In June 1993, Pattonsburg, Missouri
experienced a devastating flood. Lying in the
lowlands with Sampson Creek to the west, Big Creek
to the east, and the Grand River to the south (Figure
1), flooding was nothing new to the town, having
been inundated at least thirty times in the past century
and a quarter. Indeed, after the first flood, the spirit
of cooperation was strong among the residents. They
had been through it all before, they reasoned – thirtythree times in the twentieth century. They had even
staved off a threatened human-made flood – the
Army Corps of Engineers had proposed a dam in
1966, and again in 1974 and 1986 that would have
flooded the town (Dvorak, 1993; O’Malley and
Crowl, 1998: 65). They could do it again. But then
in July came a second flood, eight inches higher than
the first. In the words of one resident, the second
inundation “whipped us good.”
Ironically, Pattonsburg had
moved once before, in 1877, down into the floodplain
to be near the newly constructed railroad – a line that
was eventually abandoned.
The population
today is 261, down from 414 a few years before the
flood. Many moved away because they did not want
to go through the hassle of moving, or because they
could not bear to try to rebuild the town where they
had lived for decades.
What first drew us to Pattonsburg was the
utterly surreal feel that the new town has. Located on
hilly land high above the floodplain, virtually devoid
of trees, with widely dispersed houses, a downtown
that looks like two strip malls on opposite sides of a
strangely broad main street, and a school that looks
like it came out of a science fiction movie, new
Pattonsburg has a feel unlike any other place we had
been (Figure 2).
Meanwhile, a few miles away, down in the
floodplain, a ghostly network of streets still marks the
skeleton of the old town. A few scattered houses – of
folks who did not want to make the move or those
who lived outside the town limits and could not get
disaster relief – remain. The old city hall still stands,
as do the old churches (one of which is still
operational). The old school and water tower
(emblazoned with the town name) also punctuate the
flatness of the floodplain. Surrounding these
scattered structures, however, there is nothing but
cornfields. Most of the old buildings and houses
have been moved or demolished. Nothing remains
along Main Street, except for a lone caboose amidst
the fields of corn stubble (Figure 3).
The old town has been preserved, indirectly,
however. In 1998, the movie “Ride With the Devil,”
directed by Ang Lee, used old Pattonsburg as a standin for Civil-War era Lawrence, Kansas. The film
takes place during the border wars between Kansas
and Missouri, and revolves around William
Quantrill’s sacking and burning of Lawrence, the
bastion of free-state sentiment. Set designers remade
the flood-ravaged Pattonsburg with plank sidewalks,
dirt streets, and fixed-up storefronts, and many locals
were extras in the film. The faux-Lawrence met the
same fate as the real Lawrence, and was put to the
torch (with the help of smoke machines and propane
jets). After filming, the last remnants of the
downtown were demolished (as required by FEMA
after the buyout), leaving few traces behind
there was a map, which I couldn't figure out how to save, but Kevin's memory was just about right on. there is still an operating church and an old caboose. old city hall and water tower and school. some boarded up houses and streets. and cornfields.
called our insurance agent to drop Blazer coverage and start truck coverage, but have to get more info and call her back. info in the truck Kevin drove to work. wiped out dresser drawers I could reach. the dresser I want in our room is turned towards wall...and mirror bracket is blocking a drawer on tall one. exercise dance video arrived today. will I try it? probably not. reading The Stand. thought I'd watch Ride With TheDevil which I thought I had on dvd but didn't find it in places I can reach currently. not free on Prime. this was spurred by our abrupt stop for gas in Pattonsburg yesterday. we were trying to decide where old Pattonsburg was that was destroyed in 1993 flood and they burned in movie. we saw the release at Bethany theater. I was on a surgery leave. but you couldn't keep my whiny achy ass away. cleaned hand prints off front glass door. cleaned toilet.
evening update: emailed lien info to Bina. changed out dresser in bedroom. emptied dishwasher. now I should really make supper....
Kevin had to switch out our dryer with Katie since ours quit working....
Join owners Nate and Kaleigh Raterman as they investigate their own Museum of Shadows voted one of the most haunted museum in the world with over three thousand verified haunted artifacts housed inside.
Starring Nate Raterman, Kaleigh Raterman
Genres Horror
Ayda the doll....full body apparitions...a boy who hung himself in the brothel...a hidden room...he is a demonologist, she is a medium.multiple portals....hoof prints in the flour on the floor...and hoof beats heard....2 mapped figures conversing by Demas The Doll in Demas's Dungeon (which is where Tracy & I did our sit challange...), mapped figures in dungeon leaping to ceiling and crawling across....the next realm...the dirt room...filmed in August and October, 2019.
there's no Jared, and not even a Leon rodeo this year...
I fed dog, read, sewed, made a meal, played with Zerelda. and we found titles to white Blazer, Katie's old car, and my truck. guess this shit is gonna go down. change is hard.
change is hard.
baked a pie...not from scratch from the apple tree in the back yard, mind you. a frozen Schwans one. walked at park. showered. Kevin changed sheets and did a shit ton of laundry. got it all put up.
