Rowlesburg flood monument dedicated

ROWLESBURG — After years of volunteers’ efforts, a town struck by flooding 32 years ago this month now has a permanent reminder of the disaster.

Members of the Rowlesburg Revitalization Committee and the ON TRAC program joined with community business and government leaders in unveiling a monument commemorating the flooding of November 4-5, 1985, which swept away a large part of the town. About three dozen people gathered at the Main Street Garden in the downtown Rowlesburg Historic District to have a first chance to view the marker.

Kathleen Wolfe Oresanin, head of the revitalization committee, described the effects the Cheat River had on her family over the decades, from the flood in 1954 that inundated their motel and restaurant to the 1985 disaster that swept those businesses and two of their houses off the map.

But we still love that river,” Oresanin said. “That old lover who keeps coming back to break your heart again and again and again.”

Anna Nassif of Rowlesburg, one of the drivers of the movement to create the marker, pointed to the resilience of the town’s residents “and their ability to take us forward, to come up with creative solutions to any types of suffering we may experience from the elements — water, earth, air and fire. As the people have shown before, we can do it again.”

Some of the solutions for the town’s future will come from the same river that nearly destroyed it, said Tim Weaver, owner of the River House Lodge.

“This beautiful, treacherous river connects us to our past and to our future,” Weaver said. “We are stuck with you, Cheat River. You have taken much from us, among those things, lives, property, hopes, memories, dreams, heirlooms and entire parts of our community. You have stolen these from us.

“You have given us much … and you can give us an option for our future, as you always do. A choice we can make. We can be and are becoming a tourist attraction because of you. … We can use you to build a new economy,” Weaver said.

He pointed to new signs of economic development taking hold in the town, with land acquisition completed for a 15-acre RV park and for a service station and supply store to be known as the Cheat River Trading Post.

“The river giveth and the river taketh away,” Weaver said.

Robert Sypolt, president of the Preston County Historical Society and a Rowlesburg native, said this year seems particularly appropriate to dedicate the monument in the midst of the spate of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and fires that have struck around the country.

Shortly after these disasters happen, he said, there is a rush of initial aid, but it soon dwindles. But, in Rowlesburg, he said, some volunteers who were here in 1985 keep coming back year after year.

“It’s important that we do take the time to thank these people when they come to town at their own expense and help maintain our communities,” Sypolt said.

The production staff of Paul Riggs, Phil Wotring, George Nassif and Lee Waybright worked for years to obtain the funding to erect the memorial of a bronze plaque attached to a locally quarried bluestone slab donated by Wotring.

Part of the worst flooding in West Virginia’s history, the Cheat River swelled to more than double the flood stage and destroyed large portions of riverside towns such as Rowlesburg and Albright. Statewide, the deadly torrents claimed 38 lives, damaged or destroyed 13,000 homes and caused $700 million in damage.

Mayor Barbara Banister said the residents of her town can be bowled over by such hardships, but they spring right back up and continue with their lives.

“Rowlesburg is the most resilient town you’ll ever find,” she said.