On the Anniversary of Hurricane Camille August 19, 2008
Tags: Foundation RecordingsHere is a recording we made at the dedication.
Please listen to the event using the audio player below.
Welcome to the Rockfish Valley Foundation
Next Page »August 19, 2008 at 2 PM - dedication of Hurricane Camille Marker
CAMILLE Historic Marker dedication - August 19, 2008 at 2 PM
Everyone is invited to attend the dedication of the Hurricane Camille historic marker located at the Rockfish River Trail head on Rt 151 at the bridge over the S. Fork of the Rockfish River. The dedication will occur at 2 pm on August 19, 2008 which is the 39th anniversary of Hurricane Camille in Nelson County. The devastating rains fell in the evening of August 19 and early morning of August 20.
The program will consist of brief remarks by Nelson County officials, representatives of VA Dept of Historic Resources, VA Dept of Transportation, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, Cliff Wood , former Nelson County Supervisor and others to be announced. Cliff was involved in the Camille marker placed at Woods Mill in 1971. The additional marker is a replica of that and states:
ON AUGUST 20, 1969, TORRENTIAL RAINS, FOLLOWING REMNANTS OF HURRICANE CAMILLE, DEVASTATED THIS AREA. A RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 25 INCHES LARELY WITHIN A 5-HOUR PERIOD, SWEPT AWAY OR BURIED MANY MILES OF ROADS, OVER 100 BRIDGES, AND OVER 900 BUILDINGS. 114 PEOPLE DIED AND 37 REMAIN MISSING. THE DAMAGE TOTALED MORE THAN $100,000,000 AND VIRGINIA WAS DECLARED A DISASTER AREA.
This second marker is located on the site of the home of Mr and Mrs Ed Ewing who were swept away by the flood and perished on the evening of August 19, 1969. A total of 125 persons died or were lost in Nelson County which at the time was more than 1% of the population.
Light refreshments will be served. Please call 434 361 2251 for further information.
Introduction to Roar of the Heavens by Stefan Bechtel
Continue reading Introduction to Roar of the Heavens by Stefan Bechtel
Hurricane Camille and its impact described and illustrated
Hurricane Camille and its impact described and illustrated
Please imagine that the slide scars represent the headwaters of the S. Fork of the Rockfish River up near Wintergreen Mountain Village above elevation 3500. The torrential rains loosened the soil, the shrubs and trees. That debris began to wash down the mountain, pulling with it rocks and any other thing in its path. As the flow became larger and reached the upper valley at Beech Grove, it broadened out (represented by the debris chutes) and tore a 40 foot deep trench into the earth where Rt 664 now exists. The build up of water, material, animals, automobiles and everything in its path continued to travel under gravity into the Valley Floor at elevation 1300 and began to fan out to cover the valley (represented by debris fans) . This occurred in the middle of the night which found the occupants of the one story house in the flood plain at elevation 900 located beside the river at the existing Rt 151 Bridge asleep in their house. Many people thought the roar of the debris flows was thunder as the sky was filled with lightening. It was not. It was the roar of rocks hitting rocks. This debris flow can be estimated to have travelled at a speed of over 40 miles per hour when it reached the South Rockfish Valley you are looking at. The home, located where you are standing, of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Ewing was destroyed and their bodies recovered nearly 1/2 mile down stream. The Charlottesville Daily Progress printed adjacent photo showing the steps remaining to the house, the roof of the house on the bridge and the devastation of the site. The historic marker located beside Rt 151 recognizes the loss of lives and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Camille in the State of Virginia. It is hard to imagine the loss to the Ewing family. A brother lived in the house across the road and three siblings at ELK HILL, the home on the hill. Each woke the morning of August 20th to see the ghastly site of debris filled, flooded fields and an empty space where the Ewing family had lived and perished.
Please be respectful of this site and honor their memory along with those others lost in the storm of August 19-20, 1969. Thanks you for your visit. To obtain more information, please see the website www.rockfishvalley.org or read the introduction reproduced here from the book entitled Roar of the Heavens (2006) by Stefan Bechtel, a Charlottesville author, which is considered the best presentation of Hurricane Camille.
We are indebted to the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (www.cacfonline.org) for its support of this exhibit and the duplication and installation of the Hurricane Camille marker.
