[Manuscript]: Lights and Shadows of the Big Flood of 1927

Vermont, 1927. Hardcover. Very Good. Quarto sized two-ring binder measuring 8.5" x 11". 64pp. 12 sepia toned photographs. Bowing on the boards, tears on the spine fold, and some creasing else about very good Signed by the author on the dedication page. A manuscript, including some annotations, for what would become Charles T. Walter's *Lights and Shadows of the Flood of 1927: Vermont at Its Worst; Vermonters at Their Best* published in 1928 by The Cowles Press. Walter compiled poetry, firsthand accounts, and 12 photographs to tell the story of the devastating flood that hit Vermont in the fall of 1927. A paragraph under a photograph of a burning bridge reads "Burning one bridge to save another: It was found necessary, in order to save the new iron highway bridge, over Portland street, to burn the old wooden Maine Central Railroad bridge just above it. It was a spectacular occurrence, and a big crowd stood in the pouring rain to witness it." Historically the flood is considered "the worst natural disaster to ever strike Vermont in modern times" covering the state with 8.71 inches of rain. According to the National Weather Service, "1285 bridges were lost as well as countless numbers of homes and buildings destroyed and hundreds of miles of roads and railroad tracks washed out." The book shows the results of the rainfall: rising water, destroyed railroad tracks, and leveled houses. Although Vermont suffered Walter discusses how the natural disaster brought out the best in Vermonters ending his narrative with "we are not discourage by the multitude of water, and all its attendant consequences. It is not the Vermont way to repine and whine. Out feet are on the ground and our faces are toward the sunrise!" A wonderful manuscript displaying the effects of Vermont's greatest tragedy.