"The Night 2000 Died" : 9/16/1928

"Lake Okeechobee, in south central Florida, just north of the Everglades, is the second-largest fresh water lake wholly within the United States. It covers 750 square miles. A hurricane sweeping out of the West Indies virtually lifted the waters from the lake bed and sent them swirling down on the countryside. Four thousand people were drowned."         (from 'Cross the shadow of my face: Florida folk songs and stories, 1980, by Will McLean)
[Maybe the total was 3,000 died; 3rd worst US single-event loss of life.]

          Lord, hold back the waters of Lake Okeechobee,
            for Lake Okeechobee's blue waters are cold.
          When wild winds are blowin' across Lake Okeechobee,
            they're calling and seeking for other poor souls.
          Oh, Lake Okeechobee's blue waters are cold.
  
                   "Hold Back The Waters," Will McLean

ALSO:
"A hurricane swept south Florida. Lake Okeechobee was virtually blown out of its bed. Partly because the land owners had refused to build any proper dikes, three thousand people drowned - mostly small-farmers & migratory workers."

          On the sixteenth day of September,
          In nineteen twenty-eight,
          God started riding early,
          He rode 'till very late.
  
                  "West Palm Beach Storm," collected by Alton Morris, Folksongs of Florida

Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
What are Happy's all about? See Clicky