Red Cross homes after the flood

iIlustration of Mina Cook with her three sons looking into their devastated home after the 1935 flood in McCook. Another illustration is the architectural drawing of the home that was built in McCook with help from the Red Cross. Courtesy/Susan Doak

The 1935 Flood has been extensively covered over the years, but I was always curious about what happened afterwards. A wonderful morning spent with Clara (Lebsack) Adams and her gift of a scrapbook to the genealogical society helped fill in some of those blanks.

Harley Arthur Cook, his wife, Mina (Austin) and three children were left homeless by the devastation and Harley had been unemployed for several months at the time. The 1930’s had ravaged families, the flood seemed to be the last straw for some of them.

In stepped the Red Cross, providing lumber and materials for families to build new homes and Harley’s family was the first to receive one. The depiction of the home to be built is shown here. Architecturally designed, the houses were to be 20 feet by 26 feet in size and contain a 12 foot by 19-foot living room, a kitchen, and one bedroom. The houses would sit on a stone or brick foundation.

By the time that the house was being built, Harley had found employment with the power plant. Neighbors along the street, South West South Street according to the 1930 census, included Herman’s, Zook’s, and Aman’s. His oldest son was also named Harley, Harley Allen Cook, and was 8 when the flood occurred and the second oldest was Jack who must have been around 6, but I found no reference for the youngest son. In fact, when I went to the 1940’s census, Harley II and Harley III were living with Harley and Dessie Cook on South A Street after Mina and Harley were divorced, the two youngest boys apparently staying with their mother.

The scrap book gives no indication of the origins of the photos, but covered in it’s pages are pictures taken by a World Herald photographer from a airplane plus a news item concerning the fact that the World Herald was flying papers into North Platte and then delivering them to McCook. Included are several pictures of Arapahoe, Holbrook and Cambridge.

Joan Lovell is also pictured as she went “into the heart of the flood area Monday for a close-up view of the devastation caused by the high waters.” She apparently was giving a flood relief benefit lecture in McCook and was pictured with John Kahl as he dug his mowing machine out of the mud.

Clara presented me with several items for the SWNGS library with a promise of more to come. Having grown up in South McCook, her knowledge of the Germans from Russia group that lived there is vast and colorful. We are grateful for her memories and her gifts.

SWNGS library is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays for your research needs. Hours are 1-4 PM, located at 110 West C, Suite M-3, there is an elevator for your convenience.