1955 Santa Cruz Flood Recollections

Page Four

[Note: unless otherwise indicated, all of the recollections below are by those who attended or graduated from Santa Cruz High School; the year of graduation is given in parens after the name of the contributor. Flood stories from 1954 grads are from the 1954/2004 Cardinal: Celebrating the 50th Reunion of the Santa Cruz High School Class of 1954, edited by Len Klempnauer. (Used with permission.)]

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Paul Crummey (56) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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     Thought I would share my fun night of the Soquel flood.
     We lived on Old San Jose Road just past the Adventist Conference grounds. I was on my way home from a church function in Santa Cruz about 10 PM. Coming down Soquel Drive past the Theater (what was its name? Osocale?) there was a road block, Soquel Creek was flooding. The firemen told me to go around and cross the Soquel Creek bridge and I could get to Old San Jose Road.
     After crossing the bridge there was some water on the road. A fireman waved me through. About at the intersection of Soquel Drive and Old San Jose Road my car stuttered to a stop. Water had gotten into the coil. There were firemen at the Fire Station on the corner and they told me to wait and they would tow me out.
     When the water got up to seat level, I got out of the car, a fireman told me to wade over to an adobe building across the street and wait for rescue. The water keep rising and I climbed up on an iron grill work, then up to the roof. Once in a while the firemen down by the Theater would shine a spot light on me. I dozed off a couple of times and caught myself sliding on the slippery shake roof.
     Water was cascading on both sides of the building. A long shed broke loose across the street, split in two when it hit a telephone pole and the halves went past on each side of the building. I watched an entire house float across Soquel Drive from Old San Jose Road.
     Finally near dawn I realized the water was down to a foot or so. I climbed down and walked to where the Firemen were blocking the road. A Policeman took me to a furniture store where I dried out by their heater. Later they took me to my Grandmothers house on Allerton Street in Santa Cruz.
     It was late in the afternoon before my folks could get through Soquel. The water had reached 3 inches up on the windshield of my car. It was a total loss.
     Logs and trash had collected at the Soquel Creek bridge and formed a dam. The bridge was later rebuilt without the center supports. --Paul Crummey

Jim Ceragioli ('55) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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     Boy, do I ever remember that day and night as well as the next weeks of cleanup. As Jerraldo stated, it started raining early in the day (or it had been raining for a couple of days, I do not remember which). My mother and I were working at Ferrari's florist shop along with the regular staff of Hazel, Tony and Dave and Hazel's friend Margaret. We were getting things ready for the Christmas deliveries the next day. Rudy, my brother, was in San Francisco getting more flowers and stuff and would be returning on the 24th in the morning.
     What with all of the rain, the radio was on and there were periodic news spots. First, they said that there would be minor flooding near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Then, it was updated to say that the lower end of Pacific and Front would experience minor flooding. As time wore on, the flooding was to be up further on Pacific.
     When they said that it would be as high up as Prolo Chevrolet, we started moving things off the floor in ernest. Then, Dave said that I should move all of the cars to higher ground and so I took all of the keys and moved the cars up to near the High School on Walnut.
     When I got back from doing that, I had to start moving things from the floor level to the loft and attic area as they passed things up from the floor. Soon, the water was coming in the back door and at one point, my Mother said "Hey, the refrigerator is listing," and someone ran over and opened the door and started to pass out the roses stored in there.
     Soon the lights went out and we had to call it quits. Well, we formed a chain and walked out the front door leaving it open as was the back door and headed up to the cars. The water was above our knees and we walked up Walnut Ave and finally got to the cars which were all safe.
     The next day, when we headed back down to the store, we noticed that there was a man hole cover in the middle of the intersection that was not on the hole and the hole was wide open. We had walked right past that and could have stepped in and had a major problem.
     Mom and Dad set up our garage and that is where the Christmas items were prepared for that year and the next weeks were spent shoveling the mud out of ever nook and cranny in that store. A real mess to handle.
     Oh, my brother came into town and could not believe the sight and headed to our house, where Dave was; Dave was very happy to see him with fresh merchandise. Rudy said that the wind in San Francisco was so violent that it blew the window open on his room at the Pickwic Hotel on 5th and Mission.
     It is still very vivid moment and chapter in my life. --Jim Ceragioli

Norma Dinelli Wilson ('58) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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     One big change to Santa Cruz was the l955 flood. Our town was never quite the same after that and then l0 years or so later in l965 the University was begun and changes really escalated.
     The flood was sad and devastating. We lived up the Coast (where I grew up after we moved from Davenport). On Dec. 22 (I think?) we were visiting my aunt and uncle on Dufour St. and we left later that night driving the old Coast Rd. When we got to Wilder's Ranch it was all flooded. My Dad was really brave and took a chance driving slowly through the raging water.
     My Mom and I and my Dad were really scared and probably did more praying getting through there than all our life combined!! Luckily we got to the other side safely and home. It was a treacherous night of rain.
     The next day my Dad and I drove his big 4-wheel drive from the ranch as he had to bring something to the packing house in Santa Cruz. After that we decided to drive down to the Lincoln Street Bakery for a treat --- lo and behold as we came off the hill by SCHS everything was under water almost all the way up to Chestnut St.
     Cars were topsy turvy - it was tragic! We drove a little further and we could see debris of all kinds rapidly going down the river; it touched me so as I saw Christmas trees and gifts among other things going down the river. Of course, we didn't know anything about what had happened in the night as our electricity had been out all night and we did not have a phone in our house; the nearest phone was in our cookhouse across the street. Also there was no TV only a few people had TVS especially up the Coast as reception was bad. But it wouldn't have mattered, for we were without electricity.
     We just couldn't believe what we were seeing---was it the "beginning of the end "of Santa Cruz as we knew it?!"
     Guess we all could go on and on with so many memories. I know I could but we'll have to stay tuned for the "rest of the stories...."
[Originally posted on La Nostra Costa blog maintained by Ivan Comelli ['55); used with permission.]

