Johnstown, My Uncle and the Flood

by Phil Waters

Wild and savage, or flowing benignly, the rivers at Johnstown are much of its story. Johnstown could have been any peaceful, comfortable town in Pennsylvania- or America- in the 1800's, except that it was the setting for the world-renowned Johnstown Flood. The rivers' waters meant a lot in the life of Gomer Walters, who was to be an eyewitness of the Great Flood of 1889. Gomer Walters' life also had overtones stretching from the American Revolution through two centuries to a day which undid Flood-Free Johnstown, the hopeful designation of a project advanced by President Franklin Roosevelt. A droll humor seeing him through many adversities was a characteristic of the Johnstowner whose name constantly appears and reappears in the records of the town. This reproduction of his memories gives a fresh, unique and engrossing version of the story of Johnstown.

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989