++Camille Flow Diagram prepared and available through the courtesy of David Spears, Geologist, Virginia Department of Mines and Minerals.
Peter A. Agelasto III
Chairman
Rockfish Valley Foundation
434 361 2251
P O Box 235
Nellysford, VA 22958
Other books on Hurricane Camille
Torn Land by Paige and Jerry Simpson 1970
Hurricane Camille – monster storm of the Gulf Coast by Philip D. Hearn 2004
Category 5, the story of Camille by Ernest Zebrowski and Judith A Howard 2005
Roar of the Heavens by Stefan Bechtel 2006
SCENIC VIRGINA PHOTO CONTEST
CALLING ALL SHUTTERBUGS!!
Scenic Virginia Viewshed Photo Competition
Scenic Virginia wants your beautiful photos of the Commonwealth’s breathtaking vistas for our 2008 Viewshed Photo Competition.
The competition is open to all. We are seeking viewshed photos in the following five categories:
· Coastal /Chesapeake Bay
· Mountains
· Open Space/Farmland
· Rivers/Waterways
· Urban Landscapes.
It’s easy to enter. For full competition rules and regulations, visit
our website and click on the link next to the camera on the Home page.NOTE: The deadline for photo entries (to be submitted online via Flickr™) is Monday, September 1, 2008 (Labor Day) at 5:00 pm.
Questions? Call (804) 643-VIEW
NEWS Trail Walk - Invasive Plants - Monday 6/16/2008
Bryan Wender from VA Dept of Conservation and Recreation will lead a walk along the Rockfish River Monday June 16, 2008. Those interested should meet at 10:00 AM Monday at the Rockfish River/Rt 151 Trail Head at 10:00 AM - wear comfortable walking shoes. The walk will include a workshop to identify invasive plants and how to control and eliminate them. Please feel free to bring smaples of invasives from your land that you want identified. this will also be an opportunity to identify and discuss native plants appropriate for the river’s edge and wetlands. For further information , contact Peter Agelasto at 434 361 2251.
Virginia Master Naturalist Chapter
The Foundation is doing a feasibility study to determine if it is possible to undertake a chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program. The chpater would be called the Central Blue Ridge Chapter and the partners with RVF would include The Wintergreen Nature Foundation, Virginia Wildlife Center, Blue Ridge parkeway - Humpback Rocks Visitior Center, Sherando Lanke, Nature Camp and Va Tech Extension. The Chapter advisor would be Michael Lachance of VA Tech Extension. The project is under the auspices of a new program in virginia with the Virginia Master Naturalist program. This program is a partnership of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Department of Forestry, Department of Game and Insland Fisheries and the Museum of Natural History. To datre there are a dozen chapter in the State of Virginia. Our Chapter would cover Nelson County and parts of Rockbridge and Augusta.
RFV: Chairman’s Report Summer 2007
The work of the foundation has created a lot of paper and we are appreciative of the internship of Heather Gibb in late spring for getting so much organized, data bases created and publicity rolling for our major events.
RVF Stewardship
STEWARDSHIP
We at Rockfish Valley Foundation participate in a number of programs that preserve and protect land resources. What follows is a listing of our commitments and links to sites where you may learn more about such opportunities. We invite you to visit and see the ongoing efforts to protect and enhance land in the South rockfish Valley that was first settled by Scotch Irish immigrants from Pennsylvania in the 1740s. Continue reading RVF Stewardship
RVF Board minutes March 29, 2008
THE ROCKFISH VALLEY FOUNDATION
Annual Board Meeting
March 29, 2008
Attending: Betsy Agelasto, Parker Agelasto, Peter Agelasto III, Peter Agelasto IV, Joe Prueher, Michael LeChance, Chris Gensic, Russ Reid,
Paul Davis, Chip Morgan; Charlotte Rae, Volunteer executive coordinator. absent: Waite Rawls. New members: Hank Gibb, Jim Halley
The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Rockfish Valley Foundation Board of Trustees was called to order by the chairman Peter A. Agelasto III at 1:30 pm on Saturday, March 29, 2008. Mr. Agelasto introduced Charlotte Rae, the new Volunteer Executive Coordinator. He first worked with Ms. Rae in establishment of the Central Blue Ridge Master Naturalist chapter. Chip Morgan, Paul Davis, Hank Gibb, and Jim Halley were nominated to the board; they were elected unanimously.