Professor James Beeby, September 2010
"‘Send a Boat’: The Great Flood of 1937 in Louisville:
Some Initial Findings and Interpretations"

Dr. James Beeby, Chairman of the Department of History at Indiana University Southeast, is a member of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain and received his doctorate from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK.  He presented an interesting talk, entitled "‘Send a Boat’: The Great Flood of 1937 in Louisville: Some Initial Findings and Interpretations" with PowerPoint illustrations on the subject of the 1937 Ohio and Mississippi Valley Flood.  He emphasized that many people who survived the flood recalled the “community spirit to pull together” as their strongest memory of the event.  He mentioned that he plans to continue his research into the subject with the ultimate object of writing a book to be published in about 2012. His presentation was followed by an active question-and-answer session with many pertinent questions from the audience.  Museum curator Ms. Nathalie Andrews explained briefly the history of the Portland Museum and the 1850's house to the front of which it was added.