Down by the Old Mill Stream

[prosodic]

Lance mentioned to me this morning that Findlay, Ohio made the national news, but of course, not in a good way. It's the most flooded spot in Ohio, and one of the worst in the nation right now. CNN has a live cam set up right outside the downtown area right now...I'm not sure why. It's not all the exciting to watch a flooded street.

Of course, I have many relatives living there. Both grandmothers, my dad, various aunts, uncles, and cousins...

When I still lived there (we moved to Columbus when I was 10), we had at least one flood (Findlay seems predisposed to them)...not sure how old I was at the time. But it seemed pretty bad. That was small time compared to the one they're having now, which is comparable to the 1913 flood, which is now the stuff of legend.

It's a sobering thought that parts of Oklahoma are also dealing with flooding too, for the second time this year at least. That's going to be something we take into consideration when we buy a house...we have to make sure we're not living on a flood plain.

I have no word on how family members are doing at the moment, but I'm sure I would've gotten a phone call or an email if things were really bad. I think my Grandma S. is probably fine...she lives nowhere near the river. Grandma E. (in the nursing home) is surrounded by flooding...my dad told me that the other day. I'm not sure how he's doing.

The Blanchard River is receding...for now. More rain is expected.

And now, Tell Taylor's song, inspired by the Blanchard River, probably not something he would've written had he been living there right now:

Down By the Old Mill Stream

My darling I am dreaming of the days gone by,
When you and I were sweethearts beneath the summer sky;
Your hair has turned to silver the gold has faded too;
But still I will remember, where I first met you.

The old mill wheel is silent and has fallen down,
The old oak tree has withered and lies there on the ground;
While you and I are sweethearts the same as days of yore;
Although we've been together, forty years and more.

Chorus:
Down by the old mill stream where I first met you,
With your eyes of blue, dressed in gingham too,
It was there I knew that you loved me true,
You were sixteen, my village queen, by the old mill stream.

Comments

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

And here I thought that nobody remembered that song anymore. :)

--Danny, who grew up listening to songs from the 1890's through the 1940's thanks to his grandparents

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Are you kidding? Because that song was composed about the Blanchard River, it is the most famous song in Findlay. They even have a little Tell Taylor memorial at Riverside Park, right on the river's edge. I'm sure it's flooded now. :P

Dude, it's famous like Ben Roethlisberger, who is from Findlay. ;)

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

And that was close enough to Peoria, Illinois and Burlington, Iowa (where my grandparents and their families were from) that both of my grandparents loved the song. My grandfather would occasionally croon it when I was a little kid. :)

[flockofgulls.livejournal.com]

I thought of you when I saw the news on this ... but the news I saw was three or so days ago...and when I didn't see you mention it on your blog I figured it must have not been your family's area. They said it was North West Ohio.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

I didn't know how serious it was until today. I knew that areas of Findlay were flooded, but it happens often enough where I wasn't really concerned about it. But now that it's made the national news headlines, I guess it's something to be a bit concerned about.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

My grandpa always crooned Big Band era stuff. I'm so lucky that I have a tape of his singing.

[kiwi-escapism.livejournal.com]

It's national news, they keep showing pictures and video of Findlay on CNN. Mom and Larry are ok and the house wasn't affected. Apparently Marlene is the only one who got water in her house but I don't know how bad it was. Rob's funeral has been moved to Saturday because the funeral home is flooded. A lot of my friends have been calling and messaging me to make sure the family's ok. I'm just glad I've been in BG for all of this. Some of my friends and their families have had to be evactuated.

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

After all the times I wanted to tape my grandparents talking about family history, I don't know why it never occurred to me to tape my own grandfather singing. Sigh.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

I saw it on both CNN and ABC news. I didn't think your mom or my dad would be affected...they live too far away from the river. But you never know.

I was kind of wondering about Rob's funeral and if they managed to have it. I suppose burial might be a problem, if they were planning to bury him at Maple Grove...I believe that cemetery is in or near the path of the floods...it always seemed to be near the floods in the past.

[kiwi-escapism.livejournal.com]

There was a picture on CNN of the flooded Marathon station across the street from it so I'm assuming it's at least partially under water. They also showed a picture of a flooded cemetary but I don't know if it was Maple Grove.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

It would have to be. That's the only one actually in Findlay. There are a couple just outside town going toward Fostoria, but those aren't near any water.