Missing Home

My last visit to Pinhook was seven years ago. I hate to think it has been that long ago. I had returned for a funeral.  My mother recently asked me to go back with her to clean out a storage unit of my grandmother’s belongings so we could locate some important papers.  We were in the process of planning a trip back to this spring to take care of this when we got word of all the rain that was beginning to fall and the possibility of the Army Corp. of Engineers breaching the levee.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would do this.

I thought back to the floods of 1973 and 1974. We had moved from Pinhook and taken my grandmother’s trailer home to town at the time. Most of the families had decided to leave. My mother was adamant that she was going to remain.  The other families told her she could not stay alone with her two young children.  It was just too dangerous. With the potential of  the water rising, there was no way that it was remotely safe for her to stay. She insisted that she remain and protect her property. After they convinced her to finally leave, we packed up our essential belongings and headed out. Well, my mother, hard-headed as she is, insisted she drive her car. We were placed in the bean truck with a gentleman mother drove Pontiac Le-Mans through the flood waters. Now, imagine, the ditches on either side of the road were at least 6 feet deep or more, and the water on the road was almost covering the hood of the car as we drove slowly for the mile out of this water.  We got through it, on pins and needles no less.  We spent about three or four months away from our beloved Pinhook until it was deemed safe to return home. Our cousin Jerome Robinson and Mr. Eza Lee Cross stayed in our home, at my mother’s request to protect our home.  Jim Robinson and his brothers, Cal and Lynell who were farmers, all remained on Pinhook to protect the property of the homeowners. George Williams, who drove our school bus had moved his family into town as well.

In 1974, we made the move once again into town. Some of us moved to Charleston instead of East Prairie this time.  We again were gone a few months. Now, you must know that during this time, the flood waters never reached the homes on Pinhook on the main road. Jim Robinson and a few others who lived  a few miles a little farther back, weren’t so lucky.  After Jim and his family rebuilt that last time, they made the decision to build closer to other families. Most of us helped in the rebuilding.  My last trip home was to Jim’s funeral.  My grandmother married his uncle, so we were related by marriage.

After my husband and I moved to New York, it became more difficult for us to travel home. We could only make one trip back home a  year. My mom moved away as well, and now she no longer lives in Missouri. We now have to split our time between two families. I miss home more than ever.  When I dream, I dream of Pinhook. It’s the only real home I ever had.

Another person who was important to me recently passed away. Mary Williams. She was like a mother to me. I spent more time at her house than mine.  My husband and I had just returned home to New York from Missouri when we received word of her passing.  It’s like losing a part of who you are.  I miss her even though I had not seen Mary in a long time, I still yearned for what was. I miss her children, because they were like my brothers and sisters growing up.

So as I have been sitting here watching the news and the levee being blown up by the Army Corp of Engineers, I think back to all of my childhood memories. That is not to say that I don’t think about them before this. It’s just it has put them at the forefront of my mind on a daily basis more than ever.  I think about the clubhouse that Faye and Vanessa and I used to build.  It all makes me remember us riding our bikes down to the corner, then going down in the field, down that little dirt road past the row of trees, back around  to that little spring and come up in front of Daddy Jim’s house and pick some Pecans.  Maybe ride our bikes down to Retha and Jim’s house.  If that didn’ t suffice, head on over to the church and hang out down by the row of trees and feel the cool breeze by that old tractor.  Maybe have a water fight from house to house. Oh, what about everyone coming to my mom’s house for cool drink of water from her fridge and listen to her get mad about it?

I miss Pinhook.

Musical Tribute – HEARTLAND HOME 2011 Flood.MOD

This is a Tribute to Pinhook, Missouri.. Thank you to Faye Mack (Williams), her brother Billy Ray Williams,Tangela Williams, and her sister’s daughter.  What a beautiful song and beautiful tribute to the loss of the community of Pinhook that was destroyed in the flood of  2011.

Small Town America Flooded – Pinhook Missouri

Today I want to write about something close to my heart. I live in a very big city, but grew up in small town America. I lived in what some call a river town in the Missouri Delta what is known as Pinhook Missouri. I know. Where is that? It sits somewhere between St. Louis and Memphis along the Mississippi River. Right now, because of all the rain, this small town that is caught up in a legal battle with the Army Corp. of Engineers who want to breach a levee. If they breach this levee, this small town/community will cease to exist.

Back in the 1950’s, maybe even further back, from what my family tells me, the banks would only sell this land to black families who farmed. This land sits in what is known as a spillway. The spillway is called this because the Mississippi River and the Ohio River back up in this area and overflow onto the land and cause flooding. Sometimes the farmers lose their crops when this occurs. There is much farmland in these areas, according to the  Army Corp. of engineers about 130,000 acres of land.

Over the years, a project was developed to close a 1500 foot gap in the levee in this region which is the Birds Point/New Madrid area. Most people have  heard of New Madrid because of the fault line that sits near here. We hear about the big earthquake that may hit near here. These are two different issues, however a catastrophic earthquake could potentially destroy a levee I am sure. By closing the gap in the levee, it would let the water flow back into the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and keep the water off the farmland in the Pinhook Community, as well as the communities of Dorena, Windyville, Cairo, IL, and others to name a few.

After the Army Corp. of Engineers did their studies, along with the EPA and others, the cost of the project was a few million dollars. It came to light that they wanted the farming communities to pay for half of the project. The people who live here are not rich by any means and don’t have this kind of money. From what we know, I don’t think people in other communities in other states were asked to pay. So the gap was never repaired. This fight to get it fixed has gone on for years. As a child, we had to move from our homes in 1973, 1974, and 1975. I do believe in 1976 we all decided to remain as a group and hang tight.

One of my relatives spoke before the US Senate again asking for assistance to close the gap in the levee and for the federal assistance that was promised to the people of the community in 2002. Again, to no avail.  He passed away never seeing any relief.

Today, there is a court battle brewing to stop the Army Corp. of Engineers from destroying Pinhook, Dorena and Windyville. If the Army Corp. of Engineers breaches the levee, a 15 foot wall of water will wash away my childhood, my home. I doubt there would be anything left. It leaves me to wonder if they just want this land. Most of the people who live there are not rich by any stretch, but comfortable. They have their homes and their land. What happens after they destroy it?  Today, there aren’t many left in this area.. By the picture I post, you can see how many are left. Doesn’t mean it needs to be destroyed….

(written Apr. 29. 2011)