The fall of 1926 brought rainy weather, and continued into 1927. In six months, the area received a full year's average rainfall. Naturally, the rivers and bayous spilled over their banks, covering the low area with back water. Then the levees broke in several places, and the flood waters began pouring in!
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| Louisiana Flood of 1927 |
Sicily Island lived up to it's name, for it was an island surrounded by water. The water came up in the railroad ditches, and the drainage ditches out of town had water in them, but the land stayed dry of the flood waters. The area became a reversed oasis for the people living in the flood prone areas. Instead of seeking water, they were seeking dry land.
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| Catahoula Parish during the Flood of 1927 |
All of the area between the school house street and the main street that was not enclosed by a fence around a residence was used to set up tents, and there were not many houses in that area then. The tents were furnished by the Red Cross. Until the Red Cross got the situation fully controlled, the residents and merchants helped the refugees with food stuff. The people from Ward One and Concordia Parish came to the town area, and many from Franklin Parish sought refuge in the hill area.
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| Sicily Island facing south, toward Clayton |
The school session continued, as students in the low areas had now moved to town. Mrs. Birdie Krause was the home economics teacher. Through the cooperation of Mr. Coney and Mrs. Birdie, and with the Red Cross furnishing the food, Mrs. Birdie and the home economics students, as part of their class work, prepared a noon meal for all of the refugee school children.
The local residents furnished pastures for the stock brought out of the water, and of course there was always the trouble with some cows that were constantly managing to get out of these pastures and into someone's field or garden.
Birdie Talbert came to Sicily Island as a young teacher from Arcadia, Louisiana. She married Oscar Krause, a native resident. She had never seen back water or a flood, and of course for some time everyone was concerned about the heavy rains and talking of a flood. Mrs. Birdie told her husband that she didn't wish for a flood, but if there was one, she hoped she was here to see it. After a few weeks of the water, she wished she could go where she would never see a flood again.
Georgia Westbrook also came here as a young teacher from Union Parish, Louisiana. She married local resident, Mr. Henry Peniston. She, like Mrs. Birdie, had never seen a flood. Her recollections are of the misery of the refugees, the many dogs barking, cows lowing and children crying.
As young people often times find pleasure in bad situations, they enjoyed the flood because it gave them the opportunity to boat, swim and fish in it's waters.
Mr. Audley Bird remembers plowing his fields with the dust flying, and the roads being full of stock and vehicles with families and their possessions, all moving out of the water. Of course, many people lost much of their stock, because they had not anticipated the magnitude of this flood. When the levees broke, they didn't have enough time to drive all of the stock to higher ground.
Before leaving home for higher ground, many of the people built scaffolds in their home and put their furniture and many household possessions on them. When the water receded and the refugees returned home, many found the scaffolds had broken, spilling everything into the water. The articles on the scaffolds that didn't fall had so deteriorated from the dampness that they were unusable. The loss of stock, household possessions plus a lost crop year was a terrific financial loss for these hardy people. A hardship like they had never known. Yet returning home and facing the hard work that was waiting for them had to be done, and they faced this with the same courage as when they first built.
Little did these same people realize that the Great Depression was just around the corner.
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