Flood of 1955 changed Putnam forever
June 1955 – Putnam celebrates its 100th birthday
Editor’s Note: In the coming weeks, the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger will publish the events of the Flood of 1955, witnessed firsthand by a young man who was 14 years old at the time, Ronald P. Coderre.
The year 1955 for the community of Putnam and for a 14-year-old teenager began as a summer of celebration. The community was celebrating its 100th year of incorporation, its centennial anniversary. The entire town was festively decorated, taking on an air of pride. And the spirit of its government, business and civic leaders was at an all-time high. It was an opportunity for everyone in Putnam and surrounding communities to be part of a “Great Past, A Greater Future,” which was the theme of the Centennial celebration.
In 1955 the Korean Conflict was quickly becoming a memory. The venerable retired Army General Dwight David Eisenhower, referred to as Ike, was the President of the United States and overall times were good. People in our country and in Putnam had never been happier. Abraham Ribicoff was governor of Connecticut and scheduled to attend the Centennial celebration for the Queen’s gala ball. The popular John N. Dempsey was Putnam’s mayor.
At home people were sitting on edge watching The $64,000 Question on CBS in black and white TV. Every Sunday evening Ed Sullivan had “a really big shooew” also on CBS. Average annual income was around $4000 and a new home sold for approximately $10,000. New automobiles were selling for less than $2000 and gas was $.23 per gallon. The Seven Year Itch starring the voluptuous Marilyn Monroe and “Rebel Without A Cause” with James Dean topped the movie charts.
As the summer approached and the Centennial week of June 10 – 19 neared the 14-year-old boy was looking forward to graduating from St. Mary’s School and eagerly looking forward to September and Putnam High School, the first modern one- story high school in Connecticut. His mind was also on all the upcoming events planned by the Putnam Chamber of Commerce and its President Glenn Mauer. The Centennial Celebration Committee, also headed by Mauer along with First Selectman Fred Gagnon and Selectman Russell Sherman was planning an extended week of entertainment the likes of which had never been witnessed previously in the history of the town.
The committee had put together numerous activities that had people throughout town talking. The great stir and interest around the selection of the Centennial Queen was being discussed on every street corner. The voting for the Queen was done through the sale of gold-plated commemorative coins. There is still one of those gold centennial coins safely stored away with the 14-year-old boy’s memorabilia. Betty Killian was eventually selected as the Queen. There were a number of beautiful Putnam young ladies in the competition. More than a half-century later some of the names that are remembered are Patricia McCormac, Jeanne Phaneuf, Irene Quintal and Claire Chenail. In the eyes of a 14-year-old boy all the contestants were very beautiful.
Roseland Park in Woodstock served as the venue for the water-skiing exhibition put on by performers from Cypress Gardens, Florida. To this day whenever water skiing or Cypress Gardens are mentioned they are synonymous with the Putnam Centennial in the mind of the 14-year-old boy. Cowboys were also heroes to 14-year-old boys in 1955 and finding a ride to the Woodstock Fairgrounds to see Dick West and Kit Carson was a major achievement. Woodstock seemed so distant in 1955 when automobiles weren’t as prevalent as they are today. For years the autographs of the two famous television cowboys remained a prized possession.
Aunt Jemima of pancake fame made a Putnam appearance. She was delivered to the community by helicopter, which in those days was an event in itself. And there were Revolutionary War reenactments put on by local citizens and members of Connecticut National Guard Company C and D. Little did those two units realize that in two months they’d return to Putnam in very different roles. Fashion shows, airplane shows by the local Civil Air Patrol and a modern Air Force fighter jet on display were events that groups of 14-year-old teenagers convinced their parents to allow them to attend.
Every Friday evening after the downtown merchants closed their stores Putnam Police Chief Henry Mathurin and his officers were around Union Square by the Hotel Putnam and the train station overseeing the block dances. Folks from area towns joined Putnam, enjoying the festivities, while the teenagers were hanging around taking in all the excitement.
The Centennial parade was the centerpiece of the celebration. Despite rains and misty conditions this event was the granddaddy of all Putnam parades. Historical publications of the parade estimate the crowd at 50,000. That’s a lot of people!
