About a quarter of a mile downstream is the spot where Andrew Greene and his family lived when they were caught in the disastrous flood of August 13, 1940. They were all at home on the night of the cataclysm expect Earl, the oldest boy. There were six children in the family, including three boys, Earl, Hooper and B.L., and three girls, Creola, Velma Lea, and Vernita. What happened to them was the worst tragedy out of the flood. Andrew and his three daughter lost their lives about nine o'clock that night and the home and crops were a total loss. A few chcikens, one cow and two hogs also succumbed to the raging torrent. Every building was swept away except a small wash house and the chicken house. The family was in prayer a short time before the house was swept away. They felt the house shudder, looked up and saw the windows became smoky. In the next instant, the house was struck another blow. Suddenly the machine on which an oil lamp stood was thrown against a nearby window and the light went out. Then the house tore loose from its moorings, turning end over endabout three times before it fell to pieces. Three out of the family miraculously escaped death-- Eliza, the mother, B.L., the youngest boy, and Hooper, 19. Earl, 20, who was not at home on the night of the tegedy, also survives. Hooper was the first to escape from the raging torrent. He was caught by a bush about a quarter of a mile from where the house started, on Mr. Vern Greene's bottom land, over which the flood waters were spreading widely. A short time before he lodged in the bush, one of his sisters, Velme Lea, was borne past him screaming, but he was being carried along so swiftly by the current that he could not rescue her. To his deep regret, he was unable to do anything for anyone, having to fight hard to get out alive. After he was thrown into the bush, he heard Velma Lea's last scream as she lodged near the bush in which he was standing. Hoping to find her, he stooped from the bush as far as he could, reaching down with one hand and feeling all around trying to find her, but all in vain. Her voice was soon stilled. He climbed the tree near the bush for safety from the waters and remained there about thirty minutes until the flood had receded enough for him to wade out. Then he came down from the tree and waded to the home of Vernie Greene who lived not far from the creek at the place where he had landed. This whole family were standing on the front porch listening to the roaring of the waters and watching the nearby streams rise higher every minute. They heard the screams of those who went down to their deaths. What a dreadful and terrible thing to have been an eyewitness to this tragic happening! I was the most horrible catastrophe that they or anyone had seen during the flood. While they were watching in anguish of heart and mind, they looked out over the waters and could dimly see another figure approaching. Eaglerly they waited, anxious to know who it could be. They knew that he had been sweptfrom some home by the flood waters, and had been fortunately cast up. As he entered the yard, Vernie asked in an excited, eager voice, "Who are you?" The figure, being almost breathless, did not answer at first. Vernie asked a second time, "Who are you?" As the figure mounted the porch, it gasped out, "This is Hooper." Vernie, with a rejoicing heart, led him into the living room, followed by the other members of the family. There he was tenderly cared for through the remainder of the night. They gave him dry clothes and made him as comfortable as possible. They stayed up with him all night, trying to comb the mud and thrash out of his hair and remove every particle of sand and dirt from his eyes. It was difficult undertaking, but she labored at it faithfully and joyfully throughout the night. Hooper had sustained slight bruises about the head and a few on his legs and body. Amid all the sorrowful wondering as to the whereabouts of his parents, brothers, and sisters, Hooper yet was happy and thankful that he had been cast out of the rough and stony waves. He and the Greene family whom he had been so lucky to join rejoiced together and gave thanks to God. While they were giving thanks. Hooper made this remark: "My good Christian mother's prayers brought me out." The next morning he was taken to the Watauga Hospital in Boone, where he underwent treatment for three days. He is a good boy and has many friends. He graduated from Appalachian High School in Boone last year and expects to enter college in Boone this year. He seems to be the happiest boy in Watauga County since his narrow escape from death. But who wouldn't be after such an experience? Hooper is always cheerful and ready to help assauge the sorrow of others in his pathway with comforting sympathy. He wears a smile which makes life worth while for himself and he scatters sunshine in the path of others. May we extend our best wishes, sympathy and love to Hooper, the homeless and fatherless boy, and wish for him a long, peaceful and prosperous life. The next morning when the boisterous waters had fallen, the storm passed, the wind ceased, and the sun was shining brightly, the body of Velma Lea, 14, was found near the bush in which