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Page 7 · column 1 of 5 · from the scan, no model involved
Down in Rock Mills at one of the lowest spots in the county, Ed Pawley kept a watch as the waters of the Thornton and Rush Rivers rose. Ed and Helen Pawley’s house was on a small rise just across a gravel road from the river crossing. Pawley, used to high water during his years at “Roarin’ Rock Mills,” had a standard routine during threatened flooding. He kept his eye on the Rock Mills Bridge, and when the water touched the underprinnings he moved his car up the road to higher ground in case a hasty exit was needed.
Pawley moved the car and returned to his house to carry out belongings for an overnight departure. In the time it took him to pack and return to the car, the muddy water reached his doorstep, blocking off his only way of reaching the car.
The Pawleys, who were nearing eighty at the time, escaped through a back window, crawling up a steep embankment on their hands and knees through the rain and thunder to a friend’s house. They left behind everything they owned as water mounted to near-ceiling level in their home. Before midnight, their beloved Rock Mills was under 12 feet of water.
Across the road, Orville C. Faulkner watched as the river swept away his three cars and a pick-up truck.
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