Riding my bicycle, which was decorated with streamers as many teenagers did at the time, we were in and out between the many floats on display. It’s difficult for a 14-year-old boy to estimate how many people were in attendance but I do remember that the streets along the parade route were lined four to five deep. People were sitting on top of automobiles and even looking down from the roof tops of downtown buildings. It was an exciting day for a 14-year-old boy and his friends.
The men and women who were part of the Centennial Committee did a fantastic job in promoting Putnam. We can’t say they outdid themselves because a review of the names brings back memories of people who loved Putnam and were involved in its many successes as a community.
Joining Glenn Mauer, Selectmen Gagnon and Sherman who headed the committee were directors Gertrude Warner of “Box Car Children” fame, and Ester Welles, who in real life headed the Red Cross locally. Her services would be in great demand a mere two month down the road. Judge W. Perry Barber, Selectman Normand LaRose and Stanley Evans also were directors.
Names from the past such as Reynolds DeBeradinis and Hunt Smith organized the queen’s contest. Dick Gaumond, known for his radio personality and stock car driving, worked publicity and arranged the Dick West and Kit Carson appearance. Dick McCauley, famous as the distributor of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette in Putnam, took care of novelties and concessions. Dr. Jerry Adams, a local dentist, and insurance man John Gahan played a major role in organizing the parade. Norm “Banana” Bernier facilitated Aunt Jemima’s visit. Mrs. Eva Furman of Bugbee fame was in charge of the fashion show. Atty. Ray Wheaton organized the gala ball, William Fontaine, decorations and Betty Maurer the souvenir booklets.
These individuals are all deceased but they were true community servants. People that a 14-year-old boy looked up to and wanted to emulate. They put in hundreds, maybe thousands of hours into this entire celebration. The time, energy, organization and money that went into planning and executing the celebration was unfathomable to a 14-year-old boy. But there’s one thing for certain, it was a celebration that lives on his memory even today.
As the Centennial occupied everyone’s interest in June, little did the people of Putnam realize that almost exactly two months to the date of the conclusion of the celebration, Putnam would be in the forefront of the news for a much different reason. Many of these same leaders would play important roles in seeing Putnam through the impending disaster that would strike on August 19, 1955.
August 19 was always a special day
As a young boy growing up in Putnam August 19 always meant something to me since I was about 4. August 19 was my best friend Benny Auger’s birthday. It’s a day that I always remembered, as he’s always remembered my birthday of March 13.
The morning of Friday, Aug. 19, 1955 at the Coderre home on Sunnyside Ave.(above the old Town Hall in Putnam), as I was thinking of Benny’s birthday, my dad woke my brother and me with the news that the Quinebaug River was running very high. Every time the river ran high it was exciting times in Putnam. We’d run down to one of the bridges or to Cargill Falls to watch, almost hypnotized, as the water poured over the falls.
On many occasions, when the river ran high following heavy rains, flooding would occur in the lower part of Putnam, known as Manhasset Village, the area of the current Simonzi Park. Often the homes in that area would get water in the cellars and sometimes even on the first floor. Today, August 19 these high waters would rise much higher than previously and create the worst damage that the community had witnessed since the hurricanes of 1936 and 1938.
After breakfast, I walked up the street to my friend Michael Angelo’s home. He and I took off to explore this high-water situation. We crossed over the Bridge St. bridge and went down to where the street ran perpendicular to Elm St. Many of the homes were still festively decorated, the remnants of the Centennial celebration and the Fourth of July.
As we walked around the area, where “old” Dr. Russell’s office was located, across from Bill Pigeon’s Barber Shop, Prassos’ Shoe Repair and the former synagogue, we noticed two things. Roger Donais, who lived on the corner of Bridge and Elm in a beautiful Victorian, was on the porch with friends enjoying the entire hullabaloo as folks were beginning to scurry around as the water in the river was rising rapidly.
The other thing that we noticed was the storm drains. Rather than taking in water, they were beginning to back up. Water was actually coming out of the storm drains and beginning to flood the streets. It was at this point that we decided to retreat to our home side of the Quinebaug. We hightailed it past the Windham County Observer, King Cadillac, past Bonneville’s Driving School (all on Bridge Street in 1955) and paused to look over the bridge in amazement as the water was lapping at the underside of the structure and Water Street was rapidly taking on water.
As we reached the corner of Bridge St. and Church St., in the vicinity of the Church St. Texaco station and Mikat’s Market, the buildup of water was noticeable. We jumped up on the lawn in front of the McEvoy residence. Usually on most days we would have quickly been shooed away but today not a word was spoken as Church St. at the corner of Bridge St. was quickly becoming a river of its own.