Hooper had sought refuge the night before. She was lying on her back with arms folded as of she were naturally asleep. The body was taken to the home of Mr. George Greene, from which it was taken on a handmade stretcher to Boone by the undertakers. Her body, like the others, had been carried about three miles up the steep and rugged mountain to beyond Deep Gap, where a conveyance to take it on to Boone was obtained. On the same moring that Velma Lea's body was found, Eliza, her mother, was found and rescued. She had spent all night exposed to the chilly blast amid the noisey waters. She had lodged several hundred yards below where Velma Lea and Hooper had been lodged. Eliza was held fast in a drift of sand, tree limbs, and water from her hips down, but she was happy that her hands were free. Although she was sad that her family had been scattered, yet God's spirit appeared so real to her that she shouted His praises in thanks to Him that her life had been sparred. She had finally worked herself loose and started for the home of L. M. Cook where she hoped to find shelter, but had gone only a few steps when she sank into the sand and mud to her knees. She then made her way back to a higher drift, near the one in which she had lodged, and crawled up on it. There she remained until the dawn of a new day. She says, "There I sat all night, calling for help and hoping some one would rescue me. I was in sight of my uncle, George Greene, ut although I called for help, the waters were so noisy that he could not hear me. So there, with queer looking lights playing all around me, I sat all night, praying to God to keep me safe till morning." It certainly was a terribly long and wearisome night for Eliza, as she sat there wondering where her family might be. She said she was afraid to look about her the next morning as she was being carried to the Cook home for fear that she might see some of her family in the drifts. She worried about her family through the long night, fearing that they might be in a like perdicament to hers, suffering and with no way of getting out. Many sad thoughts passed throughher weary mind during the long night. She had on very thin clothes and was half frozen the next morning when she was rescued. After she arrived at the Cook home, she suffered worse agony when her chilled body began to thaw out. On the morning of her rescue, she started to her uncle's, but soon found herself too weak to go farther and called to him for help. Ernest Greene, who was the first to hear her calls, went out to meet her. He waded in water to his hips to rescue her. She was changed by the flood, being so badly bruised about the face that he did not recognize her. He carried her to the home where she was treated with kind solicitude by everyone in the family and made ready to be taken to Watauga Hospital. A few hours later, the body of her daughter Creola was found in a drift near the Cook home where the flood had carried her. The third girl in the family, Vernita, aged 12, was found August 15, two days after she had died in the flood. She was half buried in a rough drift near the one in which her sister Creola had lodged, within sight of Cook's home, and below the bridge over the creek that runs by the Cook place. B.L., aged 7, was thrown out of the torrent into a large and rugged drift a short distance from where his mother had spent the night. He was not seriously hurt. The last member of the family to be found was Andrew, the father, aged 46, who had lodged about three miles down the swollen stream. His body was found near a large oak tree above E.L. Greene's mill pond. His right hand held onto a peice of an iron bedpost in a death grip. He had been standing near the iron bed that stood in his living room when the house started to crumble, and it is thought that he grasped the bedpost as the house overturned and was instantly killed. His body was not badly mangled, considering the distance it had been carried through the stream. Andrew was a good neighbor, ready at any time to go to the aid of any of his friends or neighbors. He was kind to his children, suffering many hardships to provide them with plenty to eat and wear. He was loyal to his church and never missed a service unless sickness prevented his attendance. He and his dear daughters, Creola, Velma Lea and Vernita are greatly missed in our desolated community missed in the church and by everyone who knew them. On August 11, Andrew Greene went to the church that night for the last time, meeting death the next night in the flood. About two o'clock in the afternoon, he dressed for the service but instead of going on to the church, he went to the granary and stayed about thirty minutes. When he came back to the house, there was avery sad expression on his face, as if he were in deep sorrow. He must have had a premonition of the tragedy that was shortly to befall his family. After he came from the granary, he went to church.
He was buried in one large grave with his three daughters. Many beautiful flowers covered their resting place.
- Clemmie C. Cook Greene
"The Most Disastrous Flood"
He was buried in one large grave with his three daughters. Many beautiful flowers covered their resting place.
