We may live in a desert here in Southern California, but natives know that sometimes watercraft is a necessity to navigate our city streets.
Mom recently told me about her childhood experience in Anaheim (you know, the home of Mickey Mouse) during the Flood of 1938. After 30 days of rain, beginning January 27, 1938, the Santa Ana River overflowed its banks flooding the City of Anaheim. My mother had just turned five and the family was relatively new to California. Fortunately, as Mom recalls, their home had a substantial foundation which raised the floor high above ground level. As the waters began to rise, enterprising neighbors pulled out their rowboats and dinghys to navigate the streets.
Not surprisingly, folks began to gather at my grandparents’ house where they could remain safe and dry. Arline was such a lively and friendly person that I imagine she soon turned the “disaster” into a party. Mom remembers people everywhere in the house and water everywhere outside. It must have all seemed pretty exciting to a five-year-old and her seven-year-old sister.
It’s only been raining here for three days and already our neighboring community of La Canada is facing hundreds of evacuations this morning. This time it isn’t a river overflowing, but runoff from the hillsides and mountains after the disasterous fires last year.
Although we don’t live in that immediate area, the rain has been pouring over the retaining wall outside our kitchen window making a waterfall and overflowing the drainage. The basement is wet, the raingutters are full, the cat won’t venture outside.
Hopefully, Mother Nature will take a brief break soon so I can ply my way eastward to the Family History Expo in Mesa this weekend. I have really been looking forward to some genealogy inspiration and seeing so many bloggers in one place. Right now though, I am just keeping my oars crossed.
