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Re: _Through A Night of Horrors..._ by Casey Edward Greene and Shelly Henley Kelly



If any of you work for libraries that take ENR magazine (formerly
Engineering News-Record), each of their weekly issues since the attack has
featured extensive coverage of the cleanup efforts in New York and the
repairs to the Pentagon.

Best wishes,

Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
tberry@hcea.net
http://www.hcea.net




----- Original Message -----
From: "Holly Hodges" <FHHodges@AOL.COM>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2001 3:07 PM
Subject: _Through A Night of Horrors..._ by Casey Edward Greene and Shelly
Henley Kelly


> The events of September 11 have had its impact on the archival community
> without any doubt. The initiative to gather related material in NY (and
> elsewhere) for documenting the tragic affair is gaining momentum, and the
NCC
> Update has also noted a bibliography.
>
> I attended a session on disasters while at SAA (2001) and was initially
> impressed with visions of great heights (I'm a very impressionable
> acrophobiac), probably due to the last paper dwelling on mountain climbing
> accidents.  But there was valuable insight in the papers (Thank you, Bruce
> Stark, for bringing these together!).
>
> Why am I bringing this up?
>
> I just finished reading Casey and Shelly's _Through a Night of Horrors:
> Voices from the 1900 Galveston Flood_.  I had a sense of deja vu reading
> Casey's introduction.  It felt like reading about events of September 11
all
> over again.  I'll highlight two paragraphs:
>
>  (page 7) The accounts...that follow are dramatic evidence of the thoughts
> and actions of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary
> circumstances.....Their words, which are remarkable for their sometimes
> passionate, other times detached--almost clinical -- tone, illustrate
> firsthand the ways in which people respond to cataclysms. ...In the
emergency
> phase, they try to flee or escape the threat.  When flight is impossible,
> they seek protection and attempt to protect their loved ones, friends, and
> neighbors.  They try to be with their families.  They display heroism.
> Panic, however, is an uncommon response to disasters....
>
> And this one:
>
> (page 9) The rumor mill thrives in the wake of a disaster, and rumors
abound
> in the absense of an official explanation of the calamity.  Their value
lies
> in helping survivors come to terms wirth their circumstances. [Casey cites
> Saundra Schneider's _Flirting with Disaster_]
>
> Casey then proceeds to describe the cathartic effect of recording one's
> story.
>
> Holly's comments:
> This is the archival element.  The gathering together of stories is what
we
> do.  Bringing them together assures participants/victims that the events
will
> not be forgotten for the future.  In their own words.  Later historians
can
> write however much they want about these events, but it is the words of
the
> survivors' accounts, first hand accounts (primary sources) that will
continue
> to have the ringing passion that no others can convey.  Thanks, Casey and
> Shelly, for this inspiring publication of the accounts of survivors and
> reminding us of the healing power of our work to "remember forever for the
> future."
>
> Holly Hodges
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
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>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>