- Clemmie C. Cook Greene
"The Most Disastrous Flood"
About a quarter of a mile downstream is the spot where Andrew Greene and his family lived when they were caught in the disastrous flood of August 13, 1940. They were all at home on the night of the cataclysm expect Earl, the oldest boy. There were six children in the family, including three boys, Earl, Hooper and B.L., and three girls, Creola, Velma Lea, and Vernita. What happened to them was the worst tragedy out of the flood. Andrew and his three daughter lost their lives about nine o'clock that night and the home and crops were a total loss. A few chcikens, one cow and two hogs also succumbed to the raging torrent. Every building was swept away except a small wash house and the chicken house. The family was in prayer a short time before the house was swept away. They felt the house shudder, looked up and saw the windows became smoky. In the next instant, the house was struck another blow. Suddenly the machine on which an oil lamp stood was thrown against a nearby window and the light went out. Then the house tore loose from its moorings, turning end over endabout three times before it fell to pieces. Three out of the family miraculously escaped death-- Eliza, the mother, B.L., the youngest boy, and Hooper, 19. Earl, 20, who was not at home on the night of the tegedy, also survives. Hooper was the first to escape from the raging torrent. He was caught by a bush about a quarter of a mile from where the house started, on Mr. Vern Greene's bottom land, over which the flood waters were spreading widely. A short time before he lodged in the bush, one of his sisters, Velme Lea, was borne past him screaming, but he was being carried along so swiftly by the current that he could not rescue her. To his deep regret, he was unable to do anything for anyone, having to fight hard to get out alive. After he was thrown into the bush, he heard Velma Lea's last scream as she lodged near the bush in which he was standing. Hoping to find her, he stooped from the bush as far as he could, reaching down with one hand and feeling all around trying to find her, but all in vain. Her voice was soon stilled. He climbed the tree near the bush for safety from the waters and remained there about thirty minutes until the flood had receded enough for him to wade out. Then he came down from the tree and waded to the home of Vernie Greene who lived not far from the creek at the place where he had landed. This whole family were standing on the front porch listening to the roaring of the waters and watching the nearby streams rise higher every minute. They heard the screams of those who went down to their deaths. What a dreadful and terrible thing to have been an eyewitness to this tragic happening! I was the most horrible catastrophe that they or anyone had seen during the flood. While they were watching in anguish of heart and mind, they looked out over the waters and could dimly see another figure approaching. Eaglerly they waited, anxious to know who it could be. They knew that he had been sweptfrom some home by the flood waters, and had been fortunately cast up. As he entered the yard, Vernie asked in an excited, eager voice, "Who are you?" The figure, being almost breathless, did not answer at first. Vernie asked a second time, "Who are you?" As the figure mounted the porch, it gasped out, "This is Hooper." Vernie, with a rejoicing heart, led him into the living room, followed by the other members of the family. There he was tenderly cared for through the remainder of the night. They gave him dry clothes and made him as comfortable as possible. They stayed up with him all night, trying to comb the mud and thrash out of his hair and remove every particle of sand and dirt from his eyes. It was difficult undertaking, but she labored at it faithfully and joyfully throughout the night. Hooper had sustained slight bruises about the head and a few on his legs and body. Amid all the sorrowful wondering as to the whereabouts of his parents, brothers, and sisters, Hooper yet was happy and thankful that he had been cast out of the rough and stony waves. He and the Greene family whom he had been so lucky to join rejoiced together and gave thanks to God. While they were giving thanks. Hooper made this remark: "My good Christian mother's prayers brought me out." The next morning he was taken to the Watauga Hospital in Boone, where he underwent treatment for three days. He is a good boy and has many friends. He graduated from Appalachian High School in Boone last year and expects to enter college in Boone this year. He seems to be the happiest boy in Watauga County since his narrow escape from death. But who wouldn't be after such an experience? Hooper is always cheerful and ready to help assauge the sorrow of others in his pathway with comforting sympathy. He wears a smile which makes life worth while for himself and he scatters sunshine in the path of others. May we extend our best wishes, sympathy and love to Hooper, the homeless and fatherless boy, and wish for him a long, peaceful and prosperous life. The next morning when the boisterous waters had fallen, the storm passed, the wind ceased, and the sun was shining brightly, the body of Velma Lea, 14, was found near the bush in which Hooper had sought refuge