 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2013-03-25 13:39:05
Do you remember?
Q-As always, we like to hear about your past memories of Aprils in Wichita. Can you share some?
A-And as always, I am delighted to be asked. After all of the snow in late February and early March, it is now April. This is the month that is noted in all kinds of literature and music. As the song says “tho April showers may come your way.” I can remember living on North Lewellen when I was just a teenager. My friends and I would watch the Little River come out of its banks. First you would see little streams coming along the gutter areas. Then they would get deeper and finally go over the yards and rise until you could observe the whole neighborhood with water up to the side of the houses. To me as a youngster, it was interesting but scary to lay in my bed at night and hear the basement filling with water. A group of my friends had a small row boat and they would go around the neighborhood and find out what groceries were needed, go get them and deliver them.
That was the way we helped, but as teenagers also how we made our spending money. After a few days or even weeks the water would subside and then everyone had to pump and clean out their property. I called the Wichita Historical division office and they helped me know that this had been going on for some time.
Actually their records show that every year heavy rains had occurred and an area would become flooded. According to “Wichita, the Magic City,” “In the wake of the 1904 flood, a civil engineer, Frank Payne, proposed the idea of creating a diversion channel utilizing a natural feature called the Big Slough northwest of the city. In times of high water the Arkansas overflow could be directed to this ditch and the city saved from sandbagging and property damage.”
The idea was the forming thought of what we now call the Big Ditch, and has saved our city millions in clean up and difficult times. Thanks to Jami at the Historical association for that information.
In the days before the Big Ditch, the Little Arkansas River left its banks in April of 1944, flooding 2,000 homes in Wichita. In 1959, Wichita’s flood control project was completed west of Wichita. Notes from the Wichita Eagle, February, 1954, says, “The $19,000,000 Big Ditch flood control project work started in May, 1950 but was interrupted by the Korean War and was now about half completed.”
Many more names were a part of forming this giant water collection and diversion system.
April here in Wichita has always been the time for many thunderstorms to form; however this year, with the tremendous drought that we are experiencing, it is hard to imagine a time with so much water.
I guess that as one meteorologist said last week, “Some of the grass is turning green and it is time to get your lawn mowers tuned.”
I for one, along with you, hope we continue to have moisture come our way this year and stop the tremendous drought that has overtaken so much farmland and caused a great deal of thought to go into how we use our water. April has always been a rainy time. We hope it continues.