John Lute ('57) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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     Here are my experiences during the 1955 flood.
     I decided to go to the Santa Cruz Theater that evening, ran out and jumped in my 32 Chevrolet truck, but it only had half a hood and something got wet, so I started walking.
     At intermission the manager announced that anyone parked on Front Street should move their car since the river was just about to flood. A couple people got up and left. I was sitting in the balcony along with about 3 other people when we heard some squealing and people leaving downstairs, but we didn't pay much attention and finished the second feature.
     When I stepped into the lobby there was about 3" of water on the floor and it was pouring down the aisles; on the street it was up to my knees, and by the time I reached the Water Street bridge it was above my waist.
     On the bridge I met Milton McNaulty; he asked if I would help him try to save as much as possible in his grandmother's house. We got down to the intersection of Ocean and Water and the site was something else. B-40 Creek was coming in from the 5 Spot side and the river rushed in from the Chevron Station side, with it boiling up in the center of the intersection. A police officer in a boat tried to tell us we couldn't go down Ocean Street, but that's the way we had to go, so we went anyway.
     Once inside the house we found throw rugs floating around, making it look like the floor had raised. We went around putting everything that hadn't gotten wet yet up as high as we could. All the sudden Milton screamed he had gotten shocked when he touched the electric stove, so we decided it was too dangerous in there and we went out the back door and tried to cross the alley, but the water was flowing quite fast down the alley. It took us almost a block to get across. He said his boss Walt Trinidad lived on the next street and we could stay there for the night.
     After meeting the Trinidads, whose home was built up high enough that no water had come into the house, we had a hot drink and warm dry clothes. We sat on the porch to watch the cars float by, but I was worried about my Mom and sister, so I gave Walt back the dry clothes, cut the legs off my Levi's and went looking for a phone that worked. Down the street a ways was an old couple sitting on their porch. I asked if their phone still worked. They said yes and that I could use it, but their cat was stuck up in the rafters in the basement; if the water got any higher he would drown.
     They showed me where the door was, they could hear him right under the porch where they were sitting, I got the door open and could come up between the rafters to breath, he wasn't hard to find and I was able to take him from one rafter to the other, without putting him underwater till I got back to the door. (I advise anyone not to try to swim underwater with a cat in one hand, for they don't like it a bit.) But the people were very happy and let me use their phone.
     When Mom got out of bed she discovered about a foot of water in the house; she told me they would try to drive the car to the top of the Plymouth Street hill, they were leaving NOW, and not to try to come home.
     So I went back to Walt's house and watched the cars float by, the next morning the water was low enough to walk home. I found my folks and we cleaned the mud out of the house.
     When I took the clothes back to Walt's house, he asked if I had a job. I said no and he hired me. He was the Manager of the Regal Service Station, which backed up to the San Lorenzo River by the Water Street Bridge. We were friends forever. I was crushed when I found out he passed away and I never heard about it until months later.
     The 55 flood was a night of bad luck for most of the Santa Cruz residents, but for me it turned into a night of opportunity and good friendship.   -- John Lute

Vicky Green ('57) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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     As for my our recollections. We were living a half block from the river at the time [on Bixby St].
     What I remember most was packing the car, holding my little brother with one arm while driving one-handed. Going through my mind over and over all the time was what my father told me "to keep your foot on the brake as you drove through the waters so the brake lines won't get water-logged and to go slowly but not stop til I got up to Filona Bibbins house."
     My folks and other brother where in the other car behind me, but I didn't see them being directly behind me. I was afraid something had happened to the car they were in. I was never so happy in my life to see them all, as I was when they finally arrived at the Bibbins home. Thank goodness her family took us all in.
     We were lucky that the house we were renting had a basement [essentially at ground level] and, at the top of 15 or 20 stairs, was our living area just above the flood waters. The basement was full of mud afterwards and took weeks to clean out. -- Vicky Green

Martin Wenks ('54) New! as of 18 Apr 2009
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On the first night of the flood my friend Sam Zuckswert (Holy Cross High, '55) and I decided to see if we could help, so we drove to Soquel. We waded into the water, which was chest high. The water was too deep and too swift, so we knew we could not help. We went home, and my parents made me hose off my clothes before they could be washed and dried. They were pretty muddy. The next day I drove around Santa Cruz and Soquel to photograph people cleaning up the best they could and to photograph the flood damage. That continued into the evening. --Martin Wenks ('54)

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