The Dubuc family was one of the families that lived in the two-decker across from the McEvoy’s home. As the water got higher, Mr. Dubuc (Alfred, I believe) came across the street in water that was waist high and rising, carrying his daughter on his shoulders. He repeated this crossing three more times; carrying his sons Bobby and Alfred and his wife Rose to dry land and the safety of McEvoy’s lawn. That was the last time they would see the inside of their home for some time.
As we realized this wasn’t just the usual high water, we could see many things happening on the river from our vantage point in front of the Town Hall and on the lawn of Gilman’s Funeral Home.
The carnival that was in town at Roenicke’s Field (approximately where Midas Muffler and Jade Garden are located today) began to float, amusement by amusement, down the river as the French River found its way to the Quinebaug by the old VFW home and Burzuch’s Market. The confluence of the two rivers was taking everything in its path downstream right before our eyes.
As the power went out and we lost telephone service and evening fell we went to bed under candlelight power. The next day as I recall the sun came out. We journeyed on dry land up Church Street. Without power, Weiss Market (where Putnam Supermarket is today) and Maheu’s corner store on Church and Battey streets were giving free ice cream to kids because the ice cream was beginning to melt in their freezer. There was also the realization that Putnam would be without power for days.
Although we didn’t see it personally, there were stories of the men who were isolated in the Belding Hemingway plant. Eventually they would get across when ladders were extended across the river and they managed to crawl to safety. One of the men as I recall was a Putnam firefighter, well-known Conrad Beausoleil, the other man I remember is George LeBlond, the grandfather of former DPW Superintendent Jerry Beausoleil.
In 1955 the State Highway Department had a garage at the end of Bundy Street (the little street between the current Nikki’s Doghouse and the former Shaw’s building) located very close to the river. The street was a dead end. As I recall, Putnam resident Fred Brelsford and others were stranded there. They were eventually rescued by helicopter.
Walking down to the spot approximately where WINY Radio is today, the destruction on both sides of the river and to the WWI memorial bridge on Pomfret St. was unbelievable. Buildings had been swept down the river or were hanging precipitously in midair. Although we wouldn’t see it until much after the water subsided, the Putnam Trade School and Water’s Bros. Oil near the railroad tracks on Providence Street. suffered the same cliff-hanging fate.
St. Mary’s School and the convent of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit would serve as the headquarters for the Red Cross. That’s where we had to roll up our sleeves and reluctantly go to receive out tetanus shots. On the other side of the river, the Putnam Lodge of Elks was seeing the same type of activity.
The other familiar spot was the spring on what is Wicker Street today. The fresh water from the spring would become the main source of drinking water for many people on that side of the river. As kids it was our job to take the empty milk bottles, which were made of glass in 1955, and other empty containers to bring fresh water to the Coderre household and its five kids.
As far as my friend Benny Auger, he never got to celebrate his birthday that year. He was on the bread route with his father, Roland, delivering bread and pastries to family homes as was the custom of the day. They were stranded with relatives in North Grosvenordale with no way of communicating with their family in Putnam.
They arrived home some three days later. Their route home took them from North Grosvenordale south all the way to Canterbury where they were able to finally find a bridge that was passable. They were allowed to cross the Quinebaug and made their way back to 3 Roosevelt Street in Putnam.
Of course, the first question Benny’s mother asked was, “Where have you been for three days?” Then he finally heard someone in his family say, “Happy Birthday, Benny.”
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caption: page 1:
The Rt. 44 bridge over the Quinebaug River ... only the flood water was OVER the bridge. Flood of 1955. Putnam Town Crier file photo.
caption page 2:
Putnam's Centennial Parade down Front Street. A couple months later, the Flood of 1955 hit. Putnam Town Crier file photo.
captions, page 7 - clockwise from top left:
Elm Street toward downtown. Aspinock Historical Society photo courtesy of Mike Bates
Civil Defense on Main Street. The building behind them is now Frontier. Putnam Town Crier file photo.
Speciality Fruit, downtown. Putnam Town Crier file photo.
What was left of the Putnam Trade School. Photo courtesy of Susan Rogers
Putnam's Main Street. Putnam Town Crier file photo.