 1939-05-28
Additional pictures of
the Johnstown flood may
be found in the roto-
grovure section of todoy's
Star.

OtOI.
blocks to the west and to the south
Of the avenue, saying:
"The section known as the Dr.
vision looked as much like Venice
as it was possible for that locality
to look. Craft of every description
were passing through the streets,
while women, who leaned from the
windows and graced the balconies
and porches, chatted with each other
and joked with the amateur boat
men as they floated by. At one
window on Eleventh street a woman
was fishing from a second-story
window. The entire basement was
flooded, and Saturday she gained
the street by means of a ladder.
but Sunday the water had risen so
high that the ladder was of no use
for that purpose.
In this connection, the story Is
told of two drunken colored men
who were swimming in the nasty
muddy water trying to catch a half
filled whisky flask At one time the
onlookers thought one of the men,
who was already intoxicated, was
drowned, for when he dived into the
water he failed to come to the sur.
face for a seemingly long time.
Finally the police arrived on the
scene and put the parties under
arrest.
At the New York lodging house,
92l C street, in the square now
covered by the Department of JUS
tice Building, an aged man fell from
the second-story window into the
water and broke his leg He evil
IDENTIFY suffered much pain, for the
occupants of the house were at
tracted by his cries and came in
their night clothes and waded
about in the water to find out what
the trouble was Finally Police
Officer Boardman rescued the in
jured man and sent him to the
Emergency Hospital.
There were those who even took
the flood as joke. One man on
Seventh street had a huge wash
tub boarded up on the sides. and
with his two children was navi-
eating the inundated part of that
business neighborhood, to the
| amusement of all
Another had boat constructed
similar to sand scow, with cabin,
smokestack and pushing poles, the
whole surmounted by a Republican
campaign flag.
Initiated Romance.
1t was probably during the same
food that the late John B. Nc
Carthy first met his wife, then Miss
Nellie c. Crosby, in a very unusual
way. 1t seems that Mr.. Mccarthy
and other newspapermen were COW
| ering the flood in rowboat. and
| in this way he was introduced to
Miss Crosby, who was also enjoying
herself in this novel way 1t proved
to be very happy marriage.
AS before stated, the water IN
Washington was at its peak on Sum
day, June 2, and as work was sus-
pended as usual that day, crowds
from Washington wended their way
toward Georgetown to get a good
view of the raging waters of the
Potomac from the Aqueduct Bridge
and other points of vantage. 1t was
indeed sight never to be forgot
ten, with the muddy river strewn
with wooden household articles of
every description, farming utensils
that would float. Even wagons and
parts of barns and shacks built too
close to the water were carried
down stream. Much of the wood,
once manufactured articles, was un-
recognizable, having been torn
| asunder as it passed swiftly over
the many rocks encountered as the
mad waters carried it relentlessly
on their way.
In the vicinity of Braddock Rock.
near the Munitions Building, the
Potomac was twice it's natural width.
The grand old stately WASHINGTON
Monument was surrounded by water
which percolated through tho soil
to such an extent that the machin-
cry used to operate the elevator had
to be stopped. 1t rather reminded
the early Washingtonian of the days
when the Tiber emptied into the
Potomac near this point.
| At this time, and until quite re-
cent years, the south side of Penn
sylvania avenue was lined with
mercantile ESTABLISHMENTS, and the
merchants were heavy losers by the
| flood, for in but few instances did
their insurance pSpers cover dam
| age by water And it was only
through the most desperate and
energetic eff,rts that the stock
stored in tteir cellars and on the
first floors of their buildings was
not a total loss. NJ H. Shea, one of
the wholesale dealers, then on the
site of the Apex Building, was able
to get nearly all of his goods out
in time, which he piled on the park
ing in front of the Police Court
Chen at Sixth and D streets).
| When the water was so deep at
Seventh street and the Avenue that
the cars could not run, buses with
high bodies had to be EMPLOYED to
establish a temporary service.
Inc chances are that many years
from now people will still be writing
and talking about Washington's great
Hood OF 1889, when Pennsylvania
avenue, the city's principal thor
oughfare, was almost entirely COW
cred with water, for, after all, this
is spectacle that doae ra+ ...,,.