the night before. She was lying on her back with arms folded as of she were naturally asleep. The body was taken to the home of Mr. George Greene, from which it was taken on a handmade stretcher to Boone by the undertakers. Her body, like the others, had been carried about three miles up the steep and rugged mountain to beyond Deep Gap, where a conveyance to take it on to Boone was obtained. On the same moring that Velma Lea's body was found, Eliza, her mother, was found and rescued. She had spent all night exposed to the chilly blast amid the noisey waters. She had lodged several hundred yards below where Velma Lea and Hooper had been lodged. Eliza was held fast in a drift of sand, tree limbs, and water from her hips down, but she was happy that her hands were free. Although she was sad that her family had been scattered, yet God's spirit appeared so real to her that she shouted His praises in thanks to Him that her life had been sparred. She had finally worked herself loose and started for the home of L. M. Cook where she hoped to find shelter, but had gone only a few steps when she sank into the sand and mud to her knees. She then made her way back to a higher drift, near the one in which she had lodged, and crawled up on it. There she remained until the dawn of a new day. She says, "There I sat all night, calling for help and hoping some one would rescue me. I was in sight of my uncle, George Greene, ut although I called for help, the waters were so noisy that he could not hear me. So there, with queer looking lights playing all around me, I sat all night, praying to God to keep me safe till morning." It certainly was a terribly long and wearisome night for Eliza, as she sat there wondering where her family might be. She said she was afraid to look about her the next morning as she was being carried to the Cook home for fear that she might see some of her family in the drifts. She worried about her family through the long night, fearing that they might be in a like perdicament to hers, suffering and with no way of getting out. Many sad thoughts passed throughher weary mind during the long night. She had on very thin clothes and was half frozen the next morning when she was rescued. After she arrived at the Cook home, she suffered worse agony when her chilled body began to thaw out. On the morning of her rescue, she started to her uncle's, but soon found herself too weak to go farther and called to him for help. Ernest Greene, who was the first to hear her calls, went out to meet her. He waded in water to his hips to rescue her. She was changed by the flood, being so badly bruised about the face that he did not recognize her. He carried her to the home where she was treated with kind solicitude by everyone in the family and made ready to be taken to Watauga Hospital. A few hours later, the body of her daughter Creola was found in a drift near the Cook home where the flood had carried her. The third girl in the family, Vernita, aged 12, was found August 15, two days after she had died in the flood. She was half buried in a rough drift near the one in which her sister Creola had lodged, within sight of Cook's home, and below the bridge over the creek that runs by the Cook place. B.L., aged 7, was thrown out of the torrent into a large and rugged drift a short distance from where his mother had spent the night. He was not seriously hurt. The last member of the family to be found was Andrew, the father, aged 46, who had lodged about three miles down the swollen stream. His body was found near a large oak tree above E.L. Greene's mill pond. His right hand held onto a peice of an iron bedpost in a death grip. He had been standing near the iron bed that stood in his living room when the house started to crumble, and it is thought that he grasped the bedpost as the house overturned and was instantly killed. His body was not badly mangled, considering the distance it had been carried through the stream. Andrew was a good neighbor, ready at any time to go to the aid of any of his friends or neighbors. He was kind to his children, suffering many hardships to provide them with plenty to eat and wear. He was loyal to his church and never missed a service unless sickness prevented his attendance. He and his dear daughters, Creola, Velma Lea and Vernita are greatly missed in our desolated community missed in the church and by everyone who knew them. On August 11, Andrew Greene went to the church that night for the last time, meeting death the next night in the flood. About two o'clock in the afternoon, he dressed for the service but instead of going on to the church, he went to the granary and stayed about thirty minutes. When he came back to the house, there was avery sad expression on his face, as if he were in deep sorrow. He must have had a premonition of the tragedy that was shortly to befall his family. After he came from the granary, he went to church.
He was buried in one large grave with his three daughters. Many beautiful flowers covered their resting place.
- Clemmie C. Cook Greene
"The Most Disastrous Flood"
He was buried in one large grave with his three daughters. Many beautiful flowers covered their resting place.
- Clemmie C. Cook Greene
"The Most Disastrous Flood"
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